I'm really struggling with this movie. Although I liked the cynical depression-era humor and the snarky one-liners (in a film that has Joan Blondell, Ginger Rodgers and I guess Ruby Keeler as the big stars, Aline MacMahon as Trixie absolutely steals the show), the plot was just too silly for me. I get that old money heirs finding Broadway girls too cheap and vulgar probably would be a real thing back then, but I just couldn't get invested in the romantic machinations that make up most of the plot.
But just like in 42nd Street, the plot is not the point. And it has to be said, the musical numbers absolutely save the film, even if they are too far and in between. What Busby Berkeley does with the neon violins in the penultimate number alone is worth the price of admission. And then comes the astonishing 'Forgotten Man' closing number. This song laments how the US government has forgotten its WWI veterans that have come home jobless, penniless and homeless. While it is the stylistic highlight of the film, it just felt like such a peculiar note to end the film on, especially after all the silliness that had come before. I guess it does tie in in with the general theme of how the depression had hit everybody and how omnipresent poverty was.
Another musical interlude is 'Pettin' in the park', which is distinctly pre-code. Although I loved the craziness of the choreography which includes skating police officers, a pervy toddler (played by real life dwarf Billy Barty) and Dick Powell opening up Ruby Keeler's outfit with a can opener, the lyrics felt a bit "date-rapey" ("Pettin' in the park. Bad boy. Pettin' in the dark. Bad girl.... Struggle just a little. Then hug a little").
In the end, I am having troubling rating this film. On one hand it didn't really work for me as a real movie and I was often bored throughout the non-musical parts of it. But on the other hand, the musical numbers were just magical and the choreographies even more elaborate than in 42nd Street. Still, I am putting it firmly below 42nd Street, because the plot was a bit more streamlined and somehow those final 2 numbers are even slightly more iconic to me than the two excellent songs that close out "Gold Diggers" (probably both because 42nd Street was actually the first to introduce such inventive choreographies and because I did see it first).
Next up in my marathon will be Footlight Parade, as I am still looking for a film that can incorporate those wonderful Busby Berkeley numbers into an engaging story, in order to create a truly great piece of cinema.
But just like in 42nd Street, the plot is not the point. And it has to be said, the musical numbers absolutely save the film, even if they are too far and in between. What Busby Berkeley does with the neon violins in the penultimate number alone is worth the price of admission. And then comes the astonishing 'Forgotten Man' closing number. This song laments how the US government has forgotten its WWI veterans that have come home jobless, penniless and homeless. While it is the stylistic highlight of the film, it just felt like such a peculiar note to end the film on, especially after all the silliness that had come before. I guess it does tie in in with the general theme of how the depression had hit everybody and how omnipresent poverty was.
Another musical interlude is 'Pettin' in the park', which is distinctly pre-code. Although I loved the craziness of the choreography which includes skating police officers, a pervy toddler (played by real life dwarf Billy Barty) and Dick Powell opening up Ruby Keeler's outfit with a can opener, the lyrics felt a bit "date-rapey" ("Pettin' in the park. Bad boy. Pettin' in the dark. Bad girl.... Struggle just a little. Then hug a little").
In the end, I am having troubling rating this film. On one hand it didn't really work for me as a real movie and I was often bored throughout the non-musical parts of it. But on the other hand, the musical numbers were just magical and the choreographies even more elaborate than in 42nd Street. Still, I am putting it firmly below 42nd Street, because the plot was a bit more streamlined and somehow those final 2 numbers are even slightly more iconic to me than the two excellent songs that close out "Gold Diggers" (probably both because 42nd Street was actually the first to introduce such inventive choreographies and because I did see it first).
Next up in my marathon will be Footlight Parade, as I am still looking for a film that can incorporate those wonderful Busby Berkeley numbers into an engaging story, in order to create a truly great piece of cinema.