Dancing Lady

Dancing Lady
theatrical poster
Directed by	Robert Z. Leonard
Produced by	John W. Considine Jr. David O. Selznick
Written by	Book: James Warner Bellah Screenplay: Allen Rivkin P. J. Wolfson Robert Benchley (uncredited) Zelda Sears (uncredited)
Starring	Joan Crawford Clark Gable
Music by	Louis Silvers
Cinematography	Oliver T. Marsh
Editing by	Margaret Booth
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date(s)	November 24, 1933 (1933-11-24) (US)
Running time	92 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Dancing Lady is a 1933 musical film starring Joan Crawford and Clark Gable, and featuring Franchot Tone, the fourth of eight collaborations between Crawford and Gable. It was directed by Robert Z. Leonard, produced by John W. Considine Jr. and David O. Selznick, and was based on the novel of the same name by James Warner Bellah, published the previous year. The movie had a hit song in "Everything I Have Is Yours," by Burton Lane and Harold Adamson.

The picture features the screen debut of dancer Fred Astaire, who appears as himself, as well as the first credited film appearance of Nelson Eddy, and an early feature film appearance of the Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Curly Howard, and Larry Fine) in support of their then-partner Ted Healy, who has a larger role in the movie; the quartet is billed as "Ted Healy and His Stooges." At the other end of the comedy scale, cultured Algonquin Round Table humorist Robert Benchley plays a supporting role.

Plot

Janie Barlow (Joan Crawford) is a young dancer who is reduced to stripping in a burlesque show. Arrested for indecent exposure, she's bailed out by millionaire playboy Tod Newton (Franchot Tone), who was attracted to her while slumming at the theatre with his society pals. When she tries to get a part in a Broadway musical, Tod intercedes with director Patch Gallagher (Clark Gable) to get her the job: he'll put his money into the show, if Janie is given a part in the chorus. Even though he needs the money, Patch is resistant, until he sees Janie dance and realizes her talent. When, after hard work and perseverance, Janie is elevated to the star's part – replacing Vivian Warner (Gloria Foy) – Tod is afraid he'll lose any chance of gaining her affection if she becomes a star, so he closes the show, and Janie, out of work, goes away with him. Patch starts rehearsals up again using his own money, and when Janie returns and finds out the Tod has deceived her and manipulated things behind the scenes, she dumps him and joins up with her new sweetheart, Patch, to put on the show, which is a smash hit.

Cast

Joan Crawford as Janie Barlow Clark Gable as Patch Gallagher Franchot Tone as Tod Newton May Robson as Dolly Todhunter Winnie Lightner as Rosette LaRue Robert Benchley as Ward King Ted Healy as Steve Moe Howard as Moe, a stagehand Curly Howard as Curly, a stagehand            Larry Fine as Harry, a pianist

Grant Mitchell as Jasper Bradley, Sr. Maynard Holmes as Jasper Bradley, Jr. Sterling Holloway as Pinky Gloria Foy as Vivian Warner Fred Astaire as himself Arthur Jarrett as himself Nelson Eddy as himself

Reception

Dancing Lady was a box office hit upon its release and drew mostly positive reviews from critics. Mordaunt Hall in the New York Times wrote, "It is for the most part quite a lively affair.... The dancing of Fred Astaire and Miss Crawford is most graceful and charming. The photographic effects of their scenes are an impressive achievement....Miss Crawford takes her role with no little seriousness."^[1]

See also

• List of American films of 1933
• Clark Gable filmography
• Three Stooges filmography

References

Notes

1. ^ Hall, Mordaunt. "Joan Crawford, Clark Gable and Franchot Tone in the Capitol's New Pictorial Offering" New York Times (December 1, 1933)

Sources

• Article on Dancing Lady at the TCM Movie Database

External links

• Dancing Lady at the Joan Crawford Encyclopedia.
• Dancing Lady at the TCM Movie Database
• Dancing Lady at the Internet Movie Database
• Dancing Lady at AllRovi