IMDb > Dance, Girl, Dance (1940)

Dance, Girl, Dance (1940) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
6.7/10   342 votes
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Director:
Writers:
Vicki Baum (story)
Frank Davis (writer)
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Contact:
View company contact information for Dance, Girl, Dance on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
30 August 1940 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
Heartbreak Behind Gayety of a Girly-Girl Show!
Plot:
Judy O'Brien is an aspiring ballerina in a dance troupe. Also in the company is Bubbles, a brash mantrap... more | add synopsis
Awards:
1 win more
User Comments:
Formalaic but enjoyable enough. more (13 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Maureen O'Hara ... Judy O'Brien
Louis Hayward ... Jaes 'Jimmy' Harris Jr.

Lucille Ball ... Bubbles / Tiger Lily White
Virginia Field ... Elinor Harris
Ralph Bellamy ... Steve Adams
Maria Ouspenskaya ... Madame Lydia Basilova
Mary Carlisle ... Sally
Katharine Alexander ... Miss Olmstead
Edward Brophy ... Dwarfie Humblewinger
Walter Abel ... Judge
Harold Huber ... Hoboken Gent
Ernest Truex ... Bailey #1
Chester Clute ... Bailey #2
Lorraine Krueger ... Dolly
Lola Jensen ... Daisy
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Additional Details

Runtime:
90 min
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Recording System)
Certification:
USA:Approved (PCA #6247)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Roy Del Ruth was originally assigned to direct, but he quit over creative differences with producer Erich Pommer, so Dorothy Arzner was assigned the job. more
Quotes:
Judy O'Brien: Go on, laugh, get your money's worth. No-one's going to hurt you. I know you want me to tear my clothes off so you can look your fifty cents' worth. Fifty cents for the privilege of staring at a girl the way your wives won't let you. What do you suppose we think of you up here with your silly smirks your mothers would be ashamed of... more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Lucy (2003) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
Jitterbug Bite more

FAQ

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0 out of 1 people found the following comment useful.
Formalaic but enjoyable enough., 21 November 2008
7/10
Author: Boba_Fett1138 from Groningen, The Netherlands

This is a real typical early '40's musical, that only this time isn't focusing on signing but dancing. Not that it makes much difference to the story though and the movie progresses just in the same manner as you would expect from a genre movie such as this one. Not that this makes the movie a bad one but it of course also doesn't exactly make this an original one either.

Of course nothing really happens as a surprise within this movie but I guess that is what makes this movie also perfectly enjoyable and good to watch, for the genre fans in particular. It however can't be really seen as the best movie within its genre, fore it has some problems.

One problem of the movie are its characters. There are some good actors within the movie but due to the writing, most characters feel very messy within the movie. You also just don't really start to care about any of them, also since Maureen O'Hara, who plays the movie's main lead, plays her character far too naive and friendly. You would almost cheer for the more 'bitchy' part played by Lucille Ball who does a surprising much better job.

Making it in the big town as a ballerina dancer in my book also isn't already the most compelling or interesting concept to start off with. Combine with this all the usual formulaic ingredients and you have a very average movie in basically every regard.

Yet it's a perfectly watchable movie, perhaps because of the very reason that you already know what is going to happen all in this movie. After all, more important thing of course also remains not what is going to happen but how its going to happen. In that regard this movie simply does not fail, for it brings some good quality entertainment that is brought well to the screen by female director Dorothy Arzner and acted out well by most of its principal cast members.

7/10

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