Applause, 1929

Applause is a 1929 pre-Code American backstage musical “talkie” directed by Rouben Mamoulian in his directorial debut and starring Helen Morgan, Jack Cameron, and Joan Peers. It was shot at Paramount’s Astoria Studios in Astoria, New York during the early years of sound films.

Applause is adapted from the 1928 novel by Beth Brown, a former chorus girl, about an aging burlesque queen who sacrifices herself for her daughter so that the latter can escape her mother’s sordid fate.