Dancing Lady (1933)

by Tristi Pinkston | More from this Blogger

21 Dec 2007 01:05 PM

Oh, wow. Well, let's just say this movie is all about Clark Gable and we won't worry too much about Joan Crawford, his co-star.

She plays Janie Barlow, a girl who badly needs a job. She's a dancer and doesn't know how to do anything else, and doesn't want to do anything else. After getting into a bit of a scrape, she's saved from jail by a rich playboy named Todd Newton (Franchot Tone) who thinks she owes him something now. She tells him that she doesn't want his help if it comes with strings. He removes the strings, temporarily, and sets her on her way, after putting bugs into some of the right ears about an audition.

She heads off to the audition, not fully realizing just how much she's been helped, and tries out for Patch Gallagher (Clark Gable). He doesn't want to try her out, but his boss, friend of Newton's, says he has to. After seeing her, he's willing to admit he was wrong, and he gives her a job. But when fame starts to take her away from Todd, Todd insists that the show be cancelled. Patch and all the other employees and dancers lose their jobs as well.

Of course Janie is furious when she finds out what Todd has done, and she runs back to Patch. They put on a show of their own and do marvelously. It's a little predictable along those lines, but hey, this movie was made so long ago, maybe the storyline was new back then.

What was hardest for me to swallow was Joan Crawford's dancing. She really can't dance. At one point in the movie, she rehearses with Fred Astaire, who has been brought in by Patch to help with the choreography, and I imagine it was just torture for Fred to have to dance with her.

I must say, in this movie's defense, that Clark really is at his cutest in this one. So if you're in the mood for an eyeful of Clark, go for it - but if you're looking for dancing or plot, you might leave this one for someone else.

This film was not rated.

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Learn more about Tristi Pinkston

I've been a blogger for Families.com since August of 2006.

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