And She Learned About Dames (1934)

Students at New York's Rovina Finishing School for Girls send their photographs to the makers of Claybury's Beauty Soap, in the hope of being chosen as "Miss Complexion of 1934." Martha ... See full summary »

Stars:

Lyle Talbot, Martha Merrill, Busby Berkeley

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Lyle Talbot	...	Himself
Martha Merrill	...	Martha Howson

Storyline

Students at New York's Rovina Finishing School for Girls send their photographs to the makers of Claybury's Beauty Soap, in the hope of being chosen as "Miss Complexion of 1934." Martha Howson wins the contest, which includes a trip to Hollywood and a tour of the Warner Brothers lot with Lyle Talbot. When she gets to the studio, all she wants to do is meet Dick Powell, star of the new Warner Brothers film Dames. During her search for Powell, she (and the audience) gets to see several scenes from that movie.

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Plot Keywords:

hollywood | photograph | finishing school | dancing | make up | 

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Genres:

Musical | Short

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Vitaphone Corporation, The, Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

9 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Vitaphone)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film short is included as an extra in the Warner DVD of Dames.

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Crazy Credits

Lyle Talbot identifies all the credited performers following 'Martha Merrill'.

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Connections

References Dames (1934)

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Soundtracks

"Dames"
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Played during opening credits
Reprised throughout the film and during the closing montage

User Reviews

Some shameless self-promotion from Warner Brothers.

It was fortunate that I saw this immediately after seeing "Dames", as Turner Classic Movies showed it immediately after the film it had promoted. And, if you get the Busby Berkeley DVD set, you can also see it. Now this is NOT a must-see short film--it's simply a case of self-promotion that was aired in the weeks preceding the release of "Dames" in order to drum up interest in this rather ordinary Busby Berkeley musical.

The film begins with some ladies talking about the film "Dames" and how the film can give ladies a lot of tips about beauty and elegance. Seconds later, the unattractive lady listening in has apparently taken this advice and has won some sort of beauty contest. Then, Lyle Talbot takes the lady around the studio and talks about the upcoming movie. It culminates with her seeing her idol, Dick Powell, and getting 'souvenirs' to take home with her.

All in all, a harmless film that you don't need to see BUT which makes seeing "Dames" a bit more interesting.