Dance, Fools, Dance (1931)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Harry Beaumont

Writers:

Aurania Rouverol (story)
Richard Schayer (continuity)

Release Date:

7 February 1931 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

After her father Stanley Jordan loses his wealth in market, Bonnie goes to work as a cub reporter. Her...

Plot Keywords:

Reporter | Editor | Bootlegging | Marriage Proposal | Undercover Work

Cast

Joan Crawford	...	Bonnie Jordan
Lester Vail	...	Robert 'Bob' Townsend
Cliff Edwards	...	Bert Scranton
William Bakewell	...	Rodney Jordan
William Holden	...	Stanley Jordan
Clark Gable	...	Jake Luva
Earle Foxe	...	Wally Baxter (as Earl Foxe)
Purnell Pratt	...	Mr. Parker - Editor (as Purnell B. Pratt)
Hale Hamilton	...	Mr. Selby
Natalie Moorhead	...	Della
Joan Marsh	...	Sylvia
Russell Hopton	...	Whitey - Luva's Henchman

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Finland:(Banned) (original rating) | USA:Approved

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Before this movie Joan Crawford told people not to have affairs with their leading men until they made three movies together. She and Clark Gable had only made two together, but they started to have an affair during this movie. Afterwards Crawford said she had to eat her words, but that they tasted sweet.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Indie Sex: Censored (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Piano Sonata No. 14 in C Sharp Minor, Op.27 No.2 (Moonlight Sonata)

Very enjoyable example of Joan Crawford's early roles

In real life, Joan Crawford may have been something quite different from the sweet society-girl-turned-reporter she plays in this film, but the audience is not given any reason to suspect it. Crawford is delightful as Bonnie Jordan, the girl who, when her father dies penniless after the stock market crash, goes to work as a reporter to earn her living and is soon dancing at a nightclub in order to solve a murder. The wonderful scene in which she dances the high-kick-and-tap number (in that stunning little sequined dress) is very enjoyable and one of the best scenes in this movie. Miss Crawford gets good support from costar Clark Gable, who, also in the first flush of youth, plays lead mobster Jake Luva, and William Bakewell (the star of Douglas Fairbanks's The Iron Mask), who plays Bonnie's brother Rodney Jordan. The film is better than a lot of others from the Depression era, as the plot goes along without any boring or awkward spots. A movie you should definitely see!