Movies:
Lady Be Good
- Rating:
- Genre: Musical
- Movie Type: Showbiz Drama, Musical Drama
- Themes: Musician's Life, Foibles of Marriage, Ladder to the Top
- Director: Norman Z. McLeod
- Main Cast: Eleanor Powell, Ann Sothern, Robert Young, Lionel Barrymore, John Carroll
- Release Year: 1941
- Country: US
- Run Time: 111 minutes
Plot
The 1924 George Gershwin stage hit Lady Be Good was brought to the screen by MGM; any resemblance (beyond the Gershwin score) to the original play is purely accidental. The MGM scriveners came up with a new story concerning married songwriters Ann Sothern and Robert Young, who can't live with each other and can't live without each other. Top billing goes to dancing star Eleanor Powell, who certainly deserves it. Red Skelton is around and about as well, inserting a few much-needed laughs. While such Gershwin songs as "So Am I", "Fascinating Rhythm" and "Hang on Me" are well showcased, the hit of the evening is a new song by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II, the Oscar-winning "The Last Time I Saw Paris". Our favorite scene: Ann Sothern and Robert Young composing "Lady be Good" out of thin air in two minutes flat! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie GuideReview
"How many songs makes a musical?" is a question that Hollywood and Broadway answered quite differently in the 1930s and 1940s. On Broadway, a typical musical would have at least a dozen songs; in Hollywood, four or five was more frequently the norm, despite the fact that often the musical numbers were the film's sole reason for existing. Lady Be Good has five (plus reprises), and they're mostly winners. The most impressive number is "Fascinating Rhythm," which is danced to a fare-thee-well by Eleanor Powell, the Berry Brothers and 80 chorus boys (and which also features five pianos and a 65-foot chiffon curtain). Powell also shows off her impressive terpsichorean skills during the title number -- with a dog as her partner. Most of the singing is handled by Ann Sothern and Robert Young, with Sothern sounding particularly good on both a slow and a swing version of "You'll Never Know." Sothern also sings "The Last Time I Saw Paris," a tremendous hit and an Oscar winner, more because of the wartime context than the actual quality of the song. When Lady isn't singing or dancing, there are a lot of dry patches, but if a viewer sticks with her, he'll be reasonably entertained. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie GuideCast
- Eleanor Powell - Marilyn Marsh
- Ann Sothern - Dixie Donegan
- Robert Young - Eddie Crane
- Lionel Barrymore - Judge Murdock
- John Carroll - Buddy Crawford
Richard "Red" Skelton - Joe "Red" Willet; Virginia O'Brien - Lull; Tom Conway - Mr. Blanton; Dan Dailey - Bill Pattison; Reginald Owen - Max Milton; Rose Hobart - Mrs. Carter Wardley; Phil Silvers - M.C.; Warren Berry - Berry Brother; Connie Russell - Singer; Jimmy Dorsey; Edward Gargan - Policeman; Doris Day - Debutante
