USA 96m Dir: Mervyn LeRoy
The production is brought to life quite early on and it's thanks to this that it is revealed that neighbour and potential lover of Polly (Ruby Keeler) Brad (Dick Powell) is actually an aristocrat. His brother J. Lawrence Bedford (Warren William) shows up with family lawyer Faneuil H. Peabody (Guy Kibbee) in order to stop Brad dishonouring the family by marrying a showgirl but fellow showgirls Carol (Joan Blondell) and Trixie (Aline MacMahon) decide to take advantage of the two rich men. Initially I thought that this film followed much the same pattern as previous Busby Berkeley films Footlight Parade and 42nd Street in that we spent most of the run time seeing the antics of the cast and crew as they prepare to put on a show before the film ends with three superb musical performances. But no, Gold Diggers does things a little differently.
Honestly, this is so much fun. Warren William is excellent as a stuffy aristocrat who is so uncomfortable in the world of the showgirls and Blondell and MacMahon are hilarious as they make fun of the rich men and try to bleed every penny they can out of them. I loved Aline MacMahon here especially, she is wonderful and make me laugh many times (it's no wonder she went on to get an acting nomination at the Oscars). The idea of the gold digging girls is pretty amoral but the film carefully handles that aspect by making them fall in love and give every character an ending that they are satisfied with.
Whilst all the musicals of this era exist as an antidote to the Great Depression none of them refer to it so directly as this one does. There's great irony in the way the film opens with Ginger Rogers singing a lavish production of "We're in the Money" only for the show to be shut down due to lack of funds. The depression is treated with levity but there's lots of lines about struggling to eat that though treated as jokes cut into the bitter reality that America and indeed much of Europe was facing at this time.
The Busby Berkeley numbers, whilst still impressive, aren't quite as ambitious as in other films but the highlight of this film is actually it's fun plot and hilarious characters. It's a film that says "yes, we know you're all struggling with no money and life is hard so let's have some fun" and indeed, much fun is to be had here.
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