Dancing Lady (1933)

fine MGM film with great acting and show stopping musical numbers
Dancing Lady is a wonderful early MGM musical. The convincing acting impressed me and the plot moves along at a good pace.

The action begins with Janie Barlow (Joan Crawford) and her pal Rosette (Winnie Lightner) dancing in a burlesque show. One drunken man nearly tears off Janie's blouse leaving her almost topless; and that's precisely the moment when the cops raid the place. They're all hauled off to jail. However, Janie gets out pretty quickly--it seems that a very wealthy would-be suitor, Tod Newton (Franchot Tone), bails Janie out to get to know her better. Eventually Tod helps get Janie a small part in an upcoming Broadway production. It is during rehearsals that Janie becomes much more familiar with the director Patch Gallagher (Clark Gable).

Of course, Tod has his eyes on Janie; and he tries to woo her every way that he can. He arranges with the head boss to have Janie paid for rehearsing, although in reality Tod is paying her through the head boss. Tod takes Janie to his home for a fancy swim and he eventually goes to extremes to win Janie's love.

Meanwhile, during rehearsals for the show Patch starts to have feelings for Janie even though he tries to fight them off. Janie does seem more comfortable with Patch than she is with Tod, too.

What happens next? The plot could go anywhere from here. Will Janie marry Tod as he wants her to? What will happen, if anything, between Patch and Janie? What happens when the production is suddenly closed down? How will the show go on--if it goes on at all? No spoilers here, folks, you'll just have to watch the film to find out.

The choreography is wonderful in every dance scene; and the theater scenes within the movie are very well done. The cinematography works well, too.

Overall Dancing Lady is a fine early MGM musical that some say is MGM's answer to 42nd Street. This is a wonderful movie for fans of Joan Crawford and Clark Gable. Look also for a great performance by Franchot Tone as Tod Newton; and there's also some comic relief by The Three Stooges. In addition, there are numerous stunning visual effects and a show stopping number or two toward the end of the film even if the Bavarian number is a bit unusual.

Enjoy!

"Occupation: Hipswinging!"
Janie Barlow (Joan Crawford) is a dancer; she'll do anything to dance, including dance in a strip show. She's quite a beautiful girl, and despite her low standards, she draws the attention of a wealthy playboy Tod Newton (Franchot Tone). He uses his monetary influence to get her a small part in a big show, directed by Patch Gallagher (Clark Gable). He takes a shine to her, but hides it by being mean to her. She's torn between Tod and her career, which seems to be flourishing in front of her very eyes.

I've always loved Joan Crawford, especially the gorgeous Joan of the early '30s, so this movie is an absolute delight for me. It helps that two wonderful actors join her: hubby Franchot Tone and lover Clark Gable. They're flanked by some major stars making early film appearances: the Three Stooges, Fred Astaire, and Nelson Eddy. Not bad for an early musical. This one is pretty innovative too with all of the moving camera shots and Busby Berkeley-like dancing sequences. This film is completely saccharine and not the kind of film you learn something from, but it is completely entertaining and a joy to watch.

Also included on this DVD are two musical shorts featuring one or more of the Three Stooges. Plane Nuts stars Ted Healy and his Stooges in a cute short with the group in their very early stage. Each stooge is very funny in his own right, but it is interesting to see how differently they behaved when they first began. This short features popular music of the era. Roast Beef and Movies is a technicolor short featuring Curly Howard.

"Slumming in ermine"
Frequent co-stars Joan Crawford and Clark Gable are very memorable indeed in DANCING LADY, perhaps the most popular of their films. Their unique chemistry carries over perfectly from the screen. Also appearing in this movie is Franchot Tone, who would go on to marry Crawford two years later.

DANCING LADY was filmed by M-G-M in 1933 as their answer to rival studio Warner Brothers' hugely-successful "42nd Street", choreographed by Busby Berklely. The formula is copied in DANCING LADY with a fair degree of success. Joan Crawford plays Janie Barlow, a street-smart burlesque dancer who finally hits the bright lights of Broadway...but will she marry the society gent who picked her up from the gutter, or her hard-boiled Broadway director?

As mentioned above, the musical numbers are very reminiscent of those choreographed by Busby Berkeley for "42nd Street"--even the final number, "Rhythm of the Day", is staged as a direct parody of the title song in "42nd Street". This was Crawford's return to the glittery musicals that had made her name, following a series of successful ("Grand Hotel", "Letty Lynton") and not-so-successful ("Rain", "Today We Live") comedies and dramas.

Clark Gable and Franchot Tone are well-cast in the two leading male roles. The movie also features early screen appearances from The Three Stooges and Fred Astaire, plus a singing cameo from Nelson Eddy. For fans of the classic musicals, it's hard to resist DANCING LADY.

The DVD also features two Vitaphone musical shorts ("Plane Nuts" and "Roast-Beef & the Movies"), plus the trailer. Also available as part of [[ASIN:B000F7CMRC Clark Gable - The Signature Collection (Dancing Lady / China Seas / San Francisco / Wife vs. Secretary / Boom Town / Mogambo)]]