Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The penultimate of a series of musicomedies that Warner produced with the title Gold Diggers of.....or in...... . Only those produced in the '30s are still available. They may be purchased, along with 5 other films, in the Busby Berkeley 9 Film DVD Collection. It's commonly concluded that these films declined in interest with progression over time. However, to me, the 1935 installment is least interesting. Certainly, the screen plays in the last 2 are at least as interesting. The finale musical production was more interesting to me than in the '35 film or "Gold Diggers of Paris".During the credits, Dick Powell sings "With Plenty of "Money and You", which would be reprised. Then, during a life insurance salesman conference, he sings "The Life Insurance Song". When the meeting adjourns, a horde of female gold diggers are waiting outside to follow the men when they board the train outside. One remarks "Ï Like fat men. You can always outrun them" Joan Blondell(as Norma) pairs up with Powell, and asks for a job in his insurance company. They get further acquainted in his office, as the wind from a storm blows his desk papers all over the room, and Powell sings "Speaking of the Weather".J.J. Hobart(Victor Moore),a stage producer, is always in a bad mood, especially complaining about his body. He has innumerable bottles of pills on hi desk. He wants to produce a new show soon but, unknown to him, his 2 assistants lost the money he gave them on a stock market gamble. Powell shows up to sell him life insurance, but he says he doesn't need any because he has no dependent, and enough money. However, his crooked associates convince him to take out a $1 million policy, with his company as the beneficiary. But can he pass the physical?. Four doctors examine him, and, amazingly, pass him. Now, Powell wants JJ to have a long life, as the longer the policy is in force, the more commission he gets. In contrast, JJ's crooked assistants(Hugo and Morty) want him to die soon so they can replace the money they lost. They talk showgirl Genevieve(Glenda Farrell) into trying to stress his heart by vigorous dancing and seduction. But JJ feels much younger with the attention of a young woman. He's playing ping pong and leap frog in his office. This is not working, so his assistants discretely bump him into the swimming pool, hoping he will drown. But Powell is nearby and dives in to save JJ and his future commissions. Genevieve finally tells JJ that his associates lost all his money for the show. He faints and is taken to the hospital. Powell gets a call from the hospital saying that JJ is 'gone', which Powell interprets as meaning he died. But it really means he left the hospital, and shows up at his office.Meanwhile, Powell and Joan have taken time out occasionally to romance. Powell sings "With Plenty of Money and You", and later "Let's "Put Our Heads together". He organizes a fund raiser for the show. His boss invests significant money in it. The chorus girls try to blackmail their boyfriends into investing in it, and finally, enough is collected to put on the show, which features the song "Äll's Fair in Love and War". Against a pitch black background, a mass of rocking chairs appears, with a couple in each. This transforms into a single huge rocking chair, which is blown up by a chorus girl. A white cannon and stacks of white cannon balls appears in its place. Each ball that is fired turns into a circular close up of one of the chorus girls, until the cannon is blown to bits. A lineup of male dancers in soldier uniforms, with rifles, is in a trench. Parallel to them is a trench filled with female dancers, who charge into the no man's land between, wielding spray bottles: presumably squirting perfume as they advance. This scene turns into a drum corps, then a bugle corps, then a flag corps, all of whom march around, doing various maneuvers. To me, the funniest character was bald, pudgy, Victor Moore, who played JJ. Powell also provided some laughs. Joan was cute and personable, this being her 3rd leading lady role in the Warner musical series including Busby Berkeley.

" . . . if you're willing to obey." No, this is NOT a line of dialogue from the latest FIFTY SHADES DARKER trailer. Rather, it comes as part of the lyric for the powerful closing number of an otherwise fairly slow-paced GOLD DIGGERS OF 1937, "All's Fair in Love and War." This ten-minute visual wonder emanates from the delightfully demented mind of Real Life World War One Drill Sergeant turned Broadway and Hollywood choreographer Busby Berkeley, and is about the closest thing to a live-action Looney Tune ever committed to screen. Call it BUSBY IN WACKYLAND: a tap-dancer strutting his stuff on the seat of a five-story tall rocking chair, a battle of the sexes clinched by womanly weapons of mass deception, Chorines popping out of Cannons, and flag twirlers first performing in mid-air, and then reaching hurricane strength. Otherwise, the plot of this edition of the GOLD DIGGERS series is mostly a vigorous (and prophetic, from Warner Bros.' Early Warning System) defense of the U.S. Affordable Care Act (aka, ObamaCare), with a plot centering on Broadway Producer J.J. Hobart's Pre-existing medical condition. (Spoiler: J.J. will be slain in a New York Minute under the Donald J. Rump Administration.)

Rossi (Dick Powell) sells a life insurance policy worth $1 million dollars to JJ Hobart (Victor Moore). He then sticks beside him to ensure that he doesn't kick the bucket. If he does, Rossi loses his income and he needs it to settle down with Norma (Joan Blondell) who has scammed a job as a receptionist for the insurance company. At the same time, a couple of JJ's managers who have spent all of his finances need the insurance policy money to stage the next show and scheme to bump him off with the help of Norma's friend, Gen (Glenda Farrell). Things work out for a happy ending and there are musical numbers thrown into the proceedings.Unfortunately, none of them are particularly good. We are subjected to that irritating form of spoken-word singing a couple of times. Joan Blondell is the offender. However, she is funny at the beginning of the film when going for a job as a receptionist. Glenda Farrell steals every scene that she's in and changes from a wise-cracker to a cold-hearted cow to the gold-digger with a heart of gold. Dick Powell is good in the lead role and has some funny scenes, eg, he is a salesman that hates sales. Good for him. The cast are enjoyable to watch......except Victor Moore. He is an unfunny, irritating man with a flat head who looks mentally retarded and has the most annoying, whiny, slurry speech pattern. I rather hoped that the baddies would get their way with him.The music numbers were a bit of a let-down for me coz I don't like war themes with soldiers and marching and all that crap but if you like marching and flag-waving, then you'll probably enjoy a couple of the set numbers including the finale. Busby Berkeley has done much better than this. Overall, the main cast make the film watchable (NOT Victor Moore) and it's OK. Nothing more.

Blondell and Farell are fetching, Powell is suave, story not too bad, but most of the musical numbers are just a little too silly and corny. The last number, the "show" is quite good though. Worth watching. I want a mustache just like powell's! May be the next big thing after the goatee...