My Favorite Films, Plague Edition (Volume 24): Fun from the 1930s

The Golddiggers of 1933 (1933)
Directed by Mervyn LeRoy
Starring Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler, and Dick Powell

I have a fatal weakness for 1930’s musicals, made in the first years of sound in films. It’s fascinating to watch their evolution from filmed stage shows to multiple-camera angle extravaganzas. The at pushed the technique of filmmaking forward rapidly. In the first few years of the 1930’s, cameras were still evolving, so that when directors zoom into the face, or other features, of a nubile chorus girls, the shot does not stay in focus consistently. By 1935 this was fixed, but such flaws give a charming innocence to these early talkies. While Fred Astaire was developing how to film dancing stars close-up, Warner Brothers’ specialty was in cast-of-thousands diversions, many choreographed by the brilliant Busby Berkeley, who I have raved about before. He popularized the ceiling shot showing girls forming intricate geometric forms on the stage or in the pool. This use of massed stage forces interestingly parallels Albert Speer’s use of massed Nazi faithful for impressive impact, being developed at the same time in Germany and memorably filmed by Leni Riefenstahl.

Unfortunately most of these spectaculars also have spectacularly rotten plots and dialogue, mostly flimsy scaffolds for the big production numbers. An exception is The Golddiggers of 1933. It is actually a lot of fun, with a plot that follows three desperate-for-a-job chorines (including the young Ginger Rodgers, before her big breakthroughs with Astaire) as they are sexually harassed, and harass right back in the Broadway rehearsal rooms. There is also an intriguing dark side to the film, made at the nadir of the Great Depression. It begins with the ironic “We’re In the Money” number, right out of the box without any dialogue or plot setup…unusual for these films. The chorus girls are covered with coins (and little else), and the falsity of it all is hinted at when Ginger Rodgers does a verse in impeccable Pig Latin. You owe yourself a view of this fun opener here.  

This a stereotypical backstage musical, as we see the troupe prepare for a tenuous, underfunded Broadway opening at a time when many theaters were dark (an economic prequel of the current sad situation). While the point of these films was to cheer up the Depression audience, this film ends with an almost somber ending number “Remember My Forgotten Man” which rues the state of WWI veterans who were then out of work, begging for a living. The film also hints at the unsavory careers women followed if their Broadway shows closed. These social commentaries set this film apart from others of the era. 

But in the end, it’s Berkeley’s fabulous jazzy musical productions that steal the show. "Shadow Waltz" uses massed chorus girl “violinists” to form elegant, swirling musical patterns with illuminated violins. But my favorite is the hysterical "Pettin’ in the Park", which you should see here. This is the kitchen-sink number, with roller skating cops and chorus girls, a perverted baby (played by longtime Hollywood midget Billy Barty), multiple seasons of the year, striptease in the shadows, couples of all types (old, old-young, animal, even black!), and the very provocative use of can-openers to penetrate female "armor" (note that only Ginger Rodgers has real armor on, likely a budget limitation of the production). A few years later the Hollywood Code brought censorship to all of this, but it is wonderful that for a few years these lascivious, entertaining films were made to entertain generations of viewers. What a fun film!