Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)

Millionaire turned composer Dick Powell rescues unemployed Broadway people with a new play.

Director:

Mervyn LeRoy

Writers:

Erwin S. Gelsey (screenplay), James Seymour (screenplay),

Stars:

Warren William, Joan Blondell, Aline MacMahon

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Warren William	...	Lawrence
Joan Blondell	...	Carol
Aline MacMahon	...	Trixie
Ruby Keeler	...	Polly
Dick Powell	...	Brad
Guy Kibbee	...	Peabody
Ned Sparks	...	Barney
Ginger Rogers	...	Fay

Storyline

Barney Hopkins is producing a new show on Broadway, but the day before it opens, the set and costumes are confiscated due to unpaid bills. Everybody is sitting in the street, and due to the Depression, there is no work for the three chorus girls Carol, Trixie and Polly. But they hear rumors that Barney is producing a new show. They talk to him, and he promises to give them work - when he finds a backer to produce the new show. Barney hears the tunes of the composer next door, Brad Roberts, Polly's friend. Brad joins them and agrees to back the show. On opening night Brad takes over for the juvenile lead, who is suffering from lumbago. Brad has been very publicity-shy, because he is a member of an upper-class wealthy Boston family. When his family hears what he is doing, his brother Lawrence and the family attorney Peabody come to New York, to end his relationship with Polly. But Lawrence mistakes Carol for Polly, who does not correct his mistake. Lawrence decides to separate Polly and...

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Plot Keywords:

chorus girl | composer | rainstorm | marriage proposal | song | 

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Taglines:

REVEL IN THESE MIGHT SPECTACLES -- "The Parade of the Gold Diggers" "The Stairway to the Stars" "The Flower Garden of Girls" "The Ballet of the Snows" "The Dance of the Singing Violins" "The Pageant of the Forgotten Man"

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Musical

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 May 1933 (USA)

Also Known As:

High Life

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$433,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min 97 min (Turner library print)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The play "The Gold Diggers" by Avery Hopwood opened at the Lyceum Theatre in New York on 30 September 1919 and closed in June 1920 after 282 performances. The opening night cast included Ina Claire and Lilyan Tashman.

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Goofs

At 1:18 into film Lawrence (Warren William) is on his bed with an ice pack, Peabody (Guy Kibbee) sitting next to him. Lawrence gets up and undoes the sash of his robe, but in the very next shot the sash is completely tied, as it had been before.

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Quotes

Barney Hopkins: It's all about the Depression.
Carol King: We won't have to rehearse that.

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Connections

Featured in The Story of Film: An Odyssey: Episode #1.4 (2011)

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Soundtracks

"The Gold Diggers' Song (We're in the Money)"
(1933) (uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Al Dubin
Played during the opening credits and often in the score
Performed by Ginger Rogers (in English and Pig-Latin) and chorus
Played also as dance music by a band

User Reviews

THE HAPPY ENDING IS NOT THE END.

There is a pattern to 1930's Hollywood musicals; struggle to put on show proceeds alongside struggle for love to conquer all. And in the end both struggles are successfully concluded. It is a pattern that is broken by "Gold Diggers Of 1933". Sure, all of the usual elements are in place, including the Hungry, Penniless Showgirl Depression setting. But where this movie differs is in the fact that after the various plot strands are neatly tied up, it doesn't end. Instead, we are treated to the last big production number,"My Forgotten Man", as downbeat as it was possible to get in 30's Hollywood. All the Busby Berkeley musicals paid lip service to the Great Depression, but this one goes much further, as "My Forgotten Man" was the last, most enduring image of the film, and the one that audiences left the theatre with. It's placement was a brave decision on the part of whoever made it, and it would be interesting to learn of the public reaction at the time. Because while it is undoubtedly true that in an era of deprivation, you can't blithely make movies that are totally divorced from reality, it's equally true that people want to be reassured there is a better life, and they won't be scratching around in the dirt forever. Personally, I love the number, and it's placement. It's something that has fascinated me since my very first viewing 7 years ago, but it seems to be a point that not a lot of critics have picked up on. Perhaps it wasn't so unusual after all!