by Tony d’Ambra
“Gone are my blues
and gone are my tears
I’ve got good news
to shout in your ears
The long lost dollar has come
back to the fold
With silver you can turn
your dreams to gold
We’re in the money
We’re in the money
We’ve got a lot of what it takes
to get along!
We’re in the money
The sky is sunny
Old man depression you are through
You done us wrong!”
Ginger Rogers cute as a button hits the screen in medium close-up straight after the opening credits. She ain’t glamorous but she overflows with an effervescent charm that has you reeling as she bounces into ‘We’re In the Money’, one of the most ironic and catchy songs ever recorded on celluloid. The girl next door has rhythm! After the camera moves away to a cheeky cavalcade of chorus girls greeting the audience in close-up, Ginger returns to set-off Busby Berkeley doing his thing abetted by the brilliant music of Al Dubin and Harry Warren. And what a thing! You just want to grab one of those bikini-ed babes and start dancing – big 1993 ‘coins’ simultaneously hide and focus attention on their ‘assets’. The girls are rehearsing a number for a new Broadway show, but before they finish the Sheriff has raided the theater and confiscated all the girls’ accoutrements. The producer has run out of dough and the girls are out of a job. Old man depression still has some life in him yet.
“- It’s all about the Depression.
– We won’t have to rehearse that.”
Ginger on the skids recedes into the background after we are introduced to three out of work chorines sharing an apartment and clothes, and forced to pilfering a neighbor’s milk for breakfast: two forced-by-circumstance gold-diggers and a third cute little damsel with eyes that melt your heart. The exuberant wise-cracker Aline MacMahon, the hot and soulful Joan Blondell, and the all-singing and all-dancing ingénue Ruby Keeler. A trio of fresh dames that drive the narrative with comic delight and saucy innuendo. As Maurice Chevalier warbled in another movie – “thank Heaven for little girls”. Ruby’s heart belongs to Dick Powell an aspiring song composer down the hall. All the story needs now is dough and a producer for another show. After a few scenes we are there. A show about the depression. Music and mysterious funding by Dick, and production by the irascible Ned Sparks.
The scenario established, we run headlong into a romantic comedy fueled by sex, romance, cute misunderstandings, and gold-digging, peppered with fantastic show numbers courtesy of Berkeley. As stuffy suitors or marks – depending on who you’re talking to (wink, wink) – we have Warner Bros stalwarts Warren William as Dick’s older disapproving brother and Guy Kibbee as his lawyer, who in one rich scene is caught mugging in a hat-shop mirror with a pooch – mirror, mirror on the wall…
“- Isn’t there going to be any comedy in the show?
– Oh, plenty! The gay side, the hard-boiled side, the cynical and funny side of the depression! I’ll make ’em laugh at you starving to death, honey. It’ll be the funniest thing you ever did.”
As scenarios go we have been there before and we will go there again, but the glee is in the dialog, and here Aline MacMahon holds all the cards. Kibbee as her beau whom she dubs “Fanny” holds his end up, but his talent is his silly engaging demeanor. MacMahon is a talker and simply a joy: wise-cracks delivered with perfect timing have you smiling if not laughing out loud. Her effervescence has you enthralled. As John Fawell wrote in his 2008 book on the Hollywood studio era: “rapid-fire delivery, a lovely zippy rhythm… a cinema that has a buoyant energy and expresses that energy in a rapid, clever, excited use of language. There is a love of language here that seems to reflect a love of life”. [1] In the middle of her opening number Ginger Rogers sings a whole chorus in pig-Latin, nonsensical celebratory chatter full of mirth. Apparently this was added to the script after director Mervyn LeRoy and Berkeley heard her fooling around the set aping the latest rage!
“Trixie – Excuse me. Come here Fay, I have something I wan-ta show you.
Fay – what do you want?
Trixie – Do you see that?
Fay – See what?
Trixie – Can’t you read? Where it says ‘Exit’?
Fay – Exit?
Trixie – You said it, sister. You start walking and you keep walking, and if you ever come near him again I’ll break BOTH your legs, now scram!
Fay – I could easily resent that!
[As Fay walks away, Trixie kicks her in the bottom, making Fay squeal/shriek]
Fanny – Did little Fay cry out?
Trixie – No, that must have been the cornet you heard.”
This is movie-making liberated by the coming of sound: great dialog, wonderful singing, and dance extravaganzas made magic by vibrant music. A musical! The irony of course is that the movie was made for depression audiences – the credible rationale being that audiences wanted an escape from the daily realities of unemployment, soup kitchens, deprivation, and austerity. While no-one would be grateful for the Great Crash, thankfully this movie was made pre-Code.
“We just love it
Pettin’ in the park
Bad boy!
Pettin’ in the dark
Bad girl!
Whatcha doin’, honey?
I feel so funny
I’m pettin’ in the park with you
Pettin’ in the park”
After enforcement of the Production Code in late-1934 the ‘Pettin’ in the Park’ number would have ended up on the cutting-room floor, and one of the most deliciously outrageous musical numbers to hit the screen would have been lost. Here we need to thank not only Heaven, but also Warner Bros studio head Jack Warner and production chief Darryl F. Zanuck who had the pluck to give Berkeley’s creative vision free reign. The number oozes sex and is joyfully erotic, with Ruby Keeler adorably coy when she pouts “Bad boy!” and “I feel so funny”.
Just before the closing ‘Remember My Forgotten Man’ number, Berkeley stages a gorgeous extravaganza of dance and unmatched geometry for a Powell solo– ‘Shadow Waltz’. The song is nice but it is Berkeley’s exposition of the mood and melody – featuring 60 neon-lit violins! – that has you agape.
“Remember my forgotten man
You put a rifle in his hand
You sent him far away
You shouted, “Hip, hooray!”
But look at him today!
Remember my forgotten man”
The expectation of a happy-ending is not compromised but a solemn musical coda places the fun and frivolity of the back-story into sombre relief. The ‘Remember My Forgotten Man’ number is truly subversive. A dark mood prevails with Joan Blondell as a b-girl forced into prostitution lamenting the fate of her forgotten man – glorified when he returned from war and then discarded by the hard economic times (and by extension by the failure of the incumbent GOP president Hoover to deal with the massive unemployment and social devastation it was wreaking).
Blondell’s rendition is more rap than singing, with the true pathos and bluesy feeling delivered by (shamefully uncredited) black singer Etta Moten in a poignant much too short chorus. This dark expressionist finale with studio rain must have struck audiences at the time as totally out of left field. But it does redeem the cosmetic resolution of the narrative, which offers up a soppy romantic reconciliation where rich guys can be swell, and conspicuous consumption is just fine.
Delirious fun.
Gold Diggers of 1933 (Warner Bros 1933)
Directors: Mervyn LeRoy and Busby Berkeley (musical)
Writing credits
Erwin S. Gelsey & James Seymour (screenplay)
David Boehm & Ben Markson (dialogue)
Avery Hopwood (based on a play by)
Cinematography: Sol Polito
Film Editor: George Amy
Art Direction: Anton Grot
Costume Design: Orry-Kelly (gowns)
Music
Al Dubin & Harry Warren (music & lyrics)
Leo F. Forbstein (conductor – Vitaphone Orchestra)
Ray Heindorf (musical arrangements – uncredited)
Etta Moten (singer of Remember My Forgotten Man – uncredited)
Cast
Warren William – Lawrence
Joan Blondell – Carol
Aline MacMahon – Trixie
Ruby Keeler – Polly
Dick Powell – Brad
Guy Kibbee – Peabody
Ned Sparks – Barney
Ginger Rogers – Fay
Awards
Nominated for Best Sound 1934 Academy Awards
Selected for Registry by the National Film Preservation Board (2003)
[1] John Fawell, THE HIDDEN ART OF HOLLYWOOD: In Defence of the Studio Era Film (Greenwood Publishing 2008) p. 169
How GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 made the ‘Elite 70′:
Greg Ferrara’s No. 2 choice
Dennis Polifroni’s No. 2 choice
Allan Fish’s No. 4 choice
Sam Juliano’s No. 12 choice
Marilyn Ferdinand’s No. 16 choice
Pat Perry’s No. 18 choice
Judy Geater’s No. 31 choice
“And what a thing! You just want to grab one of those bikini-ed babes and start dancing – big 1993 ‘coins’ simultaneously hide and focus attention on their ‘assets’.”
The musical countdown is ending on the highest note possible. Now Tony d’Ambra has joined in the fun this week with yet another masterpiece of writing, and one of his all-time greatest pieces in any genre. The unifying theme of this GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 essay is the Depression and the ironic regard this great masterpiece has for it. Indeed, the use of “We’re in the Money” at the outset is delightfully appropriate. Of course this is as Tony notes, a “romantic comedy fueled by sex, cute misunderstandings and gold-digging” and it’s one of the most justly celebrated of the Berkeleys, with it’s lavish, geometrically designed dance routines. The “rhythm and the rapid-fire delivery” of the dialogue is given wonderful attention in an especially superlative paragraph, the use of the “Pettin in the Park” lyrics and the whole idea of the love of language (and love of life) shines through in a brilliant marriage of language to image. And it goes without saying that a film like this could only have been made in the pre-code era.
This is unquestionably a musical landmark, and it has received the most accomplished treatment imaginable. The use of screen caps is masterful as well, with references well placed. It’s a banner piece, that really does line for line bring to life the phrase ‘delirious fun.’ Bravo!
Very engaging write-up that manages to keep pace with the zippy energy of the film. Of the first 3 Berkeleys, I feel that this is the “story” one, i.e. the one whose comedic antics are so entertaining it would hold up without even the songs and dances – but with those fantastic numbers it’s in a whole nother realm. Anyway, the fact that one can even call a film featuring the iconic Berkeley sequences for Pettin’ in the Park, I’ve Got to Sing a Torch Song, and Remember Your Forgotten Man the “story” one speaks volumes about how powerful all 3 of those early films were.
I also like that this film pulls off a neat narrative trick – it starts with “the money” and the feel-good vibes onstage and the Depression offstage, and ends with the money and happy endings offstage but the Depression onstage. No doubt this reflects the path of many artists of the time, who struggled, made their fortune (or at least their living) with escapist entertainment, and then felt a duty, now that they themselves were out of its clutches, to put the Depression onscreen as an expression from whence they came.
Totally deserving of its #3 spot – though I could rotate any Berkeley in or out of this place, I think the triumphant trio of this countdown (and yes, I know what the next 2 will be) are rock-solid.
Great, great essay by Tony here! The thing that attracts me so much to this film is that you can strip of story or chracater development and the sights and sounds still make it compelling. To me, it’s llike a depression era FANTASIA of images and sounds and once viewed it forever stays imbedded in the brain. Each number, song and dance sequence one-ups the before and the pacing of the whole thing leaves the viewer breathless. When I think of films that perfectly define a genre there are certain films that stand at the head of the pact as the perfect representatice. When I think of classic musicalsN the image I often see is the WE’RE IN THE MONEY moments from this film. Some call this light-hearted fare, I see it as really powerful stuff.
Sorry about the spelling mistakes above… This damn Blackberry is killing me… 😦
Tony, “delirious fun”–a perfect two-word summation of this film. I first saw it on afternoon television as a youngster and had little to compare it to in the way of musical movies. After pre-Code films started getting so much attention a few years ago (and this one is definitely pre-Code–Blondell’s ruse to ensnare William would also have been a no-no one year later) and this one was so glowingly praised, I made a point of watching it again. This time I did have much to compare it to, and seeing it again was a revelation. It’s one of the great American musicals of the thirties and for me the best of the Big Three Warners backstage musicals of 1933. The musical numbers are superlative even by Busby Berkeley standards. “By a Waterfall” may be the most lyrical BB production number, “Lullaby of Broadway” the most psychedelic, but “Pettin’ in the Park” is the funniest and “My Forgotten Man” the most serious and potent. And for once the quality of the musical numbers is matched by the quality of everything else in the film. The topical, satirical script is a joy, a perfect balance of seriousness and humor. It does for the musical what Capra sought–usually with a much heavier hand–to do for the romantic comedy. The cast couldn’t be better. Again, what balance. Powell and Keeler as the ingenues, Blondell (never better) and Warren William in the center to lend heft, and Kibbee and the incomparable MacMahon (how well you describe her style) for comic buoyancy. The great Deco sets by Grot and the wonderfully fluid camera work by Warners house cinematographer Polito (not adequately recognized for the understated quality and consistency of his work). Just about a perfect concoction whipped up from the finest ingredients.
I just noticed that the individual rankings of the voters in the countdown aren’t here. I’m curious to know how it placed with them.
R.D., I posted them last night, but for some reason they didn’t take to Tony’s piece.
Here they are:
How GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 made the ‘Elite 70’:
Greg Ferrara’s No. 2 choice
Dennis Polifroni’s No. 2 choice
Allan Fish’s No. 4 choice
Sam Juliano’s No. 12 choice
Marilyn Ferdinand’s No. 16 choice
Pat Perry’s No. 18 choice
Judy Geater’s No. 31 choice
/added to the above
Sam, thanks for adding these. It’s always interesting to see these–to gauge the tastes of the individual voters, the broadness of the film’s appeal, and the sometimes quirky ways statistical averaging can work to give an overall result. I meant to mention one thing about this film that must have been apparent to audiences of the time, and since no one else has brought it up since my original comment I will now. That’s the obvious allusions in the “Forgotten Man” number to the Bonus March of early 1932. This was more than just a general observation on the disenfranchisement of veterans, but a clear political statement that was specific and in its way daring for studio movies of the time
I may not have voted it my no 1 musical, but this is the musical I watch more than any other and a shoein for anyone’s top 5 who isn’t blind and/or deaf.
Could you speak up a bit? I just bumped into a wall and my hearing aids fell out.
I love so much about this film, but Ruby Keeler’s horrifying dancing is like rubbing shards of glass in my eyes. I can’t rank a film at the top with such an inept star stumbling around in front of me.
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love it.
I agree Marilyn. LOL!
Completely agreed with Marilyn Ferdinand.
I understand where Marilyn is going with her chastizement of Allan, but I cannot say I agree. There is rarely a perfect film that gets EVERY element right. That Keeler isn’t letter perfect is a small bitch when thinking of the totality of this film. Like FANTASIA its about the overall effect and where the sounds and images take you. Personally, I cannot condemn a film just because a single element is lacking. If I were so strict in my viewing, a film like WEST SIDE STORY would never have made it as high on my ballot as Allan’s criticism of Beymer and Wood being out of place is, actually dead on. I like the overall effect of GOLD-DIGGERS, it catches my spirit and envelopes me.. Like FANTASIA its an experience and so much more than one sour spot. Remember, many of us go gaa-gaa over Astaires dancing but never clap a film like TOP HAT for its corny writing, over-bllown performances and lackluster direction of non-music moments. GOLD-DIGGERS is THE film when I think of classic musicals.
Well, Dennis, I did put it at No. 16, whereas Alan put WSS near the bottom of his list. Underappreciating a film for its so-called missed opportunities is not appreciating everything it did right, and in the case of WSS, that a whole lot of right.
Sauce of milk for Ms Ferdinand. 🙂 Better still, to paraphrase Groucho, give her the cow and let her milk it herself.
I rated West Side Story lowish, yes. You rated Love me Tonight terribly low. I know the greater crime…one is a great show failing to make a great film, the other is a great film.
You know, Allan, I should have given Love Me Tonight a higher ranking, but Mamoulian’s inability to warm Jeanette MacDonald up really bothered me. I know it’s hard to compare Mamoulian and Lubitsch, but in this case, when you see the chemistry of the exact same leads in The Merry Widow and then compare them in Love Me Tonight, there is no contest. The pair falls flat. The tape-measure scene should have been sexy and fun; instead it feels awkward and labored.
Allan Fish thinks that just by saying that West Side Story has problems, that the legions (hoardes) of musical lovers, critics, audiences, experts, composers, the whole lot are all missing the boat.
Maybe for once in his life he can should stop looking down his nose and admit that maybe, just maybe, just this once it is he who has missed the boat.
Many thanks to all for their comments here, all of which have added real depth to the discussion.
Yes Sam, I am fascinated by the ‘banter’ in old Hollywood movies. I find an incredible richness in the dialog, and credit must go to the largely un-sung writers and scenarists who made movies like Gold-Diggers of 1933 such fun.
My particular thanks must go to Sam and Allan for their encouragement and support, and in giving me this opportunity to explore new vistas.
A wonderful and penetrating essay Tony,
The dialog, the music, the visuals, the depth of the story resonates more today than ever now since the great depression. The musical numbers, “Pettin’ in the Park” and “We’re in the Money,” are fittingly appropriate but it is the great “Remember My Forgotten Man” ( particular like Etta Motan’s bluesy singing of the song during the production number) and the potent ending with the returning soldiers, the homeless, men and women all forgotten. A powerful political statement rare from a major studio then or now. Brilliant film!
Tony – Great post. Like you, I love the witty banter, particularly in these pre-code films, and I love that you’ve provided so many samples. You really capture the fun in this film. In preparing for my countdown vote, I revisited this and other Warner Brothers musicals for the first time in many years,and was freshly amazed at how they manage to be so damn entertaining and fun while fully acknowledging the effects of the Depression. In “Gold Diggers,” I particularly liked the details of life for the three roommates, like the way they steal milk frorm the neighbors and share one good dress among them for interviews and auditions.
Tony – You found with your writing so much of what is so fun and serious about this musical and why it is so beloved and important. I sometimes find it hard to imagine what audiences of the time might have thought when watching a film as a new release, but this film captures, as did you, the sentiments of the times that made it necessary for Gold Diggers to be made. Great job!
Tony,
Great essay and you highlight all the wonderful things about it. Funny dialogue, great musical sequences and the essence of pre-code and the depression. Although I clearly prefer 42nd St., this one is still quite a musical extravaganza and a time capsule type film from this era. Rogers’ pig-latin moment is really funny, as is the whole middle sequence of the film regarding all the “gold-digging”. I don’t really think that “Pettin in the Park” is a great song (it’s simple and repetitive), but it’s one of the Musical World’s great curio pieces. It’s a hammy and winking kind of sequence that lays on the sex and exploitation thickly and unabashadly. I still prefer Berkeley’s sequences in Footlight Parade better, as they are more outlandish, but this one is the best of the sequences in this film. I’m actually a bit surprised that the film ranks so highly, considering the dancing isn’t great and the score is so-so, but I think the film is a great reflection of its era and the subversive nature of the film is not to be outdone.
Great highlighting, Tony, of the Depression era factor of the film’s dauntless sparkle.
Hi! Tony D’Ambra —
Unfortunately, I have never watched “Gold Diggers Of 1933”…However, your review may send me in the [pre-code] direction to seek this film out to watch…
[Unfortunately, I have not watched too many pre-code films yet, [with yet being the operative word here…]
By the way, I like the way that you included some lyrics from the film…then discussed the film, then included lyrics from the film and then…Well, you get the picture…What a very “tight” well-written review.
[An addendum: Oh! yes, Tony, I just watched for the first-time the number “I’ve Got to Sing a Torch Song” [Shadow Waltz] and I must admit that I was quite…impressed with the entire spectacle…amazing!]
Thanks, for sharing!
deedee 🙂
What a pleasant surprise to see this come ahead of WSS. I’m just wondering why the usual placement indicator at the bottom of every piece is missing here? Would like to see how our illustrious panel slotted this film into their individual lists (CORRECTION: I see Sam has included the information in his comment). Regardless this is probably my favorite musical and I enjoyed reading Tony’s essay.
This is as expressionist a piece as I’ve seen in this countdown. What Tony d’Ambra was after was a feel for the film, not a straightforward component analysis. Therefore, I’d say it links images with writing in remarkable fashion. Definitely one of the best essays in the countdown.
I like the film, but it would fall short of top ten designation.
A cornucopia of Golden Age Hollywood’s megastars strutting their leggy stuff in machinations straight out of soap opera heaven. And if you think the 1930s can’t be sexy, here is the proof. (I would wager plenty of men in the ’30s went to the theaters to see this wearing trench coats with extra deep pockets, if you know what I mean.) Gold Diggers of 1933 had toe tapping songs, likable characters, tons of exposed skin, gals that made up in gams what they lacked in melons, and good-natured swindling of randy men that’d do any modern ne’er-do-well proud. A true cinematic classic! I think this aspect was superbly covered by Tony, but as this great review presents there is so much more.
A great piece, Tony, and I agree with Frank that I like the way you link the images and words. I see I am the “outlier” in the voting this time – that’s because I prefer ’42nd Street’ and ‘Footlight Parade’ out of the three great Busby Berkeley musicals from 1933 and voted them both higher in my ballot, with 42nd Street in my top ten, but I do like all three. The opening and closing songs in this movie are both especially great, but the film as a whole does have an awful lot of Dick Powell in it for my taste – I can’t warm to his singing, and I don’t think his character has nearly as much charisma as either Warner Baxter or James Cagney. However,Joan Blondell, Aline McMahon and Ginger Rogers are all fantastic.
Tony, I like 42nd Street best of the Berkeley backstagers but 1933 has a special wallop because of those two incredible bookend numbers. They really ground the film in its title year and put a Depression bracket on all the fun. Interesting that they start with the upbeat number and end with the downer, but it sure works. The thing that always gets me with “Forgotten Man” is after the squalor is established they go to that flashback tableau with the troops marching and the flags waving. I can imagine a collective sigh or moan rising from the original audiences at the sight of that reminder. Yet none of it is really a buzzkill; it’s a topper and entirely fitting for the project. Definite top ten material. Now let Gene and Judy fight it out.
For what it’s worth the Powell/Keeler duet with the violins is actually Shadow Waltz and not I’ve Got to Sing a Torch Song. And really I can’t recall much Keeler dancing in this film at all, other than maybe a brief solo she did before the Pettin in the Park number got wacky.
I think this film more than anything on this list has had a major reappraisal over the past 15 years. The reason is simple: It is much more available now than it used to be. The film was always well liked but I remember when it used to only be out on a low print run VHS tape that cost 29.99 (this would be the days before TCM).
I first saw the film around Christmas time in 1995, the first year I had TCM. In fact it was the last day of school before Christmas break and TCM had a Gold Diggers fest that week. It quickly became one of my favorite films and I later tracked down one of those out of print VHS tapes for Christmas in 1997. For whatever reason I almost view this film as a Christmas movie due to those circumstances (and I guess there is a winter bit in the Park number).
I knew Singin in the Rain would rank over this film, and I suppose the level of actual musical talent involved is higher, but I might put this film above it. I mentioned in the Love Me Tonight thread that Singin in the Rain has a real lull with the Broadway Melody number (which frankly is a ripoff of Berkeley’s Lullaby of Broadway that stops the film dead in its tracks). As far as Wizard of Oz goes, for whatever reason I hadn’t counted it as a musical. I think of it more as a fantasy with a couple of songs.
Make no mistake, this is the best Warners musical out there. 42nd Street in a lot of ways was the first salvo and the formula hadn’t been established yet (and be honest…Warner Baxter needed to have a heart attack and die at the end). Footlight Parade is probably the 2nd best, but to me just doesn’t quite measure up to this one for whatever reason. Maybe it’s a simple fact that GD of 1933 is a film with immense heart, a film that is hilarious and fun in its romance plot yet also has a social conscience. Maybe the ending number just hit me harder and stunned me on first viewing, as if to say “Hey, we’ve had a lot of fun here but at the end of the day this country has big problems that need to be addressed.”
Great, great movie.
Thank you for pointing-out the error regarding Shadow Waltz, which has been corrected, but both Powell and Keeler dance more than briefly during the Petting in the Park number. Though I am sorry that you chose to nit-pick rather than address the body of my review.
Btw, the movie was widely screened on free-to-air television in all major continents and has been acclaimed for decades. I first saw it in the 1950s on b&w TV when I was growing up in Sydney, where it was broadcast at least annually into the 1980s.
Great context here, brian. I think the end of 42nd St is just right, though – we know Baxter will probably keel over and die any day now and that he’s earned this small bit of respite, which he seems too exhausted to even enjoy. Funny though, that real life went in an even more melodramatic direction, as I think R.D. Finch pointed out in mentioning the ’80 musical.
Wow. I’m surprised to see this here. I’ve never seen it, but I always got the impression it was pretty campy and ridiculous and only remembered for it’s catchy main tune. I guess I was wrong and should get on it quick. Great piece.
My thanks to all who have commented since my response yesterday – your responses are truly appreciated. I am sorry that I have not addressed all responses individually, but due to domestic obligations I have little time available for my PC at present. My apologies also for the Shadow Waltz mix-up. Tony