Customer Reviews

Gold Diggers of 1933

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So Ned Sparks promises chorus girls Aline MacMahon, Ruby Keeler, Joan Blondell, and Ginger Rogers in this wonderful pre-Code movie about mounting a successful Broadway show during the height of the Great Depression. This is really two shows in one: The first concerns the aforementioned mounting of the show, with music and lyrics by likeable but mysterious Dick Powell, Ruby's new boyfriend. The second, and my favorite of the two, is how Dick's older brother and legal guardian, banker Warren William, arrives in town to pay off Dick's girlfriend. Trouble is, when he and friend Guy Kibbee arrive at the showgirls' apartment, they mistakenly believe Joan Blondell is the squeeze. This is where she and Aline decide to take the two swells for all their worth, like any self-respecting golddigger would have to. Expert comedic scenes follow as the two big businessmen are putty in the hands of the chorusgirls. This is the first time I ever saw Warren William, and when he puts the moves on Joan Blondell, I knew I had to find more movies with him. Losing his Boston reserve through too many drinks, he tells her he loves her, holding her with such passion as he kisses her that all her resistance melts away--this is the sexiest celluloid kiss I've ever seen. He's just incredible. And all this is in addition to Harry Warren's great score, including the naughty "Pettin' in the Park" , megahit "We're in the Money", romantic "Shadow Waltz", and the grand finale piece, "Remember My Forgotten Man", a paen to the fate of the WWI vets now on breadlines and living a Depression tramp's life. Consider "Golddiggers of 1933" as a time capsule back to the Great Depression's frothiest comedies--open and enjoy!

This movie, Gold Diggers of 1933, is one of those excellent classics that time cannot render dated or corny in any way. How's about those musical numbers with that Busby Berkeley incredibly talented touch? How's about the cinematography? And how's about the casting of Ginger Rogers, Joan Blondell, Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, and many more talented actors to make this film so very, very special! (Indeed, look for Busby Berkeley himself in the movie playing the role of the Call Boy!)

Although the principle plot concerns three young women desperately trying to make it during the depths of the Great Depression, viewers even today can relate to the tough economic times for many people throughout the world currently. The three young women, along with Dick Powell, try to put on a show but Brad's (Dick Powell's) older brother wants to get him away from what he feels is the cheap and tasteless world of the theater. And there's laughs, too! To keep the laughs coming there is some game playing--to the hilt! The girls convince Brad's older brother that Polly, Brad's girlfriend, is actually someone else! The girls then proceed to con J. Lawrence Bradford (Brad's older brother and trustee of his estate) and his sidekick (the family lawyer) into buying them hats, furs, pet dogs, and even a car! After many shenanigans there's a happy ending-but I won't spoil it for you here! GRIN

Meanwhile there's another plot going on--that of putting on the show so they can all become rich and famous. Of course, the numbers they perform are stellar and classic, and leave the question: how could they ever get a Broadway stage to accommodate all these actors at once in real life? But you know what? The answer is: who cares? GRIN The electric violins, fade-ins and choreography are very well done for the movies of the time and overall the movie holds your attention extremely well.

The movie ends with a spectacular number "The Forgotten Man." This was at the time a tribute to the World War One veterans who were now reduced to standing on breadlines for the little food they could obtain. The singing is superb, principally sung by Joan Blondell and Etta Moten. The audience sees the marching of the veterans which represents the struggles and battle they faced constantly during the war; then you see the men standing on breadlines and being chased away by police when they have nowhere to sleep but the sidewalk. I also agree with the reviewer who writes that they were reminded of the Vietnam War by this number. Very sad; and superbly done!

Other great numbers in the movie, as you may already know, are the opening number of "We're In The Money" and "Pettin' In The Park," which was extremely racy for its time. You will love these numbers!

The quality of the sound and image is excellent. The tape played well in my VCR. Of course, you don't get the extras you would have gotten on a DVD--can we get this on DVD, anyone? SMILE

I recommend this movie for classic film fans and fans of the numerous stars in the film. The musical numbers are excellent and every bit of what you'd expect from Busby Berkeley. This film is hard to find-for a good reason! It's excellent-buy it! GRIN

This film opens with a highly polished and extravagant musical number. All of the girls involved are absolutely gorgeous and wear giant coins over their scantily clad bodies. The number immediately grabs the viewer's attention. The song "We're in the Money" is sung by a young Ginger Rogers who delights by singing a section in pig latin. It is an ironic way to open the film because the subject is partially about struggling actors during the great depression.

The story itself centers on three actresses who room together. They are out of work because of the depression. One of them, played by Ruby Keeler, has her mind on the boy next door played by Dick Powell. She, along with her room mates played by Joan Blondell and Aline MacMahon, convince Powell to write the music for a new show they're putting on with an old friend. Powell also becomes producer.

The major number that comes from that show is "Pettin' in the Park," a risqué song about, well, pettin' in the park. Powell says that he's read that exercise in the park is what he needs. The lyrics remark, "Come on; I've been waiting long. Why don't we get started? Come on; maybe this is wrong. But gee, what of it? We just love it!" The song proceeds to turn into a dance break with a fun little sequence. However, some parts are rather shocking for the era like the silhouettes of women undressing and the finale in which a woman's chastity belt is cut open.

The story continues. The three girls learn that Powell is actually a rich man and that his brother has been sent to stop him from marrying Keeler (who thank goodness has not been given too many lines which she could have used to ruin the film!). The girls trick the brother into thinking Blondell is the fiancée and she plays a gold digger to the hilt. The scheme is fun and filled with great one-liners like, "Aww, you're as light was a hefer- uh, feather!" The subject of the final trick is again quite risqué for 1933. It would have never made it in the film had it been made during the production code.

Dick Powell's character is also something to marvel about. It was unique to find a mischievous grown man in films then.

"In the Shadows" is the next big song, a typical Busby Berkeley visual orgasm. The lyrics of the song are pretty and match the costumes which are reminiscent of the fairy costumes in Fantasia. The beginning of the song is illustrated by shadows that fit the subject, but the ending roams into a less fitting but still thrilling display.

The finale, "The Forgotten Man," is the most serious part of the film and is a commentary on life in the Depression. Blondell speaks the opening and she does so extremely well. She does not read the lines like a poem; she speaks them like they were her own. She seems very emotionally involved. The scenes in the song play similarly to the finale "42nd Street" in the film of the same name. This song is hard-hitting and should be as remembered as a symbol of the Depression as "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime" is.

I've heard of this movie for years, but didn't actually see it until last week when Turner Classic Movies ran it. And it is positively stunning!! On the surface, it moves almost like a carbon copy of 42ND STREET- right up to the last-minute switch in players before the curtain goes up (although in this film, it's Dick Powell instead of Ruby Keeler). But its astringent look at trying to play Tin Pan Alley smack in the middle of the Depression gives it a very adult and tragic significance. It still has the Berkley dazzle- from the "Shadow Waltz" chorus girls (and electric violins) to the now-legendary "We're In The Money" dress rehearsal fronted by a pre-Astaire Ginger Rogers. (I was a teenager when my mother mentioned that one verse of this song was actually sung in Pig Latin- and I swore for twenty-five years that she was pulling my chain! It is easily one of the funniest and cleverest vocal interludes I've ever seen in a musical.) But the three girls implied in the film's title- Ruby Keeler, Aline McMahon, and especially the sharp, smart, and gorgeous Joan Blondell- are the best things in the movie. And Blondell fronts the sublime finale number "Forgotten Man-" which pays tribute to the men (and women) of WWI and the ironies which followed. The staging of it- the marching which goes from triumphant to tragic, the torchy vocal of Etta Moten (the black woman sitting in the windowsill), and the pullback shot of everyone coming downstage at the fadeout- is truly spectacular.

The plot of Gold Diggers of 1933 echoes the usual "let's put on a show" backstage musical theme of the 1930s. This time the story gravitates towards 3 struggling showgirls - Polly (Ruby Keeler), Carol (Joan Blondell) and Trixie (Aline MacMahon) - eking out a living during the depression. They get a break when a Broadway producer hires them for his new show, along with their songwriting neighbor Brad Roberts (Dick Powell), whom Polly favors. But all is not well. The producer (Ned Sparks) doesn't have the cha-ching to front the show. So Brad, who actually comes from a wealthy, blueblood family, puts up the money. Another complication arises when Brad's snobby upper-class family finds out about Brad's "slumming". His older brother Lawrence (Warren William) shows up and attempts to sever Brad's relationships with the play and with his gal Polly.

A quick note about Dick Powell's three-part movie career. There was his more driven, more cynical persona of the war and post-war era. Then his venture into producing and directing. But before all that, during the 1930s, Hollywood featured a more impish Powell, who delivered with a smooth crooning style and a natural charisma. His Brad Roberts is quinessential Dick Powell. Ruby Keeler was a reluctant movie star and left Hollywood in 1941 to be a homemaker. Yet her star potential was obvious to everyone who saw her films and her next-door girl appeal is apparent in this movie. Joan Blondell again does very good work as the clever, sassy blonde who's true to her friends and is someone to not trifle with. Ginger Rogers is not the star here but she stands out in her cameo scenes and she does warble the classic opening song "We're in the Money". The story I read somewhere is that Rogers was goofing around during a break and sung a chorus in pig Latin, which director Mervyn Leroy liked and included in the film.

I particularly liked the tunes "We're in the Money" and "Pettin' in the Park". "In the Shadows" is a typically glitzy Berkeley production, featuring chorus girls with violins. The finale is comprised of the extravaganza "The Forgotten Man", the movie's 7-minute homage to the people of the Great Depression and it adds a touch of solemnity to an otherwise frivolous and carefree film. Joan Blondell conveys that number's opening soliloquy with teary-eyed sincerity and Etta Moten sings the song with bluesy conviction.

At the time Gold Diggers of 1933 was released, America was still in the throes of the Great Depression. The beleaguered masses went to the movies to be distracted for a while and to imagine a better way of life, and they came in droves for this Gold Diggers entry. And why not? It's a perfect complement of great stars, wonderful songs, and lavish, intricate Busby Berkeley choreography. It's as good as it gets.

This movie is great in that it shows what our culture was like in the 1930s-At the beginning of the film a very young Ginger Rogers does an amazing "We're in the Money' and even does a whole verse in 'Pig-Latin'-who today even remembers talking like that?
Great dance sequences-maybe considered somewhat hokey with all the kaleidescope effects-but after our country was just coming out of the great depression people needed stuff like this.
Also a lot of work went into these musicals and they are simply worth it just for the costumes and art decco alone even if you don't like the plot.

Along with 1933's FOOTLIGHT PARADE, this is the epitome of thirties musical extravaganzas! Carol King, Trixie Lorraine & Polly Parker (Joan Blondell, Aline MacMahon & Ruby Keeler respectively) are three out-of-work showgirls living together in a cheap New York City apartment. The girls are down to scotch mist and brass buttons when their rival Fay Fortune (Ginger Rogers, in a sassy performance) informs the poverty-stricken trio that Barney Hopkins (Ned Sparks) is producing a new show. Barney admits he has no financial backers, but an acquaintance of Polly's - Brad Roberts (the let's-slap-the-smile-off-his-face Dick Powell) offers to put up the money, provided that Polly is featured in the show...A true classic gem of 2Oth century film, this fascinating time capsule is guaranteed to keep the viewer enthralled until the fadeout. Where else can you see a sexpot named Ginger Rogers warble - in giant close-ups - WE'RE IN THE MONEY - in pig latin, yet * Joan Blondell doing her eerie REMEMBER MY FORGOTTON MAN * the incredible SHADOW WALTZ & other various Busby Berkeley delights. For trivia fanatics: the famous Long Beach earthquake short-circuited the ladies playing their neon violins during production. As Trixie Lorraine, Aline MacMahon is perfection personified: a hilarious performance, right on the money. Joan Blondell does her usual best as Carol, the true-blue gal who poses as Polly. Warren William, Guy Kibbee & Ned Sparks are all first-rate, lending the film each of their own unique personalities and playing with zesty relish. Viewers can even see silly Sterling Holloway in a fun bit as a messenger boy. They definitely don't make 'em like this anymore!

Here's something you wouldn't expect: A film that takes the sombre topic of the Depression and turns it into a comedic musical. Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler, and Aline MacMahon star as chorus girls looking for a break as Broadway shows keep closing due to the impact of the Great Depression. Ruby has fallen in love with a composer, Dick Powell, who turns out to be quite wealthy and able to finance his own musical. However, his stuffy brother does not approve of the match and decides to do something about it. A comedy of errors ensues. The cast are all good with this kind of material, with Blondell and especially MacMahon as standouts. The songs are dated for my tastes, although the finale "The Forgotten Man" still packs a punch and is well staged and performed by Blondell. The movie has the kind of spectacle you would expect from a Busby Berkeley choreographed musical. It's interesting to see a movie take the topic of the Great Depression and turn it into a funny and entertaining musical. Oddly enough, it works quite well!!

"Golddiggers of 1933" is the second of 3 great musicals Warner Brothers released in 1933. The first was "42nd Street", the prototype for all backstage musicals and a dark and sombre film. The second was this one, based on a straight play and with one theme - the Depression. The third, "Footlight Parade", placed the emphasis on success, supporting Roosevelt and the New Deal.

"Golddiggers" benefits from a really funny screenplay and the talents of the acerbic Aline MaMahon and the versatile Joan Blondell. These two dominate the film and rightly so. Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell are back as the ingenue leads. Keeler is still clunky with her delivery of her lines and Powell is nauseatingly cheerful, but, in fairness, their parts must have looked pretty awful on paper. They both would improve. Guy Kibbee plays opposite MacMahon and they were so good together that Warner's subsequently paired them in a number of straight films. The plot is good enough to stand alone without Busby Berkely's numbers but they become the icing on the cake. "Shadow Waltz" is charming and pointless creating beautiful images to the lilting song. "Pettin in the Park" would not have survived after the Censorship was enforced a year later and is notably venal. It is almost a celebration of voyeurism. The best of all is the number with which the film ends. "Remember my Forgotten Man" is an extraordinary comment on the treatment of ex-pats, a powerful and moving political statement. Joan Blondell, the best non singer ever, narrates the lyrics and uses her superior acting skills, her body and underplayed gestures to portray a prostitute memorably. It is a great performance.

The print of the film is outstanding and the DVD comes with a generous list of extras. There is a documentary on the film "42nd Street" and a short on the promotion of that film which makes one thinks that the producers of the DVD made a slip up - good material, wrong DVD. Another matching documentary focuses on this film. There are 2 short films, one of which showcases radio stars all of whom are forgettable except Sylvia Frooze, of the unusual name but excellent voice and screen presence. The second short features Lita Chaplin, one of Charlie's wives. She has a pleasant voice too but a somewhat stiff presence and a very young Sammy Davis Jnr appears in the short with her. The Merrie Melody cartoons are wonderful with the usual detailed drawings and great orchestrations. One features characterisations of Crosby, Garbo, Zasu Pitts, Mae West, Cagney and Blondell, Ben Burnie, Wheeler and Woolsey and others. There is also a comprehensive set of Trailers for all the films in the series; once again, maybe this was meant to be on the "42nd Street" DVD.

The DVD is excellent value and even better if purchased as part of the Warner's Busby Berkeley Set.

one of busby's best.ruby's adorable, alice macmahon is hilarious, and Joand Blendell is wonderful, especially on "forgotten man" Ginger Rogers is Fay Fortune, the rival of those three. (mostly just alice)she sings "we're in the money" in pig latin, and steals every scene she'a in. (about 6) but she's still hilarious.
Ginger: If Mr Brown could see me in clothes... (meaning repesctable clothes of course)
Alice: He wouldn't recongniza ya!