Du Barry Was a Lady (1943)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Roy Del Ruth

Writers:

Herbert Fields (play) and
Buddy G. DeSylva (play) ...

Release Date:

13 August 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Fantasy | Musical

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...

Plot Keywords:

Sweepstakes | Nightclub | Dream | Dancer | King Louis XV

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

Also Known As:

Gentleman's Choice (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | USA:Approved (PCA #9019) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Near the end of the movie when Red Skelton, as Louis, has an arrow stuck in his rear-end, as he pleads for it to be removed he cracks: "Hurry up, this thing is starting to pick up several radio stations already". Coincidentally, three decades later his co-star Lucille Ball went public claiming she could hear radio programs directly in her head when driving near radio transmission towers. She explained that the metal fillings in her teeth detected strong radio signals making them audible to her.

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.

Quotes:

Alec Howe: You know, it's too bad May couldn't marry for love *and* money.
Louis Blore: You mean sort of a double wedding?

Movie Connections:

Featured in That's Entertainment! III (1994)

Soundtrack:

(I've Grown So Lonely) Thinking of You

ho hum musical comedy dominated by over-the-top Red Skelton

How much you enjoy this will depend heavily I would think on how much you enjoy the verbal and physical shtick of Red Skelton, the star (along with Gene Kelly, Lucille Ball and the great if largely forgotten Virginia O'Brien) of both the main storyline (typical backstage musical farce with Kelly and Skelton vying for Ball's hand) and an extended dream sequence (Louis XV fending off a rebellion). I find Skelton quite irritating, and Ball's charm, Kelly's dancing, and the music of Tommy Dorsey just don't quite make up for it. I rarely like to use the word "dated", but if there's any film I've seen lately that it applies to, this be it brother. The way in which the dream sequence basically takes over the film is rather neat, and the color is nice, but on the whole I was not enthralled. I won't be searching out any best-of-Red Skelton sets anytime soon...

Watched on VHS