Main Cast: Warren William, Joan Blondell, Aline MacMahon, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell
Release Year: 1933
Country: US
Run Time: 96 minutes
Plot
The second talkie version of the Avery Hopwood's theatrical war-horse The Golddiggers of Broadway, Gold Diggers of 1933 was the second of three back-to-back 1933 Warner Bros. musicals benefiting from the genius of Busby Berkeley. The basic plot is retained from the Hopwood play: Showgirls Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler and Aline McMahon attempt to find financial backing for the new show planned by producer Ned Sparks. Songwriter Dick Powell, an incognito man of wealth, offers to put up the money, a fact that brings down the wrath of his older brother Warren William, who despises show folk. Attempting to buy off the three girls, William is placed in a compromising position by the crafty Blondell and is compelled to bankroll the musical himself. The oddest aspect of Gold Diggers of 1933 is the fact that the mood of the songs is wildly at variance with the plot. The film begins with dozens of chorus girls (led by Ginger Rogers) happily chirping "We're In the Money", a rehearsal number interrupted when the finance men burst in to claim the sets and props from the impoverished troupe. At the end, when everyone is genuinely in the money, the troupe stages a downbeat "Brother Can You Spare A Dime"-style production number, "Remember My Forgotten Man"--and it is on this doleful indictment of the Depression that the film fades out! Other Berkeley-staged musical highlights include "Pettin' in the Park" (yes, that salacious little baby really is Billy Barty) and the neon-dominated "Shadow Waltz", all written by the prolific Harry Warren and Al Dubin. As spectacular as Gold Diggers of 1933 was, it would be topped by the last of Berkeley's 1933 trilogy, Footlight Parade. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
One of the best Warner Bros. pre-Production Code musicals, Gold Diggers of 1933 adroitly intertwined a light-hearted yet gritty look at backstage shenanigans involving unemployed showgirls and potential moneymen with choreographer Busby Berkeley's outrageously lavish production numbers, replete with fluid camerawork and overhead compositions. Using the Great Depression rather than ignoring it, Mervyn LeRoy's crisply directed story hinged on survival in hard times, as romance blooms when the pragmatic chorines use their "assets" to charm backers for a new show. Berkeley's "We're in the Money," featuring coin-clad chorus girls and Ginger Rogers singing in pig Latin, and the cheekily smutty "Pettin' in the Park" indicate the movie's dual focus on fiscal troubles and carnality. The downbeat finale, "Remember My Forgotten Man," keeps the film rooted in 1930s reality, despite the escapism offered by Berkeley's visually innovative set pieces and the sweet Ruby Keeler-Dick Powell love story. Although Gold Diggers inspired other "realistic" backstage musicals, the 1934 Production Code discouraged later movies from adopting its frank approach; "Pettin' in the Park" was cut from early TV prints of the film because it was deemed too racy. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
