GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933

US, 1933, 96 minutes, Black and white.
Warren William, Joan Blondell, Aline Mac Mahon, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, Guy Kibbee, Ned Sparks,
Ginger Rogers, Clarence Nordstrom.
Directed by Mervyn Le Roy.

Gold Diggers of 1933 followed Footlight Parade as annual musical - putting on the show, with regular stars like Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler and Joan Blondell. There were several Gold Diggers films as well as Dames.

While this film was directed by Mervyn Le Roy (Little Caesar, other gangster films and then more gracious entertainments at MGM in the '40s, choreography and the direction of the numbers is by Busby Berkeley. The songs and dances have all the characteristics of his style: `We're In The Money' (which Bonnie went to see at the opening of Bonnie and Clyde), `Pettin' In The Park', `In the Shadow When I Sing To You', `My Forgotten Man'.

The plot is negligible but the cast is cheerful and full of energy. It is a variation of the Gold Diggers story which was used for many films including Moon Over Miami, How To Marry A Millionaire.

1. Popular musical of 1933? Warner Bros style? Busby Berkeley? Its place in cinema history?

2. Black and white photography, studio sets? The choreography, the visual style of the Berkeley films and their appeal? The musical score and the songs?

3. The title, the focus on the girls, the Depression, ambitions and the rich?

4. The opening and `We're In The Money,' the atmosphere of the Depression? Barney and the police taking away his props, the collapse of the show? Barney as an enthusiast, putting on a new show, employing Brad? The production? The audience - in the Depression times?

5. The girls, in the chorus, their rent, one dress between them? Cheerful? Polly and her attraction towards Brad? The mystery of his identity? Trixie and her sardonic remarks? Carol as the heroine? Fay as the glamorous intruder? In the musical? Their talents? Their stories: Carol and her being taken for Polly, taking Lawrence for a ride? Out with him, the gifts? Being drunk, his proposal? Her blackmailing him for Polly and Brad's marriage? Polly as nice, ingenuous, in love with Brad, supporting him? The deception of his brother? Trixie and the comedy, with Peabody, the proposal? Older? Fay and her intrusion?

6. The men: Bobby disguised as Brad, writing the songs, the secrecy, the money? The show must go on? His success, marriage to Polly? Clash with his brother? Lawrence and Peabody and the stuffy Bostonians? Their being attracted by the girls, paying for the hats, going out, falling in love, the dance, the drink? The troupe? The question of the $10,000 cheque?

7. The atmosphere of the Depression, the popularity of the musicals, desperation for jobs? The hard-boiled girls and soft centres?

8. The songs, their lyrics? The echo of the times?