Gold Diggers (1935) | Dick Powell, Adolphe Menjou | Off and beyond the Gold Standard

Gold Diggers (1935) | Dick Powell, Adolphe Menjou | Surrender to it

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Gold Diggers (1935)

	Gold Diggers (1935) Dick Powell, Adolphe Menjou MGM (Warner), 1998 average customer review:based on 10 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Off and beyond the Gold Standard

Everything about this movie is 18 carat plus; and the Lullaby number is stupendous, stellar, astounding, astonishing, awesome, supersonic, ballistic, dazzling, stratospheric, surreal, stomping, incredible, dark, hypercaliginous, threatening, frightening, ominous. Beggars imagination. The rich are very rich, no-one else has anything much. A bed-sitter perhaps. World War Two was on its way, when everyone went crazy. You can still feel the buzz.

Surrender to it

You really need to warm up to GOLD DIGGERS OF 1935. It is essentially a B-movie comedy that was somehow blessed with the best production number of any Hollywood musical--but that's waaaay at the end. If you resist the temptation to fast-foward to the Busby Berekeley numbers, and surrender to the general nuttiness, you'll find the movie is actually pretty funny. Alice Brady, Adolphe Menjou and the fabulous Glenda Farrell are excellent, and even Dick Powell isn't so bad here. Gloria Stuart (of TITANIC fame) has a memorable line:

Hugh Herbert: "Put her to bed with a hot water bottle."

Stuart: "That'll be more fun than I've had in ages."

Also, listen to the orchestrations during the musical numbers. They are first-class arrangements. I cannot even listen to any other version of "Lullaby of Broadway" except the one Wini Shaw sings here--it is the definitive rendition.

BRING ON THE DVD!

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Come on Along and Listen To...

Gold Diggers of 1935 does not live up to the sheer fun and brilliance of the 1933 title, but it is a good early musical to tap your feet to. The plot revolves around a wealthy but stingy woman who brings her son and daughter to a hotel to stay. The daughter (Gloria Stuart of Titanic fame) is engaged to a man obsessed with snuff ()but she really wants to experience a lavish life with plenty of freedom. In order to do so, she promises her mother she will marry the snuff king for a few days of freedom; she is granted her wish under the condition that she be chaperoned by a handsome will-be-doctor (Dick Powell). As predicted, the two fall in love and become involved in a brilliant charity musical.

The musical sequences begin to show signs of modern musicals here; Powell sometimes bursts into song to show emotion. The music used is very charming and sweet and the "Lullaby of Broadway" finale is beautifully extravagant.

There are a few vintage cartoons included on this disk, each open with a disclaimer about the racial issues in them. However, they are hardly noticable; some of the characters are done up in blackface. It is somewhat offensive to those who appreciate the blackface comedy (something performed by both whites and blacks) to put this warning on the films. Must we put these sorts of things on modern shows as well like South Park?

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The Lullaby of Broadway

Another great Busby Berkeley production. However with the same formula and a slight variation it can get a little long in the tooth. However some people can not get enough and it is a shame they will soon have to come to an end. You will see the signature innovative stile that Busby takes this time with pianos and the signature close-ups he is known for.

The story is again the depression. This time a grand hotel is sprucing up for a new season. Matilda Prentiss (Alice Brady) tightwad millionaire must be persuaded to part with money form a charity show. Mean time back at the ranch she hires Dick Curtis (Dick Powell) to escort her daughter Ann Prentiss (Gloria Stuart) and keep her out of trouble. You guessed it the two fall in love. The plot thickens. We have our standard grand finally and signature song.

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seductive & decadent & fascist & fun

the first busby berkeley movie that actually bore the imprimatur "directed by busby berkeley", the film is none too interesting save for the big production numbers. but what else do you judge a berkeley movie by? the bevy of pianos, all coming together as one as if a gigantic jigsaw puzzle is awesome, but of course its merely a warmup for the REAL reason to see this movie: the 15-minute-long mini-film "lullaby of broadway": a mix of the surreal and expressionism set against an art deco world culminating in the heroines death at the hands of a fawning mob. truth be told, im never able to remember which production number belongs in which berkeley movie, but they are always worth your time.

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reviews: page 1, 2

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