(92 mins.) Released 1933-11-12
Director: Robert Z. Leonard
Stars: Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Franchot Tone, May Robson
Sammy Lee ... musical ensembles directed by
Eddie Prinz ... musical ensembles directed by
originally posted 14 Oct 2017 19:28
I only own this out of loyalty to Fred Astaire. This is his first film appearance and he dances twice - almost (partial rehearsal starting ~55 min, part of big production starting ~1:16:00, including FA & JC on a flying carpet, where we see through FA's body). However, I'm pleasantly surprised by the plot, the players and the staging of the dances. Definitely imitation Berkeley, but pretty well done. (Berkeley expressed a more extreme imagination, but the revolving sectors of posed girls is close.) Looking at the other credits of the 2 dance directors gives me no insight about who might be responsible.
Crawford plays ambitious underdog well; unfortunately she wants to be a dancer, and her "talent" detracts from credibility. (At one point she and Astaire do a jump that I've seen Ginger Rogers land beautifully; Crawford wobbles.) Gable gets plenty to yell and pout about.
Crawford and Gable both have their names ABOVE the title; they did 3 talkies before this (in '31), and 4 after (last in '40). Franchot Tone and Crawford were married 1935-39; this was the 2nd of 7 films together. This was also the film debut of Nelson Eddy (1 number). May Robson as Tone's grandmother is welcome.
MGM, dir. Leonard, 6+
