Post by Capo on Jan 27, 2007 1:47:05 GMT
Gold Diggers of 1933 
Mervyn LeRoy 1933 USA
Screenplay: Erwin S. Gelsey, James Seymour; Producers: Robert Lord, Jack L. Warner; Photography: Sol Polito; Editing: George Amy; Cast: Warren William, Joan Blondell, Aline MacMahon, Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler.
A stage production is resurrected during the Depression with the help of a wealthy musician.
Unusual film indeed, and a very good one. It is not without its irony; or perhaps irony is the wrong word for a very complex author-audience relationship, a relationship which defies and complicates discussion of Hollywood and Art as mutually exclusive concepts. The narrative seems to be saying that the rich need to invest in the poor in order for people to get out of the Depression, but it is shamelessly guilty of offering escapism for the sole intention of making profit. Or is it simply adhering to audience demand? Whatever, it is a funny, well-acted film, with great use of space and rhythm; the production numbers are the attraction, and overwhelm everything else - it seems the story exists to pad out the numbers, not the other way round. The final number is out of place and overly long and muddled in its intentions, but other than that, they are well put together and wonderful to watch; the best shot in the film is the blackened stage with the neon violins.
Mervyn LeRoy 1933 USA
Screenplay: Erwin S. Gelsey, James Seymour; Producers: Robert Lord, Jack L. Warner; Photography: Sol Polito; Editing: George Amy; Cast: Warren William, Joan Blondell, Aline MacMahon, Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler.
A stage production is resurrected during the Depression with the help of a wealthy musician.
Unusual film indeed, and a very good one. It is not without its irony; or perhaps irony is the wrong word for a very complex author-audience relationship, a relationship which defies and complicates discussion of Hollywood and Art as mutually exclusive concepts. The narrative seems to be saying that the rich need to invest in the poor in order for people to get out of the Depression, but it is shamelessly guilty of offering escapism for the sole intention of making profit. Or is it simply adhering to audience demand? Whatever, it is a funny, well-acted film, with great use of space and rhythm; the production numbers are the attraction, and overwhelm everything else - it seems the story exists to pad out the numbers, not the other way round. The final number is out of place and overly long and muddled in its intentions, but other than that, they are well put together and wonderful to watch; the best shot in the film is the blackened stage with the neon violins.