TEN CENTS A DANCE
US, 1931, 75 minutes, Black and white.
Barbara Stanwyck, Ricardo Cortez, Monroe Owsley, Sally Blane.
Directed by Lionel Barrymore.
This is an early Barbara Stanwyck film, on her way up to becoming a leading star for almost 50 years. He/she plays a dancer in a club, rather reluctant, but pressurised the madam who is in charge.
She meets a sympathetic businessman who pays attention to her. She is also kind to an out of work man, Eddie, whom she eventually marries. She persuades the businessman to give him a job. She leaves the dancing and sets up a house only to find that her husband is untrustworthy, has a roving eye, and steals money from his boss. She goes to the businessman and asks him to give her the money which he does. Ultimately, it leads to a confrontation between the two men, some gunplay, and realising that the businessman loved her and offers her a ticket to accompany him to Europe.
Barbara Stanwyck, as always, is very strong in her performance. Of interest, the film was made at Columbia and directed by Lionel Barrymore, who had directed a number of silent films but this was to be his last major directing. He was a star at MGM and continued there for the next 20 years.
1. An entertaining melodrama of the 1930s?
2. Clubs, dancers, apartments, business? Black-and-white photography, musical score, dance music?
3. The dances, the title and the fee, the clientele, sailors, ordinary men, paying the money, the girls, willing and unwilling to dance, the madam supervising them, strict?
4. Barbara as a character, dancing, lack of education in background, willing and unwilling, dancing, talking with Bradley, his interest and meeting with him? The friendship with Eddie? His being in need, getting on top, leaving, marrying, her hopes of an ordinary life, his unreliability, seeing other women, stealing the money?
5. Her going to Bradley, getting Eddie a job, asking him for the money, his knowing the truth, giving it to her?
6. The confrontation with Eddie, her telling him what happened, his going to Bradley, the confrontation?
7. Barbara, returning to the dancing, feelings of hopelessness? Bradley visiting again, talking, his love, offering the ticket to Europe?
8. A film of the 1930s – and the atmosphere of the depression?
