Story is soso, but the musical part, especially the song my forgotten man is one song that will stick in your minds forever. Gold diggers of 1933 1933 i knew better than to go gaga over the first busby berkeley movie i saw because gold diggers of 1933 is superior to footlight parade. This version of hopwoods play was written by james seymour and erwin s. Warner bros released gold diggers of 1933 to theaters on may 27, 1933.
Other articles where the gold diggers of 1933 is discussed. Gold diggers of 1933 was originally to be called high life, and george brent was an early casting idea for the role played by warren william. I found 42nd street and golddiggers of 1933 the betterstructured of the stories from this collection. Wealthy songwriter brad dick powell saves the day by funding a new depressionthemed musical for the girls to star in, but when his stuffy highsociety brother finds out and threatens to disown brad, carol and her gold digging friends scheme to keep the show going, hooking a couple of millionaires along the way. However, i believe gold diggers of 1933 critiques cinematic fantastical escapism. August 30, 2017 gold diggers of 1933 and the allure of precode cinema witness the rise of a star, joan blondell, in a deeply fascinating era of film history.
That film, gold diggers of broadway, which starred nancy welford and conway tearle, was the biggest box office hit of that year, and gold diggers of 1933 was one of the topgrossing films of 1933. Dec 02, 2016 gold diggers of 1933 is an early entry in the series, and the film features not only a largely female driven narrative, but also noted equality in the story. Jul 24, 20 gold diggers of 1933 1933 i knew better than to go gaga over the first busby berkeley movie i saw because gold diggers of 1933 is superior to footlight parade. Those three films were backstage stories, all concerned with the production of a broadway show. From that point on a seal of approval was required and the films changed accordingly gold diggers of 1933 dir. Such critiques are found within the binaries of the were in the money sequence. What should have been a mess, turned out to be a masterpiece. In 2003, the film was selected for preservation in the united states national film registry by the library of congress as being culturally, historically, or aesthetically. A wealthy composer rescues unemployed broadway performers with a new play. And its a number in an otherwise innocuous hollywood musical from 1933. Things get tough for carol joan blondell and her showgirl pals ruby keeler, aline macmahon when the great depression kicks in and all the broadway shows close down. Gold diggers of 1933 does offer, in a featured role, the ineffable ned sparks as hypermotivated broadway director barney hopkins, but the film s plotsteering leads are the personably played titular showgirls.
Aline macmahon, warren william, dick powell, ruby keeler, joan blondell. Taking the disparate urges of the era, from the poverty and starvation to the liberated sexual attitudes and. It has its origin in 1883 in a speech by william sumner and was used by franklin roosevelt in a 1932 speech. The film is fantastic as a drama and especially as a comedy, but it succeeds tremendously in the musical sequences thanks to a bunch of unforgettable, simply fabulous songs and a great score. It stars warren william, joan blondell, aline macmahon, ruby keeler, and dick powell, and features guy kibbee, ned sparks and ginger rogers the story is based on the play the gold diggers by avery hopwood. Gold diggers of 1933 full full movie, gold diggers of 1933 full full movie streaming gold diggers of 1933 full movie engsub watch gold diggers of 1933 full english full movie online gold diggers. Gold diggers of 1933 is an early entry in the series, and the film features not only a largely female driven narrative, but also noted equality in the story. If 42nd street was an agreeable sketch, this one is the sistine chapel, an insanely overproduced extravaganza that gave busby berkeley his first chance to really cut loose. Blondell is wonderful and made several great films in this era. The film starred warren william, joan blondell, and aline macmahon. The songs were written by harry warren music and al dubin lyrics.
Gold diggers of 1935 is an american musical film directed and choreographed by busby berkeley, and starring dick powell, adolphe menjou, gloria stuart and alice brady. Winifred shaw, hugh herbert and glenda farrell are also featured. Gold diggers of 1933 was set to be a routine backstage romantic comedy, but after the runaway success of 42nd street with its spectacular dance numbers choreographed by busby berkely, studio heads decided to make a few changes and shoehorn in some berkely routines. Gold diggers of 1933 is a glorious early musical and one of the very best of the thirties. A tenth disc includes repeats from 42nd street and the gold digger movies, but it also includes choreographies from films not in this collection, such as lady in red, one of my favorite numbers. Released by warner bros in 1933, the film looks at three chorus girls and a producer struggling to survive in new york. Watch gold diggers of 1933 starring joan blondell in this music on directv. Apr 04, 2014 gold diggers of 1933 is a perfect reflection of so many things that were happening in the film industry at the time. Gold diggers of 1933 is the second of a threemovie busby berkeley retrospective, and will be presented at pack library in lord auditorium monday, may 12, at 6 p. Rife with righteous fury, dripping with anguish, and populated by marching masses almost zombified by hopelessness, its a piece of socialist art pitched somewhere between poetry and propaganda. Robert lord won his first producing credit for gold diggers of 1933 1933, an allsinging, alldancing followup to warner bros. The famous opening song from the film gold diggers of 1933, performed by ginger rogers. It followed a silent version made in 1923 and an early talkie that was released in 1929, the year of the wall street crash. Remembering the forgotten man of gold diggers of 1933 from.
It has such range a the busby berkeley musical numbers which are outstanding, the bawdy little bits slipped. Its available to watch on tv, online, tablets, phone. Carol and her golddigging friends scheme to keep the show going, hooking a couple of millionaires along the way. The oddest aspect of gold diggers of 1933 is the fact that the mood of the songs is wildly at variance with the plot. The nonmusical parts of those films had the gritty urban atmosphere for which warners was renowned, but for the. Mervyn leroy mervyn leroys blockbuster a remake of the gold diggers of broadway 1929 which itself was a remake of the silent film gold diggers 1923 about chorus girls, was a hugelysuccessful followup to warners 42nd street 1933. First and foremost, it dealt with the great depression during the great depression. The film has such life to it, and with all of the elements it has, really. Gold diggers of 1933 official trailer this critically undervalued paean to allamerican cupidity is pure depressionera gold, the funniest of all the berkeley extravaganzas. Gold diggers of 1933 gained great commercial success, but was actually one of the first american films being altered before distribution in order to avoid state censorship. A tenth disc includes repeats from 42nd street and the golddigger movies, but it also includes choreographies from films not in this collection, such as lady in. In new york, three showgirls, polly, carol, and trixie, live in a rundown apartment. It has such range a the busby berkeley musical numbers which. I could write an entire piece on why the placement of that number alone is as bold of a.
Sep 28, 2017 warner bros released gold diggers of 1933 to theaters on may 27, 1933. Wealthy songwriter brad dick powell saves the day by funding a new depressionthemed musical for the girls to star in, but when his stuffy highsociety brother finds out and threatens to disown brad, carol and her golddigging friends scheme to keep the show going, hooking a couple of millionaires along the way. Gold diggers of 1933 is, i argue, the most complete document of the great depression and precode hollywood. Gold diggers of 1933 favorite movie button overview. The movie was the fourth in the gold diggers series of films, after the now lost silent film the gold diggers 1923, the partially lost film gold diggers of broadway 1929, and gold diggers of 1933 1933. Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing gold diggers of 1933 near you. The entire song is never performed in the 1933 movie, though it introduces the film in the opening scene wherein the performance is busted up by the police. See more ideas about gold diggers of 1933, busby berkeley, gold digger. Warners knew they had a hit before the earlier film had even opened, so they had this production in the works while the rest of hollywood was scrambling to catch up. Busby berkeley was an innovative choreographer and director with lots of dazzling style on full display in many of his films. It starred joan blondell, ruby keeler, dick powell, ginger rogers, and. Ruby keelers dewyeyed polly parker, joan blondells brighteyed carol king, aline macmahons sharpeyed trixie lorraine and.
The second talkie version of the avery hopwoods theatrical warhorse the golddiggers of broadway, gold diggers of 1933 was the second of three backtoback 1933 warner bros. Gold diggers of 1933 1933 journeys in classic film. A fantastic busby berkeley musical about young women who try to beat the depression by finding rich husbands. The gold diggers ruby keeler, joan blondell, aline macmahon, and ginger rogers are four aspiring actresses cast in the play, whose hopes hinge on brad. The film rejects the passivism of its generic trends to expose, rather than repress, depressionera realities for its spectators. May 07, 2008 gold diggers of 1933 is the second of a threemovie busby berkeley retrospective, and will be presented at pack library in lord auditorium monday, may 12, at 6 p. Visualizza altre idee su film, danza e ginger rogers. Gold diggers of 1933 was the third screen adaptation of avery hopwoods hugely successful play the gold diggers, which ran for 282 performances on broadway in 1919 and 1920. If 42nd street was an agreeable sketch, this one is the sistine chapel, an insanely overproduced extravaganza that gave busby berkeley his. Second of three massively blockbusting warner bros. Mervyn leroy directed the film and busby berkeley directed the musical sequences. Gold diggers of 1933 dvd, 2006 for sale online ebay.
One of the best examples of this use of social issues in film is gold diggers of 1933. Movement feminist precode hollywood 19291934 im floored. Sep 11, 20 gold diggers of 1933 gained great commercial success, but was actually one of the first american films being altered before distribution in order to avoid state censorship. Also sign me up for fanmail to get updates on all things movies. All musical scenes in the film, including this one. The gold diggers song were in the money is a song from the 1933 warner bros. The first three films, all financially successful, had all been based on the 1919 play the gold diggers. Jan 31, 2018 gold diggers of 1933 is a glorious early musical and one of the very best of the thirties. Not to say footlight parade isnt good, but theres far more technical skill, stronger acting and plotting in this film. Like many a warners nonmusical film, gold diggers of 1933 was one of the studios few popular filmusicals to openly address, and indeed directly critique, the contemporaneous great depression, the socioeconomic national catastrophe that supposedly compelled audiences to seek fleeting doses of solace and escapism at inexpensive picture. Gelsey, with additional dialogue by david boehm and ben markson. Gold diggers of 1933 1933 directed by mervyn leroy. It stars warren william, joan blondell, aline macmahon, ruby keeler, and dick powell, and features guy kibbee, ned sparks and ginger rogers.
Gold diggers of 1933 is a perfect reflection of so many things that were happening in the film industry at the time. Gold diggers of 1933 is a 1933 precode warner bros. The concept of the forgotten man was not a new concept, original to gold diggers of 1933. The film begins with dozens of chorus girls led by ginger rogers happily chirping were in the money, a rehearsal number interrupted when the finance men burst in to claim the sets and props from the impoverished troupe.
With warren william, joan blondell, aline macmahon, ruby keeler. Gold diggers of 1933 is potent and emotionally stirring in ways i never wouldve expected, not least until remember my forgotten man moved me to literally applaud as the final title card came on screen. Gold diggers of 1933 and the allure of precode cinema. Gold diggers of 1933 by mervyn leroy mervyn leroy, warren.
Gold diggers of 1933 also benefited from a much better plot director than the berkeley films usually got, mervyn leroy, who brought to this story some of the cynicism and bitterness of his previous films dealing with the depression, notably i am a fugitive from a chain gang leroy had actually been set to direct the first berkeley film at. Watch gold diggers of 1933 online stream full movie. While there are other films that more bleak or sexy or funny, gold diggers is the perfect blend of all of these elements. I found 42nd street and gold diggers of 1933 the betterstructured of the stories from this collection. The gold diggers of 1933 film by leroy 1933 britannica.
Remembering the forgotten man of gold diggers of 1933. Not to say footlight parade isnt good, but theres far more technical skill, stronger acting and plotting in this film as opposed to yesterdays. These films got to the core of what was happening in america. For most of its running time, gold diggers of 1933 is a standard crowdpleaser. Gold diggers of 1933 was a smash hit on its initial release, nearly equalingand following hot on the footsteps of42nd street. The great depression is almost a character in the film.
1529 1153 377 1431 938 1299 619 1468 472 1422 1248 566 1111 1249 1506 389 207 1471 577 1379 93 195 616 129 783 1300 972 689