IMDb > Du Barry Was a Lady (1943)
Du Barry Was a Lady
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Du Barry Was a Lady (1943) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
6.1/10   446 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 22% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Herbert Fields (play) and
Buddy G. DeSylva (play) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for Du Barry Was a Lady on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
13 August 1943 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
The musical extravaganza that tops great Ziegfeld glory!
Plot:
Hat check man Louis Blore is in love with nightclub star May Daly. May, however, is love with a poor dancer... more | add synopsis
NewsDesk:
Comedy Scriptwriter Brecher Dies
 (From WENN. 19 November 2008, 8:14 AM, PST)

User Comments:
Missing most of the Broadway songs but tailored for Kelly, Ball and Skelton... more (17 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Red Skelton ... Louis Blore / King Louis XV

Lucille Ball ... May Daly / Madame Du Barry

Gene Kelly ... Alec Howe / Black Arrow
Virginia O'Brien ... Ginny
Rags Ragland ... Charlie / Dauphin (as 'Rags' Ragland)
Zero Mostel ... Rami - the Swami / Taliostra
Donald Meek ... Mr. Jones / Duc de Choiseul
Douglass Dumbrille ... Willie / Duc de Rigor
George Givot ... Cheezy / Count de Roquefort
Louise Beavers ... Niagara
Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra ... Themselves
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tommy Dorsey ... Himself - Leader of Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Gentleman's Choice (USA) (working title)
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Runtime:
101 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Certification:
Australia:G | USA:Approved (PCA #9019) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Ann Sothern was supposed to have the role of May Daly (Madame Du Barry) but discovered she was pregnant. Lucille Ball was given her role instead. more
Goofs:
Crew or equipment visible: During the scene in Madame Du Barry's boudoir when King Louis XV is chasing Du Barry around the dressing table, a man sitting in a chair can be seen reflected in the mirror. more
Quotes:
Black Arrow: Du Barry! That jay! That jezebel! That spoiler of kings!
Madame Du Barry: Isn't he wonderful?
Black Arrow: Does she love the king? No! She loves rubies! So your children go hungry! She loves silks! So your wives go naked!
Madame Du Barry: [dreamily] Look at his eyes.
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in That's Entertainment! III (1994) more
Soundtrack:
Ladies of the Bath more

FAQ

Who is Zero Mostel parodying?
more
4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful.
Missing most of the Broadway songs but tailored for Kelly, Ball and Skelton..., 5 March 2007
5/10
Author: Neil Doyle from U.S.A.

Obviously what was good for Broadway audiences was not always good for film--especially when censorship demanded certain changes. Thus, when MGM decided to make a screen musical out of DU BARRY WAS A LADY, they had to jettison most of the score and keep a few Cole Porter numbers just to satisfy the censors.

The result is a bland hodgepodge of a musical looking so prettily Technicolored that it seemed to be the ideal escapism the world needed in 1943. It also had the advantage of giving new exposure to GENE KELLY, MGM's new dancing star first seen with Judy Garland in FOR ME AND MY GAL. Two other talents, LUCILLE BALL and RED SKELTON share top billing with Gene, giving Lucy a big chance to shine in all her Technicolor glory.

But the story is a sappy one and gets off to a slow start with some banal musical and comedy moments that take place in the nightclub where Red works as a hatcheck man, Lucy is a singer and Gene an aspiring songwriter, before we get to Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra delivering some solid jazz/swing with Gene Krupa on the drums.

The plot starts with Lucy informing Kelly she can't afford to fall in love with a poor guy. Red becomes a wealthy gent when he wins the Irish sweepstakes and Lucy reluctantly agrees to marry him for his money with no objections from Red. When Rags Ragland offers to help Red get rid of his competition by slipping a Mickey into Kelly's drink, the plan misfires and Red falls into a coma, believing he's King Louis XV and Lucy is Du Barry with Gene as odd man out--the Black Arrow.

Unfortunately, the 18th Century part of the story has not much more wit than the modern sequences although it's amusing to see all the cast in powdered wigs and period costumes going through some slapstick paces.

Lucy and Red make a good pair with the right comic timing and chemistry, but Gene Kelly's role is a pivotal one and probably one of his weakest earlier roles.

Summing up: Lots of eye candy with all the Technicolor trimmings MGM usually put into their musicals. And watch for a brief guest star cameo from Lana Turner and an early glimpse of Dick Haymes as a singer in Dorsey's band.

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