Gold Diggers of 1937 (1936)

Director:

Lloyd Bacon

Writers:

Warren Duff (screen play)
Richard Maibaum (based on the play by: "Sweet Mystery of Life") ...
(more)

Release Date:

28 December 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Plot:

Stage-producer J.J. Horbart, is going to put on a new show, but he doesn't know that his two partners lost the money at the stock market...

Plot Keywords:

Insurance | Hypochondriac | Insurance Salesman | Music Band | Nurse

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Dick Powell	...	Rosmer Peck
Joan Blondell	...	Norma Perry
Glenda Farrell	...	Genevieve Larkin
Victor Moore	...	J.J. Hobart
Lee Dixon	...	Boop Oglethorpe
Osgood Perkins	...	Morty Wethered
Charles D. Brown	...	Hugo (as Chas. D. Brown)
Rosalind Marquis	...	Sally
Irene Ware	...	Irene
William B. Davidson	...	Andy Callahan (as Wm. Davidson)
Olin Howland	...	Dr. MacDuffy
Charles Halton	...	Dr. Bell
Paul Irving	...	Dr. Warshof
Harry C. Bradley	...	Dr. Henry
Joseph Crehan	...	Chairman
Susan Fleming	...	Lucille Bailey
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Iris Adrian	...	Verna (uncredited)
Loretta Andrews	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
William Arnold	...	Salesman (uncredited)
Eleanor Bayley	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Sheila Bromley	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Mary Cassidy	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Irene Coleman	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Joe Cunningham	...	Salesman on Train (uncredited)
Virginia Dabney	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Sheila Darcy	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Dudley Dickerson	...	Porter Calling Passengers to Dinner (uncredited)
Mildred Dixon	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Don Downen	...	Elevator Operator (uncredited)
Ruth Eddings	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Frank Faylen	...	Man Shaving on Train (uncredited)
Eddie Fetherston	...	Salesman on Train (uncredited)
Eddie Foster	...	Salesman at Station (uncredited)
June Glory	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Sue Gomes	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Lorraine Gray	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Harry Harvey	...	Salesman on Train (uncredited)
Arthur Stuart Hull	...	Gent (uncredited)
Amo Ingraham	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Bobby Jarvis	...	Stage Manager (uncredited)
John Lester Johnson	...	Driver (uncredited)
Naomi Judge	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Lucille Keeling	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Milton Kibbee	...	Milt (uncredited)
Carole Landis	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Lois Lindsay	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Shirley Lloyd	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Helen Lynn	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Betty Mack	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Miriam Marlin	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Jane Marshall	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Carl McBride	...	Dance Director (uncredited)
Betty McIvor	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Edmund Mortimer	...	Man in Hobart's Office (uncredited)
Louis Natheaux	...	Salesman on Train (uncredited)
David Newell	...	Salesman at Meeting (uncredited)
Jack Norton	...	Singing Drunk at Party (uncredited)
Wedgwood Nowell	...	Penfield (uncredited)
Beth Renner	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Naida Reynolds	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Tom Ricketts	...	Reginald (uncredited)
Ronald R. Rondell	...	Salesman on Train (uncredited)
Jacqueline Saunders	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Helen Seamon	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Louise Stanley	...	Probationer (uncredited)
Myrtle Stedman	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Charles Sylber	...	Drunk at Party (uncredited)
Rose Terrell	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Fred 'Snowflake' Toones	...	Snowflake (uncredited)
Victoria Vinton	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Billy Wayne	...	Salesman on Train (uncredited)
Marjorie Weaver	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Pat West	...	Drunken Salesman (uncredited)
Tom Wilson	...	Baggage Man (uncredited)
Eric Wilton	...	Butler at Party (uncredited)
Jane Wyman	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)

Directed by
Lloyd Bacon

Writing credits
Warren Duff		(screen play)
Richard Maibaum		(based on the play by: "Sweet Mystery of Life") &
Michael Wallace		(based on the play by: "Sweet Mystery of Life") &
George Haight		(based on the play by: "Sweet Mystery of Life")

Produced by
Earl Baldwin	....	associate producer (uncredited)
Hal B. Wallis	....	executive producer (uncredited)
Jack L. Warner	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Heinz Roemheld		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Arthur Edeson		(photography)

Film Editing by
Thomas Richards		(film editor)

Art Direction by
Max Parker

Costume Design by
Orry-Kelly		(gowns)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Richard Maybery	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Music Department
Busby Berkeley	....	musical numbers created and directed by
Leo F. Forbstein	....	musical director
Ray Heindorf	....	orchestral arrangements

Other crew
Tom Reed	....	screenplay constructor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros (A First National Picture)

Distributors

• Warner Bros (1936) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. First National Films (1937) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2010) (Canada) (DVD) (4 film collection)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2010) (USA) (DVD) (4 film collection)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #2504) | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Warner Bros

Trivia:

The song "Hush Mah Mouth" by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg was written for the picture but not used in the final print.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: (at around 1 min) A string used to make a stack of books fall onto Dick Powell's head is clearly visible against the white paper background.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Busby Berkeley: Going Through the Roof (1998) (TV)

Soundtrack:

With Plenty of Money and You

The big budget is gone, but Berkeley still comes through...

The snappy dialogue and pace of Berkeley's previous films are not to be found here--GD of '37 feels more like a Republic musical than a Warners one. The bankroll went to the one big Berkeley number at the end--"All Is Fair In Love and War." It's a simple piece, lines of chorus girls dressed in white against a shiny black floor, but it is simply astonishing (the song is pretty catchy too). There is also a nice little number with Powell and Blondell called "Speaking of The Weather"--an interesting attempt to seamlessly integrate a musical number into the plot. Among the mistakes (besides the script) is the short-shrift given to the best, most popular song in the film--"With Plenty of Money and You."