Gold Diggers of 1933 [Blu-ray]

Director: Mervyn LeRoy Mervyn LeRoy

Overview

The second talkie version of the Avery Hopwood's theatrical war-horse The Golddiggers of Broadway, Gold Diggers of 1933 was the second of three back-to-back 1933 Warner Bros. musicals benefiting from the genius of Busby Berkeley. The basic plot is retained from the Hopwood play: Showgirls Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler and Aline McMahon attempt to find financial backing for the new show planned by producer Ned Sparks. Songwriter Dick Powell, an incognito man of wealth, offers to put up the money, a fact that brings down the wrath of his older brother Warren William, who despises show folk. Attempting to buy off the three girls, William is placed in a compromising position by the crafty Blondell and is compelled to bankroll the musical himself. The oddest aspect of Gold Diggers of 1933 is the fact that the mood of the songs is wildly at variance with the plot. The film begins with dozens of chorus girls (led by Ginger Rogers) happily chirping "We're In the Money," a rehearsal number interrupted when the finance men burst in to claim the sets and props from the impoverished troupe. At the end, when everyone is genuinely in the money, the troupe stages a downbeat "Brother Can You Spare A Dime"-style production number, "Remember My Forgotten Man"--and it is on this doleful indictment of the Depression that the film fades out! Other Berkeley-staged musical highlights include "Pettin' in the Park" (yes, that salacious little baby really is Billy Barty) and the neon-dominated "Shadow Waltz," all written by the prolific Harry Warren and Al Dubin. As spectacular as Gold Diggers of 1933 was, it would be topped by the last of Berkeley's 1933 trilogy, Footlight Parade.

Product Details

Release Date:	02/08/2022
UPC:	0883929788989
Original Release:	1933
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Language:	English
Time:	1:37:00
Sales rank:	3,434

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Warren William	J. Lawrence Bradford
Joan Blondell	Carol King
Dick Powell	Brad Roberts/Robert Bradford
Ruby Keeler	Polly Parker
Ginger Rogers	Fay Fortune
Aline McMahon	Trixie
Guy Kibbee	Peabody
Ned Sparks	Barney
Clarence Nordstrom	Don
Tammany Young	Eddie
Robert Agnew	Dance Director
Sterling Holloway	Messenger Boy
Ferdinand Gottschalk	Clubman
Lynn Browning	Gold Digger Girl
Charles Wilson	Deputy
Billy Barty	`Pettin' in the Park' Baby
Fred 'Snowflake' Toones	Black Couple
Theresa Harris	Black Couple
Joan Barclay	Chorus Girl
Wallace MacDonald	Stage Manager
Charles Lane	Society Reporter
Wilbur Mack	Society Reporter
Grace Hayle	Society Reporter
Hobart Cavanaugh	Dog Salesman
Bill Elliott	Dance Extra
Dennis O'Keefe	Extra During Intermission
Busby Berkeley	Call Boy
Fred Kelsey	Detective Jones
Frank Mills	1st Forgotten Man
Etta Moten	`Forgotten Man' Singer
Billy West	Medal of Honor Winner
Eddie Foster	Zipky's Kentucky Hill Billies (2nd Man)
Loretta Andrews	Gold Digger
Adrien Brier	Gold Digger
Monica Bannister	Gold Digger
Maxine Cantway	Gold Digger
Bonnie Bannon	Gold Digger
Margaret Carthew	Gold Digger
Kitty Cunningham	Gold Digger
Gloria Faythe	Gold Digger
Muriel Gordon	Gold Digger
June Glory	Gold Digger
Ebba Hally	Gold Digger
Amo Ingraham	Gold Digger
Lorena Layson	Gold Digger
Alice Jans	Gold Digger
Jayne Shadduck	Gold Digger
Bee Stevens	Gold Digger
Anita Thompson	Gold Digger
Pat Wing	Gold Digger
Renee Whitney	Gold Digger
Ann Hovey	Gold Digger,Gold Digger
Dorothy Coonan	Gold Digger
Aline MacMahon	Trixie Lorraine
Sam Godfrey	Society Reporter
Jay Eaton	Diner
Dorothy White	Dancer
Harry Warren	Composer

Technical Credits

Erwin S. Gelsey

Ben Markson

James Seymour

David Boehm

Mervyn LeRoy	Director
Erwin S. Gelsey	Screenwriter
Ben Markson	Screenwriter
James Seymour	Screenwriter
Robert Lord	Producer
Jack Warner	Producer
David Boehm	Screenwriter
Nathan Levinson	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

One of the best Warner Bros. pre-Production Code musicals, Gold Diggers of 1933 adroitly intertwined a light-hearted yet gritty look at backstage shenanigans involving unemployed showgirls and potential moneymen with choreographer Busby Berkeley's outrageously lavish production numbers, replete with fluid camerawork and overhead compositions. Using the Great Depression rather than ignoring it, Mervyn LeRoy's crisply directed story hinged on survival in hard times, as romance blooms when the pragmatic chorines use their "assets" to charm backers for a new show. Berkeley's "We're in the Money," featuring coin-clad chorus girls and Ginger Rogers singing in pig Latin, and the cheekily smutty "Pettin' in the Park" indicate the movie's dual focus on fiscal troubles and carnality. The downbeat finale, "Remember My Forgotten Man," keeps the film rooted in 1930s reality, despite the escapism offered by Berkeley's visually innovative set pieces and the sweet Ruby Keeler-Dick Powell love story. Although Gold Diggers inspired other "realistic" backstage musicals, the 1934 Production Code discouraged later movies from adopting its frank approach; "Pettin' in the Park" was cut from early TV prints of the film because it was deemed too racy.

All Movie Guide - Lucia Bozzola