Born to Dance (1936)

Director:

Roy Del Ruth

Writers:

Jack McGowan (story) &
Sid Silvers (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

27 November 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Musical | Comedy

Tagline:

M*G*M's successor to "THE GREAT ZIEGFELD"

Plot:

Sailor Ted meets at the Lonely Hearts Club of his friend Gunny's wife, Jenny, a girl, Nora Paige, and falls in love...

Plot Keywords:

Rescue | Sailor | Dancer | Submarine | Dance

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Eleanor Powell	...	Nora Paige
James Stewart	...	Ted Barker
Virginia Bruce	...	Lucy James
Una Merkel	...	Jenny Saks
Sid Silvers	...	'Gunny' Sacks
Frances Langford	...	'Peppy' Turner
Raymond Walburn	...	Captain Percival Dingby
Alan Dinehart	...	James 'Mac' McKay
Buddy Ebsen	...	'Mush' Tracy
Juanita Quigley	...	Sally Saks
Georges	...	Himself, Dance Speciality (as Georges and Jalna)
Jalna	...	Herself, Dance Specialty (as Georges and Jalna)
Reginald Gardiner	...	Central Park Policeman
Barnett Parker	...	Model Home Demonstrator
The Foursome	...	Sailor Quartette
J. Marshall Smith	...	Member of The Foursome
L. Dwight Snyder	...	Member of The Foursome
Jay Johnson	...	Member of The Foursome (as Ray Johnson)
Del Porter	...	Member of The Foursome
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Barbara Bedford	...	Hector's Secretary (uncredited)
Charles Bennett	...	Quartet member (uncredited)
Joseph Bjorndahl	...	Solo bit in "Entrance of Lucy James" number (uncredited)
Anita Brown	...	Anita, Lucy's maid (uncredited)
Charles Coleman	...	Club Continental Waiter (uncredited)
Eddie Constantine	...	Sailor (uncredited)
Jacqueline Daix	...	Chorine (uncredited)
Mary Dees	...	Chorine (uncredited)
Gay DeLys	...	Chorine (uncredited)
Ernie Feutz	...	Quartet member (uncredited)
James Flavin	...	Ship's officer (uncredited)
Otto Fries	...	Quartet member (uncredited)
Wesley Giraud	...	Newsboy (uncredited)
Peter Gowland	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Jonathan Hale	...	Hector, the columnist (uncredited)
Sherry Hall	...	Cameraman (uncredited)
Maynard Holmes	...	Lonely Hearts Patron drinking soda (uncredited)
David Horsley	...	Sailor (uncredited)
Shep Houghton	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Jean Joyce	...	Chorine (uncredited)
Leona Keene	...	Acrobat (uncredited)
Naomi Keene	...	Acrobat (uncredited)
John Kelly	...	Recruiting officer (uncredited)
George King	...	Assistant stage manager (uncredited)
Ralph Leon	...	Solo bit in "Entrance of Lucy James" number (uncredited)
Wally Maher	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Joe Mandel	...	Acrobat (uncredited)
William Mandel	...	Acrobat (uncredited)
Douglas McPhail	...	Solo bit in "Entrance of Lucy James" number (uncredited)
Norman Nielson	...	Solo bit in "Entrance of Lucy James" number (uncredited)
Dennis O'Keefe	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Franklin Parker	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Gus Reed	...	Quartet member (uncredited)
Geraldine Robertson	...	Chorine (uncredited)
Harry Strang	...	Sailor (uncredited)
Charles Trowbridge	...	Model Home Spokesman (uncredited)
Helen Troy	...	McKay's telephone operator (uncredited)
John Tyrrell	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Allan Watson	...	Solo bit in "Entrance of Lucy James" number (uncredited)
Bobby Watson	...	Costume designer and assistant stage manager (uncredited)
Ginger Wyatt	...	Chorine (uncredited)

Directed by
Roy Del Ruth

Writing credits
Jack McGowan		(story) &
Sid Silvers		(story) and
Buddy G. DeSylva		(story) (as B.G. DeSylva)
Jack McGowan		(screenplay) and
Sid Silvers		(screenplay)

Produced by
Jack Cummings	....	producer

Cinematography by
Ray June		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
Blanche Sewell

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons

Costume Design by
Adrian		(gowns)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
William J. Scully	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Edwin B. Willis	....	associate art director
Joseph C. Wright	....	associate art director (as Joseph Wright)

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director
William Steinkamp	....	sound (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Eddie Croninworth	....	still photographer (uncredited)
George Hommel	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Music Department
Leo Arnaud	....	music arranger: choral
Roger Edens	....	music arranger
Alfred Newman	....	musical director
Edward B. Powell	....	orchestrator (as Edward Powell)
Merrill Pye	....	musical presentation
Delos Jewkes	....	singing voice: "Rolling Home" number (uncredited)
Marjorie Lane	....	singing voice: Miss Powell (uncredited)

Other crew
Dave Gould	....	dance ensembles
Harvey S. Haislip	....	marine advisor (as Harvey S. Haislip, Commander U.S.N. ret.)
Marilyn Kinsley	....	stand-in: Miss Powell (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (controlled by Loew's Inc.)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1936) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #2707) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Filming Locations:

Santa Catalina Island, Channel Islands, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The submarine shown entering New York harbor at the beginning of the film is USS Pike (SS-173).

Goofs:

Continuity: Gunny Saks is visible on the sub's sail, despite being put to the brick, where he is visible in the following scene.

Quotes:

Jenny Saks: Can we visit the crows-nest?
Captain Dingby: No, under no circumstances. It's nesting season.

Movie Connections:

Featured in We Must Have Music (1942)

Soundtrack:

Easy to Love

My Second Viewing

I saw "Born to Dance" again. This is my second viewing and I'm happy to say I liked it even more than my first viewing. In my previous comment, I mentioned that it is a passable boy-meet-girl yarn and how Eleanor Powell's tap dancing is as exciting as her other musicals at MGM. But now I realize that most of the credit goes to director Roy Del Ruth who is becoming one of my favorite directors of the classic era. There is something about his movies that I find appealingly graceful and exhilarating, especially movies like "On the Avenue", "My Lucky Star", "Folies Bergere de Paris" and "Lady Killer". "Born to Dance" is one of Del Ruth's brightest efforts, though it is slightly below those aforementioned movies. The best numbers are "Easy to Love" and "I Got you Under My Skin".