Dance, Girl, Dance (1940)

Judy O'Brien is an aspiring ballerina in a dance troupe. Also in the company is Bubbles, a brash mantrap who leaves the struggling troupe for a career in burlesque. When the company ... See full summary »

Directors:

Dorothy Arzner, Roy Del Ruth (uncredited)

Writers:

Tess Slesinger (screen play), Frank Davis (screen play)

Stars:

Maureen O'Hara, Louis Hayward, Lucille Ball

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Maureen O'Hara	...	Judy O'Brien
Louis Hayward	...	Jimmy Harris
Lucille Ball	...	Bubbles
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

Storyline

Judy O'Brien is an aspiring ballerina in a dance troupe. Also in the company is Bubbles, a brash mantrap who leaves the struggling troupe for a career in burlesque. When the company disbands, Bubbles gives Judy a thankless job as her stooge. The two eventually clash when both fall for the same man.

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Plot Keywords:

national film registry | ballerina | burlesque | new york city | triple f rated | 

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Taglines:

Heartbreak Behind Gayety of a Girly-Girl Show!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Musical

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 August 1940 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Vida é uma Dança

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Recording System) (as R C A Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A critical and commercial failure in its day, RKO ended up losing $400,000 over the film's underperformance.

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Quotes

Bubbles: Listen, squirt! I don't fall in gutters. I pick my spots.

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Connections

Featured in These Amazing Shadows (2011)

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Soundtracks

Morning Star
Music by Edward Ward
Lyrics by Chet Forrest (as Chester Forrest) and Bob Wright (as Robert Wright)
Sung by an unidentified singer in a nightclub (uncredited)

User Reviews

odd film, directed by Dorothy Arzner

As one of the industry's few female directors, Dorothy Arzner's participation in this film is, I would guess, the main reason this movie is still known today. One wonders what Arzner could have accomplished if she lived in today's times, free of studio intervention. Arzner was able to direct this when Roy del Ruth had problems with the producer, Erich Pommer, and left.

The story is about two dancers - one a burlesque queen (Lucille Ball) and one an aspiring ballerina (Maureen O'Hara) -- commercialism versus art. Bubbles (Ball) goes for the money both in her work and in her search for a man, while Judy (O'Hara) attempts to be independent, even turning down Ralph Bellamy when he wants her to stand under his umbrella in the pouring rain.

The lives of these two women intertwine in work and in personal life -- Judy becomes a "stooge," a ballet dancing set-up as the burlesque audience screams for Bubbles; and they both take up with the same man, Jimmy (Louis Hayward) who's rich and conflicted. Judy understands him; Bubbles understands his wallet.

The cast is wonderful, with the O'Hara as a gentle, refined woman with the soul of an artist and accompanying sensitivity, and Ball as a classless sex bomb with a flashy personality. Both are gorgeous and play off one another beautifully.

The men make less of an impression -- this is, after all, a woman's picture. Louis Hayward as a tortured man going through a divorce somehow disrupts the flow of the film; and Ralph Bellamy is charming but doesn't have much to do.

A little slow but very entertaining and well worth seeing. Dorothy Arzner was a remarkable woman who survived in a man's world and made some excellent films, finishing her career as a teacher at UCLA. Her work is definitely worth checking out.