Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Director:

Mervyn LeRoy

Writers:

David Boehm (dialogue)
Erwin S. Gelsey (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

27 May 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Musical

Tagline:

The Biggest Show On Earth!

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Composer | Broadway | Chorus Girl | Theater Producer | Milk Bottle

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win

Cast

Warren William	...	J. Lawrence Bradford
Joan Blondell	...	Carol King
Aline MacMahon	...	Trixie Lorraine
Ruby Keeler	...	Polly Parker
Dick Powell	...	Brad Roberts (Robert Treat Bradford)
Guy Kibbee	...	Fanuel H. Peabody
Ned Sparks	...	Barney Hopkins
Ginger Rogers	...	Fay Fortune
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert Agnew	...	Dance director (uncredited)
Loretta Andrews	...	Gold Digger (uncredited)
Monica Bannister	...	Gold Digger (uncredited)
Bonnie Bannon	...	Gold Digger (uncredited)
Joan Barclay	...	Gold Digger (uncredited)
Billy Barty	...	Baby in 'Pettin' in the Park' (uncredited)
Busby Berkeley	...	Call boy (uncredited)
Audrene Brier	...	Gold Digger (uncredited)
Lynn Browning	...	Gold Digger (uncredited)
Maxine Cantway	...	Gold Digger (uncredited)
Margaret Cathew	...	Gold Digger (uncredited)
Hobart Cavanaugh	...	Dog salesman (uncredited)
Kathy Cunningham	...	Gold Digger (uncredited)
Virginia Dabney	...	Gold Digger (uncredited)
Mildred Dixon	...	Gold Digger (uncredited)
Shirley Dunstead	...	Gold Digger (uncredited)
Jay Eaton	...	Diner (uncredited)
Bill Elliott	...	Chorus Boy (uncredited)
Gloria Faythe	...	Gold Digger (uncredited)
June Glory	...	Gold Digger (uncredited)
Sam Godfrey	...	Society reporter (uncredited)
Muriel Gordon	...	Gold Digger (uncredited)
Ferdinand Gottschalk	...	Clubman (uncredited)
Ebba Hally	...	Gold Digger (uncredited)
Theresa Harris	...	Woman in Couple (uncredited)
Grace Hayle	...	Society reporter (uncredited)
Sterling Holloway	...	Messenger boy (uncredited)
Ann Hovey	...	Gold Digger (uncredited)
Amo Ingraham	...	Gold Digger (uncredited)
Alice Jans	...	Gold Digger (uncredited)
Fred Kelsey	...	Det. Jones (uncredited)
Charles Lane	...	Society reporter (uncredited)
Lorena Layson	...	Gold Digger (uncredited)
Cynthia Lindsay	...	Gold Digger (uncredited)
Wallace MacDonald	...	Stage manager (uncredited)
Wilbur Mack	...	Society reporter (uncredited)
Mae Madison	...	Gold Digger (uncredited)
Frank Mills	...	Chorus Boy (uncredited)
Etta Moten	...	Forgotten Man singer (uncredited)
Clarence Nordstrom	...	Don Gordon (uncredited)
Dennis O'Keefe	...	Chorus Boy (uncredited)
Ty Parvis	...	Chorus Boy (uncredited)
Donna Mae Roberts	...	Gold Digger (uncredited)
Churchill Ross	...	Small Blond Man (uncredited)
Jayne Shadduck	...	Gold Digger (uncredited)
Bee Stevens	...	Gold Digger (uncredited)
Anita Thomson	...	Gold Digger (uncredited)
Fred 'Snowflake' Toones	...	Man in Couple (uncredited)
Dorothy Coonan Wellman	...	Gold Digger (uncredited)
Billy West	...	Medal of Honor winner (uncredited)
Dorothy White	...	Gold Digger (uncredited)
Renee Whitney	...	Gold Digger (uncredited)
Charles C. Wilson	...	Deputy (uncredited)
Pat Wing	...	Gold Digger (uncredited)
Jack Wise	...	Mystery man with Bob at stage door (uncredited)
Jane Wyman	...	Gold Digger (uncredited)
Tammany Young	...	Gigolo Eddie (uncredited)

Directed by
Mervyn LeRoy

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
David Boehm		dialogue
Erwin S. Gelsey		writer
Avery Hopwood		play
Ben Markson		dialogue
James Seymour		writer

Produced by
Robert Lord	....	producer
Jack L. Warner	....	producer
Raymond Griffith	....	associate producer (uncredited)

Cinematography by
Sol Polito

Film Editing by
George Amy

Art Direction by
Anton Grot

Costume Design by
Orry-Kelly

Makeup Department
Perc Westmore	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Arthur Lueker	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Buddy Longworth	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Music Department
Leo F. Forbstein	....	musical director
Ray Heindorf	....	music arranger (uncredited)

Other crew
Busby Berkeley	....	dance director

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1933) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. First National Films (1937) (Austria) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1989) (USA) (VHS)
• Turner Entertainment (1989) (USA) (VHS)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1933) (France) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Golddiggers of 1933 (USA) (alternative spelling)
High Life (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:G | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Various people, including director Mervyn LeRoy and choreographer Busby Berkeley, have claimed credit for Ginger Rogers' pig-Latin rendition of "We're in the Money". In her autobiography, Rogers gives the credit to then Warner Bros executive Darryl F. Zanuck.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the violin sequence, the cord for the lights on the violin disappears and reappears throughout.

Quotes:

Faneul H. Peabody: [Fay squeals when Trixie kicks her under the table] What's the matter?
Trixie Lorraine: Oh nothing, Fay had an attack of chiseling, it's chronic with her.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Warner at War (2008) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Forgive Me for Loving You

Striking Gold on Broadway

GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 (Warner Brothers, 1933), based on the 1919 play by Avery Hopwood, is a worthy follow-up to the recent backstage musical success of "42nd Street" (1933). Previously filmed as a 1923 silent, then an early 1929 musical talkie, THE GOLD DIGGERS OF Broadway, followed by sequels in title only, "GOLD DIGGERS OF 1935, 1937," and "IN Paris," the Hopwood plot was later reworked again by Warners in 1951 as PAINTING THE CLOUDS WITH SUNSHINE with Dennis Morgan, but the 1933 edition, in the opinion of many, is the best of them all and one of the few 1930s musicals that can still be seen and appreciated today, thanks to choreographer Busby Berkeley's genius of inventing such remarkable production numbers, and director Mervyn LeRoy's fast-paced story-line.

The plot is divided into two parts. PART I: Roommate show girls, Carol (Joan Blondell), Trixie (Aline MacMahon), Polly (Ruby Keeler) and Fay (Ginger Rogers), give up their present jobs in order to appear in Barney Hopkins' (Ned Sparks) latest musical revue, FORGOTTEN MELODY. Barney wants to do a show about the Depression. In the meantime he is introduced to Brad (Dick Powell), an unknown composer, by Polly who loves him. Brad so happens to have the score Barney wants to use for the upcoming show. After rehearsals comes opening night. The juvenile leading man (Clarence Nordstrom) is unable to go on and Brad is chosen to take his place. After the show clicks, Brad and Polly become overnight stars. PART II: Millionaire snob J. Lawrence Bradford (Warren William), and his family attorney, Peabody (Guy Kibbee) arrive in New York from Boston in order to prevent Brad, J. Lawrence's younger brother, from disgracing the family name by appearing in the shows and getting himself mixed up with show girls, who have the reputation of being nothing but "chisslers, parasites and gold diggers." Because Brad wants a career in the theater and to now marry Polly, he refuses to listen to his brother. J. Lawrence decides to break up the relationship by meeting Polly and buying her off, but instead he meets Carol and mistakes her for Polly. Carol and Trixie decide to J. Lawrence and Peabody "for a ride" and "gold dig" their way into their wallets.

Beginning and ending with production numbers, the movie opens with "We're in the Money" sung by Ginger Rogers both in English and in Pig Latin; followed by Dick Powell crooning "The Shadow Waltz" to Ruby Keeler from across her apartment window. Powell then sings the beautiful tune, "I've Got to Sing a Torch Song" while auditioning for Sparks. That song is underscored during the film's love scenes and tender moments. The stage shows include the lively and racy "Pettin' in the Park," followed by chorus girls in hoop skirts playing neon violins to "The Shadow Waltz," ending with the Depression theme, "Remember My Forgotten Man" a dark and moody number with Joan Blondell (wearing tight blouse and skirt)/sung by black singer Etta Moten, underscored in serious tone presenting dough-boy soldiers fighting at the front during World War I, and returning home to the states finding themselves hit by the Depression, becoming homeless and unemployed. Only Berkeley could take a very lively movie and end it like this. Of the four show girls in the story, only Ginger Rogers has little to do. Aline MacMahon and Guy Kibbee make an excellent "odd couple." Powell and Keeler continue to delight with their innocent charm, while sassy Blondell and no nonsense William make go with their love/hate relationship.

While musicals have a reputation for having thin plots and strong production numbers, or visa versa, GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 is strong on both counts and never ceases to entertain during its 96 minutes. Mistaken identity plot par excellence make this a breezy and merry affair. There are some Hollywood "in jokes" here that some viewers might not understand, with pre-production code risqué dialogue and scenes that will open many eyes before beginning to chuckle with amusement. Look for it. Excellent score by Harry Warren and Al Dubin, with choreography by Busby Berkeley, make this one movie musical of the 1930s highly recommended to be seen and enjoyed, if above all else. (****)