Gold Diggers of 1933

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Kyle M Jan 11 Mainly bolstered by impressive set pieces theatrically accounted by size whilst well-performed with minimal sharp deliverance plus reflective commentary, this musical isn’t anything extraordinary with an obligatorily contrived story confounding the characterization that blurs beneath wits. (B) See more I. S. W Feb 21 Best tunes ever were during the prolific popular music period 1920-1996, in my humble opinion. Talent seems to drop off after that, with a few exceptions. So, this musical, released at the height of the depression, has memorable tunes you can sing along to. The thirties tunes rival only the sixties tunes for quality and memorability. Slightly hammy acting and typical thirties plot, but well worth the visual and auditory experience. Ginger Rogers singing in Pig Latin at the beginning is unexpected and entertaining. "Pettin' In the Park" has a cute, multi-cultural aspect. Very inclusive. See more Alec B @Alec97 01/09/2024 Like a lot of these showbiz musicals from the 30s the screenplay is rife with not only clichés but completely similar plot points to five other movies that were released in the same year. That said this has some truly great sequences ("We're in the Money", "Pettin' in the Park", "The Shadow Waltz", and "Remember My Forgotten Man") See more Matthew B 08/24/2023 The 1930s may well be the only decade in history when being a gold digger was something that could be regarded sympathetically. Even 1980s films such as Wall Street which had a character declare that ‘Greed is good' were intended to be viewed ironically, and not with approval. What made the 1930s different was that serious recession was gripping the United States, the worst economic times in recent recorded history. Many people were struggling with crippling unemployment, and had few prospects of finding work. This was reflected in the cinema of the 1930s, where the managers of successful film companies sought to tap into the frustration and wish fulfilment of an audience of cinema-goers who were facing hard times. Gold Diggers of 1933 responded to the Depression by offering up escapist fantasies to the audience, whilst also being grounded in the hard realities of the age. Like many comedies of the era, it is essentially a war of the classes in which the poorer people get the upper hand. However, as might be expected from a movie made by a wealthy film company, this social commentary only goes so far. In the end, the film suggests, what poor people want most of all is to become the very wealthy people they apparently despise. The resentment is tinged with envy, and the glorious displays of prosperity are felt to be more appealing than repugnant. This ambivalence is reflected in the film's opening song, "We're in the Money". An array of leggy dancing girls pass through a doorway with a dollar sign over the top. They are wearing cumbersome dresses made out of coins. At the centre of the group is a familiar figure, here playing a minor supporting role. It is Ginger Rogers, and she is wearing an outfit in which a giant coin is strategically placed around her crotch area. This will be a film in which sex and money are closely linked. Such a display might seem vulgar at a time when many audience members were struggling to pay their bills, but director Mervyn LeRoy and dance choreographer Busby Berkeley knew what they are doing. The words of the song prove to be ironic and hollow when the show is suddenly closed down by the creditors, and the dancers are thrown out of work. From this point on, the film follows the actions of three of the dancing girls. As in other musicals of the early 30s which focus on the dancers, the young ladies are rough diamonds – tough cookies with no airs and graces, who talk in a language that would only be possible in a pre-Code movie. "If Barnie could see me in clothes"…."He wouldn't recognise you". Plot is secondary in any musical to witty one-liners, and, of course, to the great song and dance numbers. The early musicals set the precedent that would be followed for many years of being musicals about making musicals. In a curious self-referential way, Gold Diggers of 1933 is a film about making Gold Diggers of 1933. At the centre of these arrangements was Busby Berkeley, and it is his contribution that makes the film most memorable. His dance arrangements were a curious blend of absurd and inspired, creepy and beautiful. The typical Berkeley dance involves girls with shapely legs and cheesy smiles dancing in such perfect unison that they look like the dance equivalent of the military marches so loved by totalitarian regimes. "Pettin' in the Park" is one of Berkeley's more cheeky numbers, something that is helped by the raunchy lyrics. "Pettin' in the park. Bad boy. Pettin' in the dark. Bad girl….Struggle just a little. Then hug a little". Berkeley includes one of his dazzling arial shots where the dancer hold giant snowballs in such perfect unity that they form shapes when viewed from above. ‘The Shadow Waltz' is the most arrestingly beautiful dance of the film. Spread across an elaborate series of staircases, the dancers perform in billowing dresses while pretending to play violins. Then the lights are switched off, and it emerges that the violins are neon-tubed, and glow in the dark. Being a Berkeley film, this naturally means that the violins must be seen in an overhead shot forming new patterns. At one point the dancers come together to create the shape of a giant violin. Finally a film that begins with "We're in the Money" atones for its ‘disgraceful' celebration of wealth by concluding with a song about the Depression. "Remember My Forgotten Man" was inspired by a Franklin D Roosevelt speech. The song and dance routine depicts the fate of the soldiers who fought in World War One only to come home wounded and weary, and find themselves reduced to visiting soup kitchens. Berkeley's darker imagery suggests the influence of German Impressionism. Thus the musical that begins with a cheerful display of affluence ends with a sombre portrait of poverty. Behind the escapism of the storyline, Mervyn LeRoy and Busby Berkeley showed themselves to have a sensitivity and compassion for a nation that was suffering. The song finishes off one of the best musicals of the early 1930s. I wrote a longer appreciation of Gold Diggers of 1933 on my blog page if you would like to read more: https://themoviescreenscene.wordpress.com/2021/05/08/gold-diggers-of-1933-1933/ See more steve d 01/09/2023 This one is a blast even today. See more george l 02/13/2022 Great movie. A screwball comedy and an American musical rolled into one. See more Read all reviews

Gold Diggers of 1933

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