Lady of Burlesque (1943)

After one member of their group is murdered, the performers at a burlesque house must work together to find out who the killer is before they strike again.

Director:

William A. Wellman

Writers:

Gypsy Rose Lee (novel), James Gunn (screenplay)

Stars:

Barbara Stanwyck, Michael O'Shea, J. Edward Bromberg

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Barbara Stanwyck	...	Deborah Hoople - aka Dixie Daisy
Michael O'Shea	...	Biff Brannigan
J. Edward Bromberg	...	S.B. Foss
Iris Adrian	...	Gee Gee Graham
Gloria Dickson	...	Dolly Baxter
Victoria Faust	...	Lolita La Verne
Stephanie Bachelor	...	The Princess Nirvena
Charles Dingle	...	Inspector Harrigan
Marion Martin	...	Alice Angel
Pete Gordon	...	Officer Pat Kelly (as Eddie Gordon)
Frank Fenton	...	Russell Rogers
Pinky Lee	...	Mandy
Frank Conroy	...	'Stacchi' Stacciaro
Lew Kelly	...	The Hermit
Claire Carleton	...	Sandra

Storyline

Sassy Dixie Daisy is the hot new attraction at a former opera house that's been turned into a burlesque theater. She's popular with the customers, although not with Lolita La Verne, a stuck-up diva who was hoping she'd get the top spot. Also complicating matters is the return of the Princess Nirvena, the show's former star who once had a fling with the boss. When the Princess blackmails her way into the top spot, Dixie is none too pleased. When both Lolita and the Princess are murdered, Dixie becomes a prime suspect. She then sets up a trap to nail the real killer.

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Plot Keywords:

g string | romantic rivalry | manipulative female | female jealousy | possessive female | 

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Taglines:

Music...Mystery...Murder...!

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Genres:

Comedy | Music | Mystery | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 May 1943 (USA)

Also Known As:

G-String Murders

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hunt Stromberg Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film was a success at the box office, earning a profit of $650,000 ($9.7M in 2018) according to studio records.

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Goofs

Dixie comes off stage in one costume and goes to the dressing room where the body is found. When the performers are questioned by the police, Dixie is in an entirely different costume.

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Quotes

Biff: Aren't you a teeny weeny bit glad to see me back?
Dixie: [pause] No.

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Connections

References Cocoanut Grove (1938)

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Soundtracks

Take It Off the E-String
Written by Sammy Cahn (as Sammy Kahn) and Harry Akst
Performed by Barbara Stanwyck (uncredited)

User Reviews

The Sublime B-movie

William Wellman, the man who brought you NOTHING SACRED, BEAU GESTE, ROXIE HART, THE PUBLIC ENEMY, A STAR IS BORN, and WINGS, brings you this neglected gem starring the one and only Barbara Stanwyck. Available for some reason in a thousand cheapie video bins for under five bucks, this 91 minute classic B-movie puts the B in sublime. An A-list group decided to adapt Gypsy Rose Lee's exploitation sex - murder - laughs novel for the silver screen, and the sheer joy brought to the tawdry enterprise somehow transmutes the base material - the murder plot was creaky for 1943 - into show-biz gold. When you think of old-fashioned entertainment, you are picturing LADY OF BURLESQUE, in which a maniac is killing the show-girls in a run-down burlesque theater, and a baggy-pants comic steadfastly pursues Barbara Stanwyck with wisecracks and dutch-treat dates. The real stars are the burlesque performers, lovable freaks from the Hollywood gutter spouting a hard-bitten patter with the nano-second timing of people who'd been doing this since their parents dragged them onto the vaudeville stage when they were three. Stanwyck was the only major screen queen from the thirties and forties who specialized in hopelessly vulgar heroines (see STELLA DALLAS and BABY FACE), but here she's the class act because she's the only one not trying to be classy. Her love interest is the wonderful Michael O'Shea, who plays the false nose comedian who falls for Stanwyck. Stanwyck puts a spin on the word "comic" that makes it sound like a four letter word. One scene above all others stakes this movie's claim to greatness - while in the middle of a hoary old comedy sketch, Stanwyck and O'Shea are interrupted by the off-stage wailings of a stripper being beaten up by her thug boyfriend. No one backstage will stop the brutality because they're all scared of the thug, so the onstage performers strike up the band and try to drown out the screams with an up-tempo musical number and improvised jitterbugging. Note, too, the big built blonde with the lisp who declares of the most recent murder "How gruethome!"