Dancing Lady (1933)

An attractive dancer is rescued from jail by a rich man, who helps her to have her first big opportunity at a musical play on Broadway.

Director:

Robert Z. Leonard

Writers:

Allen Rivkin (screenplay), P.J. Wolfson (screenplay),

Stars:

Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Franchot Tone

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joan Crawford	...	Janie Barlow
Clark Gable	...	Patch Gallagher
Franchot Tone	...	Tod Newton
May Robson	...	Dolly Todhunter - Tod's Grandmother
Winnie Lightner	...	Rosette LaRue
Fred Astaire	...	Himself
Robert Benchley	...	Ward King
Ted Healy	...	Steve - Patch's Assistant
Arthur Jarrett	...	Himself (as Art Jarrett)
Grant Mitchell	...	Jasper Bradley, Sr.
Nelson Eddy	...	Himself
Maynard Holmes	...	Jasper Bradley, Jr.
Sterling Holloway	...	Pinky - the Show's Author
Gloria Foy	...	Vivian Warner
Moe Howard	...	Moe - Stagehand

Storyline

Janie lives to dance and will dance anywhere, even stripping in a burlesque house. Tod Newton, the rich playboy, discovers her there and helps her get a job in a real Broadway musical being directed by Patch. Tod thinks he can get what he wants from Janie, Patch thinks Janie is using her charms rather than talent to get to the top, and Janie thinks Patch is the greatest. Steve, the stage manager, has the Three Stooges helping him manage all the show girls. Fred Astaire and Nelson Eddy make appearances as famous Broadway personalities.

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Plot Keywords:

dancer | director | jail | burlesque | producer | 

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Genres:

Musical | Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 November 1933 (USA)

Also Known As:

A táncoló hölgy

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$923,055 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Fred Astaire wore his classic top hat and tails this film, his first.

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Goofs

While chasing Patch, Janie is splashed by mud from a passing car; when she hops out of a cab minutes later, her shoes and stockings are clean.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Girl with Tod: I don't like the looks of this place Todd.
Tod Newton: Ah, come on. You'll get a lot of laughs.

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Connections

Edited into Yellow Submarine (1968)

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Soundtracks

"Heigh-Ho, the Gang's All Here"
(1933)
(In the credits as "Heigh Ho")
Music by Burton Lane
Lyrics by Harold Adamson
Sung and Danced by Fred Astaire (uncredited), Joan Crawford (uncredited) and chorus

User Reviews

A Hollywood Curio

Perhaps the most eclectic cast in movie history. Here we have Clark Gable and Joan Crawford, Franchot Tone in his man-about-town mode, Fred Astaire playing himself in his movie debut, Nelson Eddy in his second film, Robert Benchley contrasting with Ted Healy and the Three Stooges, (in by far their most prominent role before the TV era) and even a young Eve Arden. Gable spends the film snarling at everybody and demanding that they produce a "modern, up-to-date musical" that's about what's happening now. Somehow this morphs into a finale in which Astaire and Crawford are prancing about in liederhosen, (which has a relevance to 1933 they perhaps didn't anticipate). What it all proves it that MGM, while it had the know-how to make the greatest musicals of all-time in the 1940's and 1950's, just didn't quite "get it" yet in 1933. RKO and Warners were still miles ahead of them.