Stage Struck (1936).

Stage Struck (1936). Cast: Dick Powell and Joan Blondell and Jeanne Madden. Director: Busby Berkeley.

Dance director George Randall, is not too happy and leaves the show when the star of the show is replaced by Peggy Revere, a woman whose only claim to fame is that she shot her husband. Now, that he is free..  Producer Fred Harris, hires him for his new show. What George doesn't know, is that Peggy, is backing and starring in the show. When, she learns that George, has been hired she tears up his contract. Fred, decides to use reverse psychology on Peggy and convinces her that hatred is really a sign of love.

George, is in love with Ruth Williams, who wants a job in show business. George, tries to talk Ruth out of it. Actor Gilmore Frost, helps Ruth get the job. When, Ruth sees George, singing a love song to Peggy, she thinks he is in love with her. The show is a failure, because Peggy is not very talented. Frost, hits her and George, insists that she go to the hospital. Ruth, plans to go on stage and in the last minute, Peggy insists she is well enough to perform. The police arrest both her and Frost for assault. George, asks Ruth to marry him.

Fun Fact:

The movie box office got a big boost when Dick Powell and Joan Blondell were married shortly before its release.

Stage Struck, is one of the least known of Busby Berkeley's Warner Bros. musicals, because there are no major production numbers.  Although, There are some wonderful songs by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg :"Lady of the Moon" (sung by chorus girls during rehearsals, with Frank McHugh); "Fancy Meeting You" (sung by Dick Powell and Jeanne Madden); "In YOUR Own Quiet Way" (sung by Powell) and "In HIS Own Quiet Way" (a try-out, sung by Jeanne Madden). The film's highlight is the musical number by the Yacht Club Boys. Also featured in the cast are: Spring Byington and Carol Hughes, Hobart Cavanaugh,a young Jane Wyman and Jeanne Madden, in her movie debut.

Footlight Parade(1933).

Footlight Parade(1933). Musical film starring James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell and featuring Frank McHugh, Guy Kibbee, Hugh Herbert and Ruth Donnelly. The movie was written by Manuel Seff and James Seymour from a story by Robert Lord and Peter Milne. It was directed by Lloyd Bacon.

The spectacular Busby Berkeley musical numbers, written by Harry Warren (music) and Al Dubin (lyrics) and Sammy Fain (music) and Irving Kahal (lyrics), include "By a Waterfall", "Honeymoon Hotel", and "Shanghai Lil".

Musical Producer Chester Kent, finds himself out of work because of the popularity of talking pictures. His wife leaves him when he tell her the news. He convinces his two partners, Sy Gould and Frazer, to help him in producing, live performances to be performed before the movies are shown.

As soon as Chester thinks up ideas, Gladstone, is always one step ahead of him. Also, his partners are cheating him out of his share of the profits. His only friend seems to be his secretary, Nan Prescott, who is in love with him. But, he is in love with Vivian Rich, a gold digging actress. The theater owner Appolinaris, promises that if Chester can come up with three new shows in three days, he will hire him.

Chester, locks everyone in the studio to prevent any leaks. The first two shows are a big success. Then at the last minute, Chester has to go on as the lead in the last one because the star is drunk. He performs well and lands the contract.

Fun Fact:

Film debut of Dorothy Lamour.

Footlight Parade, showcases Busby Berkeley's extravaganzas, that are so creative and fun to watch. Also, James Cagney, shows his versatility as a dancer as well as a tough guy. Dick Powell, sing three songs in Footlight Parade, Ah the Moon is Here, Honeymoon Hotel and By a Waterfall, the last two with Ruby Keeler. Ruby, also partners with James Cagney in, Shanghai Lil. One of Blondell's best screen roles. Also, look for Dorothy Lamour and Ann Sothern in the chorus. John Garfield, is also seen very briefly in the Shanghai Lil number.

Ruth Donnelly (May 17, 1896 – November 17, 1982), began her stage career at the age of 17 in 1913, in The Quaker Girl. Her Broadway debut brought her to the attention of George M. Cohan, who cast her in many comic-relief roles in musicals. Though she made her first film performance in 1913, her Hollywood career began in 1931-1957.

Colleen(1936).

Colleen(1936). Musical film directed by Alfred E. Green. Cast: Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, and Joan Blondell.

To the dismay of his family, the eccentric millionaire Cedric Ames, is talked into by his new assistant Joe Cork, to buy a dress shop for gold digger Minnie Hawkins, a former candy dipper at the "Itsey-Ditsey Nut Chewsie". Cedric's nephew, Donald Ames, steps in to close the dress shop.

The dress shops book-keeper Colleen Reilly, does not want Donald to close the dress shop, especially now, when the dress shop is doing so well.. Colleen, plans a fashion show and even designs some of the dresses herself. Now, all she has to do, is to talk Donald into keeping the shop open.

When Donald, asks her to dinner to discuss the dress shop, she agrees and that is when she tells him that she is engaged to Joe.



Joe and Minnie come up with a plan to get Cedric to adopt Minnie, after which Joe will marry her. Cedric's wife Alicia forces Donald to close the shop, to put a stop to their plans.

Meanwhile, Donald and Colleen have fallen in love. After, Minnie, Joe and Colleen are all fired. Colleen, thinks that Donald has been lying to her, so when he phones to ask her to marry him, she hangs up on him. Brokenhearted, she decides to open a dress shop on board an ocean liner. The ship turns out to be the one which Donald is on. But further complications follow before things get under way on board the ocean liner.



This film reunites the musical team of Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler for the seventh and final time. A fluffy little comedy that somehow works, with plenty of songs and dance. Colleen, an overlooked musical, giving Keeler an opportunity to sing and dance more than she ever did on screen . However, her dancing with Draper, is no threat to Astaire and Rogers.Colleen, is worth viewing at least once.

Louise Fazenda (June 17, 1895 - April 17, 1962), performed mostly in silent comedy films. Before trying motion pictures, she worked for a dentist, a candy store owner, and a tax collector and on stage.

Fazenda got her start in comedy shorts as early as 1913 with Joker Studios, frequently appearing with Max Asher and Bobby Vernon. She was soon recruited for Mack Sennett's troupe at Keystone Studios.

Fazenda continued through the 1930s, performing mostly in character roles. She played such diverse parts as a fussy old maid and a lady blacksmith.

Dames(1934)

Dames(1934) Director: Ray Enright with dance numbers created by Busby Berkeley. Cast: Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, Joan Blondell, Guy Kibbee, ZaSu Pitts, and Hugh Herbert. Production numbers and songs include "When You Were a Smile on Your Mother's Lips (and a Twinkle in Your Daddy's Eye)", "The Girl at the Ironing Board", "I Only Have Eyes for You", "Dames" and "Try to See It My Way".



Multimillionaire Ezra Ounce, wants to make sure that his fortune will be inherited by deserving relatives, so he visits his cousin, Matilda Hemingway in New York City.
Ounce, is offended by the musical comedy shows and finds that Matilda's daughter, Barbara, is a dancer and singer in love with another singer and songwriter, her 13th cousin, Jimmy Higgens the family's black sheep.

Matilda's husband, Horace meets a showgirl Mabel, who's been stranded in Schenectady when her show folds, and talks her into sleeping in Horace's train compartment to get back home. Not wanting to be involved in scandal, he leaves her some money and a note asking her to keep quite. Will Mabel keep his secret?

I thought the film Dames, was wonderful entertainment and loved all the dance numbers. Although... I did not think this was Ruby Keeler's best performance. DAMES, is the fourth and final Powell-Keeler-Berkeley collaboration. Pitts, Kibbee and Herbert fit their characters perfectly.


Soundtracks:
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"Dames"
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren (1934)
Lyrics by Al Dubin (1934)
Played during the opening credits
Danced to by Ruby Keeler at rehearsal
Sung by Dick Powell and chorus in the show
Played as background music often

"I Only Have Eyes for You"
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren (1934)
Lyrics by Al Dubin (1934)
Sung by Dick Powell on the ferry
Reprised by Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler and chorus in the show
Played as background music often

"Shuffle Off to Buffalo"
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren (1932)
Lyrics by Al Dubin (1932)
Played as background music when the scene is in Buffalo, New York
Reprised by the chorus in the show

"When You Were a Smile on Your Mother's Lips (and a Twinkle in Your Daddy's Eye)"
(uncredited)
Music by Sammy Fain (1934)
Lyrics by Irving Kahal (1934)
Sung by Dick Powell

"Try to See It My Way"
(uncredited)
Music by Allie Wrubel (1934)
Lyrics by Mort Dixon (1934)
Sung by Dick Powell
Reprised by Joan Blondell and chorus in the show

"The Girl at the Ironing Board"
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren (1934)
Lyrics by Al Dubin (1934)
Sung by Joan Blondell in the show

"My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean"
(uncredited)
Traditional
Sung by chorus with modified lyrics during "The Girl at the Ironing Board" number

"Frühlingslied (Spring Song)"
(uncredited)
Music by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
Played briefly during "The Girl at the Ironing Board" sequence

Joan Blondell

During the 1930s Joan Blondell with her huge blue eyes, blond hair and wise cracking personality, soon became a crowd favorite. She performed in more Warners films than any other actress, and called herself the "Warner's workhorse." The popularity of her films made a great contribution to the studio.

Blondell was paired with James Cagney in such films as Sinners' Holiday (1930) – the film version of Penny Arcade – and The Public Enemy (1931), and was one half of a gold-digging duo with Glenda Farrell in nine films. During the Great Depression, Blondell was one of the highest paid actress in the United States. Her performance of "Remember My Forgotten Man" in the Busby Berkeley production of Gold Diggers of 1933, in which she co-starred with Dick Powell and Ginger Rogers, became an anthem for the frustrations of the unemployed.

(Even though she was cast in many of the classic Warners musicals, she was not a singer, and in the Forgotten Man number, she mostly talked and acted her way through the song.) In 1937, she performed opposite Errol Flynn in The Perfect Specimen.

By the end of the decade, she had made nearly fifty films, leaving Warners in 1939.

The Gold Diggers are coming....

On Tuesday, May 18th TCM is airing 4 of the popular Gold Diggers films. Starting early at 6:00 am EST. The films being shown are Gold Diggers of 1933 with Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler and Ginger Rogers; Gold Diggers of 1935 with Dick Powell and Alice Brady; Gold Diggers of 1937 with Joan Blondell and Glenda Farrell (a wonderful pair) and Gold Diggers in Paris (1938) with Rudy Vallee and Rosemary Lane. Try to catch at least one of these fabulous films, they're good high spirited fun filled musicals. Oh and Dawn, the next post will be 100. If you do one before I do, make it a special one.

GOLD DIGGERS OF (1933)- PreCode.

Gold Diggers of (1933) Is a pre-code/musical. Director: Mervyn LeRoy. Songs by Harry Warren (music) and Al Dubin (lyrics). Choreographer: Busby Berkeley. Cast: Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, Joan Blondell and Ginger Rogers and features Warren William, Guy Kibbee, Ned Sparks and Aline MacMahon.

Carol King, Trixie Lorraine and Polly Parker, three out-of-work showgirls are sharing a cheap New York City apartment, when Fay Fortune, tells them that Broadway producer Barney Hopkins, is putting on a new Broadway show. Carol brings Barney to their apartment, so the girls and Brad Roberts, an aspiring songwriter, can audition for the show. When Barney says that he has no backers, Brad offers to put up the money on the condition that Polly, performs in the show. Trixie and Carol, thinking that Brad, has no money to back the show and are worried that he has stolen the money. On opening night, Brad replaces one of the young actors and is recognized as Robert Bradford, the heir to a wealthy Boston family. When the news gets back to Brad's brother and the family banker, they come to New York to put stop to Brad's career and plans to marry Polly. Things become more complicated when Carol pretends to be, Polly.


A wonderful film where you see some of the best Berkeley numbers. The "Shadow Waltz" is gorgeous with all of the chorus girls in one of the best Art Deco dresses ever dreamed, as they play their neon violins... drifting on one very beautiful cloud. Sprinkled with wise cracks and good clean fun that will make you glad that you took a trip back in time.



Soundtracks:
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"The Gold Diggers' Song (We're in the Money)"
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Al Dubin
Performed by Ginger Rogers and chorus

"Shadow Waltz"
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Al Dubin
Sung by Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler and chorus

"I've Got to Sing a Torch Song"
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Al Dubin
Sung by Dick Powell

"Pettin' in the Park"
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Al Dubin
Performed by Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Aline MacMahon, Billy Barty and chorus

"Remember My Forgotten Man"
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Al Dubin
Performed by Etta Moten, Joan Blondell (dubbed by an unknown singer) and chorus with spoken word by Joan Blondell

"Untitled"
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Played after Barney asks Brad if he has any other songs

"High Life"
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Played when Carol suggests that Lawrence thinks the dancing is vulgar

"Forgive Me for Loving You"
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Al Dubin
Written for the movie but not used