Product Details

• Actors: Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, Gene Kelly, Virginia O'Brien, Rags Ragland
• Directors: Roy Del Ruth
• Writers: Buddy G. DeSylva, Herbert Fields, Irving Brecher, Nancy Hamilton, Wilkie C. Mahoney
• Producers: Arthur Freed
• Format: Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• VHS Release Date: February 24, 1995
• Run Time: 101 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6301965647
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #235,528 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Presented in glorious Technicolor, Du Barry Was a Lady is an all-singing, all-dancing musical extravaganza with enough star power to light a major city. Freely adapted from the Cole Porter musical that was a Broadway smash in 1939, this was Lucille Ball's first color film, and after several years of lower-profile movies at RKO, Lucy jumped at the chance to star in an MGM musical, assuming the role that Ethel Merman had played on Broadway. And while Lucy gets plenty of screen time to strut her stuff as the sassy and lovelorn nightclub singer May Daly, the real star of the show is Red Skelton as hat-check boy Louis Blore (played by Bert Lahr on Broadway), whose affection for May is matched by Alec Howe (Gene Kelly), a struggling songwriter with whom May--against her gold-digger instincts--has reluctantly fallen in love. But when newly-rich sweepstakes winner Louis accidentally drinks a "Mickey Finn" intended for Alec, he passes out and dreams of being France's King Louis XV, living in royal splendor and running after the lovely Madame Du Barry (Ball) in the palace at Versailles. It's a comedic spin on The Wizard of Oz, with the contemporary characters (including Zero Mostel in a wacky supporting role) playing their 18th-century counterparts.

This free-form premise is merely a clever excuse for an eye-candy feast of musical comedy, and Du Barry Was a Lady works best as a smorgasbord of all-star entertainment, from the jazzy swing of Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra (with Buddy Rich on drums) to the grand-scale production numbers featuring the splendidly costumed Vargas girls (made famous in the pages of Esquire magazine) and Gene Kelly at his fancy-footed best. It's a veritable explosion of Technicolor fun (this DVD transfer is nothing short of spectacular), and in addition to some fine singing by Virginia O'Brien, vigilant movie buffs can spot Lana Turner in a small, uncredited role. Also included in The Lucille Ball Film Collection, this delightful DVD includes two short subjects from 1943: "Seeing Hands" is an Oscar-nominated "Pete Smith Specialty" short about Ben Helwig, who overcame blindness to become a gifted machinist; the film's progressive message encourages industry to hire persons with disabilities who can make a valuable contribution to wartime industry. Also included is the MGM "Barney Bear" cartoon "Bah, Wilderness," and a faded print of the original theatrical trailer for Du Barry Was a Lady, which really makes you appreciate the dazzling Technicolor of the full-length feature. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars HAVING A BALL WITH LUCY..., August 29, 2002

By 

"scotsladdie" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dubarry Was a Lady [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Red plays a hat check boy who's nuts over Lucy, a sassy showgirl who pays him no attention whatsoever. All of this changes when Skelton hits a $75,000 jackpot...Lucy agrees to get engaged to Red although she has a crush on Gene Kelly. Red mistakenly drinks a "mickey finn" which was intended for Kelly - in order to prevent him from attending the engagement party - and the rest of the film is a clever dream sequence with Lucy as Mme.DuBarry, Skelton as a King and Kelly the master of derring-do...Zero Mostel is amusing as the comedy psychic and there's a cute cameo by Lana Turner. While this movie version of the famous Broadway show which starred Ethel Merman and Bert Lahr was completely white-washed in order to pacify the blue-nosed Hays office, this film should at least be a fun-fest for those who love Lucy. Critics were especially harsh on this movie when it was released back in 1943 because the original show was bawdy, risque and totally charming: however, Lucy fans will be astonished at how gorgeous she looks here.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great musical comedy, June 6, 2002

By 

Kaji - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dubarry Was a Lady [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This movie was funny, fun costumes, great songs. You could tell why Red Skelton wasn't famous for his singing, but he still did a great job. And watching "I Love Lucy" for years, hearing Lucielle Ball sing in this (at the beginning), it's hard for me believe that that's her voice. I'm not sure. I think it is, but like I said, it's hard to believe. At the end, you KNOW it's her. Gene Kelly has a somewhat small role in this movie, but he's still the wonderful song and dance guy we know so well. My favorite songs are Red Skelton's song: "Esquire Girl", and I believe Virginia O'Brien plays Ginny (?) the Cigar and Cigarette Girl's song "Salomi" that's a fun one to listen to too. It's not my favorite movie, but it's a great one.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful Movie, December 19, 2001

By 

Michael Puckett (Little Rock, AR United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dubarry Was a Lady [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Now don't get me wrong, `Dubarry Was A Lady' Is not the best Movie Musical I 've ever seen, but it is one of the prettiest. I can't figure out how they where able to achieve such a creamy coloration in the film but the rich pastels used on the sets and costumes are just stunning.

There are some wonderful big band numbers with Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra, featuring Dick Haymes. And there is a campy `Salmome' number by the wonderful Virginia O'Brien that is worth watching the entire movie for. Red Skelton has a good time with his duel role, and Gene Kelly looks great and does one nice dance routine, but he mostly sits around mooning over Lucille Ball.

Speaking of Lucille Ball, this was her big debut at MGM, and MGM's first full Techincolor musical. The glamour department certainly did it's job on Lucy's tranformation from RKO frump, to MGM siren, she looks incredible! Her firey red hair and trim figure were perfectly set off by the beautiful contemporary costumes, and she looks great in the powdered wigs, and period costumes as well!

Give it a look, you will be entertained!