To me, this movie is perfection.

This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

A lot of fun.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Director: MERVYN LeROY. Screenplay by Erwin Gelsey and James Seymour. Dialogue by David Boehm and Ben Markson. Based on a play by Avery Hopwood. Photography by Sol Polito. Film editor: George Amy. Art director: Anton Grot. Gowns by Orry-Kelly. Numbers created and staged by Busby Berkeley. Vitaphone orchestra conducted by Leo F. Forbstein. Music and lyrics by Harry Warren and Al Dubin.Songs: "We're in the Money" (Rogers and chorus), "I've Got To Sing a Torch Song" (Powell), "Pettin' in the Park" (Powell, Keeler, chorus), "Remember My Forgotten Man" (Moten, Blondell dubbed by Marian Anderson, chorus), "The Shadow Waltz" (Keeler, chorus). Associate producer: Lucien Hubbard. Producers: Robert Lord, Darryl F. Zanuck.Copyright 17 June 1933 by Warner Brothers Pictures Inc. Presented by First National Pictures in conjunction with The Vitaphone Corp. New York opening at the Strand: 7 June 1933 (ran a record-breaking 10 weeks). U.S. release: June 1933. U.K. release: 5 August 1933. 11 reels. 96 minutes.SYNOPSIS: Showgirls help a producer put on a show.NOTES: Hopwood's play The Gold Diggers opened on Broadway at the Lyceum on 30 September 1919 and ran a most impressive 720 performances with Ina Claire as the leader of a trio of money- chasing chorus-girls eager to land rich millionaires. David Belasco produced and directed. After its ninety weeks season on Broadway, the play went on tour where it clocked up another 528 performances. When it finally closed in 1923 it had grossed close to $2 million (a colossal sum in those days, equivalent to around $400 million today — and this from a single stage show, not from a multi-release movie. Of course, ticket prices for a stage show were at least five times higher).The play has been filmed so many times, it's impossible to keep track of its various incarnations including The Greeks Had a Word for It (1932) starring Ina Claire herself, Three Blind Mice (1938) and How To Marry a Millionaire (1953). However, David Belasco himself made the first film version back in 1923 for Warner Brothers. The star was Hope Hampton and the director Harry Beaumont. Warners remade the film as a Technicolor talkie in 1929 with songs by Al Dubin and Joe Burke. The stars this time were Nancy Welford, Winnie Lightner, Ann Pennington, Conway Tearle and Lilyan Tashman, with Gertrude Short reprising her role of Topsy from the earlier film.Although this film received only one prestigious Hollywood award nomination (for Best Sound, losing to A Farewell To Arms) and garnered few critical accolades, it became Warners number two box- office attraction of the year with initial U.S. rentals exceeding $1.7 million (plus $800,000 from Canada and $1.3 million overseas) and inspired a series of follow-ups: Gold Diggers of 1935, Gold Diggers of 1937 and Gold Diggers in Paris. Warners officially re- made this film in 1951 as Painting the Clouds with Sunshine.COMMENT: A fine cast, a peppy story, LeRoy at his lively best, and Berkeley at his most imaginatively spectacular zenith, plus top- notch sound recording and production values — what more could a devoted moviegoer ask? To see Berkeley himself? Well, there he is, making a brief appearance as one of the door-knockers for the finale. And what a finale!

Millionaire turned composer Brad (Dick Powell) rescues unemployed Broadway people with a new play.You know, I'm very hit and miss on musicals. Some I really like, like "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers". Many more I could probably do without. This one is alright, though it could never be my favorite. The most notable song is "Petting in the Park", which seems rather risqué for the 1930s (but maybe I'm wrong).The only thing really making this film redeeming today is Ginger Rogers. Most of the other actors involved, including Dick Powell, have been largely forgotten. How this film continues to resonate with today's audiences, I have no idea. Most likely it does not.

Classy film complete with classy guys, classy dames and classy tunes. This was the perfect bookend to 42nd St, the perfect let's put on a show film, so much so when young I used to get them completely mixed up and with interchangeable songs. I hadn't seen it in over 15 years but thanks to a very Good Samaritan I saw it again tonight and was suitably re-impressed and wondered how I could ever get confused. Why, 42nd St had marvellous songs while Gold Diggers Of 1933 had magnificent songs.Mysterious song composer, singer, actor Dick Powell mysteriously bankrolls a stage musical, with his girl Ruby Keeler starring. Turns out he has an old fashioned morally stern family headed by brother Warren William who doesn't approve of his lifestyle, leading to most of the dialogue in the script. In her choice of men the cheap and vulgar Joan Blondell must've needed those big eyes testing! The innocent love affair between Powell and Keeler is again enchanting to take in, along with Blondell's and Aline MacMahon's incessant coy pre-Code quips. Songs include We're In The Money, Torch Song, Petting In The Park, Forgotten Man, and the unforgettable Shadow Waltz imho the finest Warren & Dubin collaboration. And Busby Berkeley excelled himself in the production of that one too, the number seems to get more amazing as the years pass when you remember the technical limitations they had to put up with in 1933 with such fine results.All in all one of the best musicals produced, with so many memorable bits, from pre-Code sassiness to gloriously romantic tunes. This is a film where getting a lodging for a night takes on a whole new meaning! Sadly it all got a little tamer after this and Footlight Parade, but what a ride.

In Hollywood's most successful collaborative era, sometimes the best things happened by accident. 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. What should have been a mess, turned out to be a masterpiece. You see, it happened by accident, but not without overwhelming creative genius from all corners.First of all let's disregard Berkely for a moment and consider the bones of the picture. This was a golden age for Warner Brothers, and even their potboilers tended to be meaty offerings. The broad plot may be a simple comedy of errors, but the minutiae and the dialogue are unashamedly frank about the depression, then at its very worst point. The fact that the comic escapades are backed by very real and harsh truths gives an unexpected layer of poignancy to the proceedings. Yes, the man-baiting escapades of three money-hungry chorus girls makes for riotous entertainment, but we are never allowed to forget how they became money-hungry.The director is Mervyn LeRoy, who despite his youth was one of the most competent and professional filmmakers on the Warners payroll. He directs Gold Diggers with pace and punch, never allowing the action to slow down and become dull, but still keeping everything in clarity. A neat little trick of his is using depth to keep certain characters on display. For example, in the scene where Don Gordon (the perpetual juvenile lead) is doubled up with lumbago, Gordon and Ned Sparks are in the foreground, but Dick Powell is prominently placed in the background. Gordon is the most important character at that precise moment, so it is logical to have him up front, but Powell is more important in the long run as he will soon replace Gordon, so it is necessary for us to remember him at that time.The cast is one to die for, or at the very least, go to prison for. Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler are ostensibly the leads, but the show really belongs to Joan Blondell and Aline MacMahon. Powell was a great singer, and Keeler a wonderful dancer, but neither of them could act well. And thankfully, while they are prominent in the song and dance numbers, they are really supporting players in the drama. Blondell was prolific in both musicals and melodramas of this time, but tended to play "best friend" type roles rather than leading ladies. Gold Diggers is her chance to shine, and show what a terrific actress she is. She plays things at a fairly muted level, but there is a lot of emotion going on under the surface. When she appears in the Forgotten Man number she not only becomes a singer, she carries on being an actress. MacMahon at first looks a little out of place amongst all the sweet and delicate chorines, but as soon as she gets to work her magic on Guy Kibbee she dominates the screen and you know exactly why she was cast. A young Ginger Rogers is here too, still getting villainous roles thanks to her mean-looking face, but nevertheless proving herself to be a superb performer. Ned Sparks gives perhaps his deepest and most heartfelt performance, without ever once breaking out of his trademark character. Amid all these sparkling jewels, there are some memorable bit parts by the likes Ferdinand Gottschalk and Sterling Holloway, yet more pearls in the Gold Diggers crown.And at last we come to the music. Of course, the melodies of Harry Warren are simply divine, the lyrics of Al Dubin cheeky and incisive as ever, and the choreography of Busby Berkely absolutely breathtaking, but it's how the whole thing is fitted together that puts Gold Diggers so far ahead of its peers. Most of the Berkely musicals "stacked" the numbers - that is, put them all together at the end as a grand finale. That worked fine for 42nd Street and Footlight Parade, but for Gold Diggers of 1933 the structure is geared to awesome effect. We open with "We're in the Money", a lively slice of irony casually wishing the depression away. "Pettin' in the Park" gives us a little comical boost in the middle of the picture. "Shadow Waltz" is pure Berkely indulgence, lovely to look at but with nothing that will unbalance the end of the picture emotionally. And finally, "Remember My Forgotten Man" drops us right into the realities of the depression. It is a bitter counterpoint to "We're in the Money" and its impact is utterly devastating.Gold Diggers of 1933 is not only the finest of the Busby Berkely musicals, not only the pinnacle of Warner Brothers' pre-code licentiousness, it is the very heart of depression-era America. "Can't you hear that wailing?" Ned Sparks asks us, as Dick Powell hammers out a rough version of "Forgotten Man". You'll hear it alright.