Sunreet Kaur
Plot
Gold diggers of 1933, a musical dramatic comedy by Busby Berkeley and Mervyn LeRoy and produced by Jack L. Warner and Robert Lord, revolves around three aspiring actresses or “gold diggers.” These three showgirls, Polly Parker (Ruby Keeler), Trixie Lorraine (Aline MacMahon), and Carol King (Joan Blondell) live in a cheap apartment in New York City. This movie takes place during the Great Depression and these girls are struggling to find work. The movie begins with a rehearsal for a stage show that the producer’s creditors soon shut down because of unpaid bills. Fay Fortune, another showgirl, approaches them and informs them of how Barney Hopkins (Ned Sparks), a Broadway producer, is putting on a show. The showgirls invite him to the apartment, which leads him to meet Brad Roberts (Dick Powell), Polly’s neighbor, and boyfriend. Brad is a talented, aspiring songwriter. Barney hears Brad audition by playing the piano, and that is when Barney admits he has no backers for the show. Brad agrees to compose music for the show as well as donate 15,000 in cash for the production. He offers to finance the show but refuses to star in it, although he has talent and voice. Trixie and Carol are convinced that Brad is broke and assume that he stole the money when he refuses to star in the show. On the day of the show, Brad is forced to replace the lead hired.
The musical is shown to be extremely successful. In the papers, Brad is recognized as Robert Treat Bradford, heir to a prominent Boston family’s fortune. Turns out Brad’s father doesn’t want him in the theatre business. With the publicity of the show, Brad’s brother, J. Lawrence Bradford (Warren William), and the family lawyer, Faneul H. Peabody (Guy Kibbee), learn of what Brad has been doing and decide to go to New York to give Polly a ransom so that she would leave Brad, all in effort to save Brad from being seduced by a “gold digger.” Lawrence assumes Carol is Polly and tries to dissuade the “cheap and vulgar” showgirl from marrying his brother. Carol is astonished by the way Lawrence confronts her and decided to pose as Polly and play along. Trixie also plays along and seduces Peabody. Posing as Polly, Carol ends up revealing her true identity to Lawrence because she has fallen in love with him. Lawrence realizes he is in love with her as well. However, when he learns that Brad and Polly have wed, he threatens to have the marriage annulled. He, however, rethinks of committing such an act when Carol threatens that she will not marry him if he does so. His attitude about showgirls dramatically changes towards the end of the movie. Finally, Brad marries Polly, and Trixie marries Faneul. All three of these so-called “gold diggers” end up with wealthy men.
Production
During the early 1930s, the public was turning for realistic dramas, such as social commentaries the Warner Brothers were known for. As time went on, many studios believed that a nation going through the Depression was prepared for more glamorous entertainment. With technological advances, these studios started taking chances on musical comedies. On May 27, 1933, was the release of Gold Diggers of 1933, based on Avery Hopwood’s hit Broadway play Gold Diggers of Broadway. This film was one of the top-grossing films that year and the third most popular movie at the US box office. This film was produced by Jack L. Warner and Robert Lord. In 1934, Nathan Levinson, the films sound director, was nominated for an Oscar for “Best Sound, Recording.” In 2003, this movie was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant.” Reviewers questioned how such a lavish and enormous production depicted in the film could have been put for $15,000. One of the numbers, “Pettin’ in the Park,” was cut from the film when it was reissued after the 1935 Production Code enforcement and was deleted from the first prints available for television.
Reception
Top critics on the Rotten Tomatoes website gave reviews of Gold Diggers of 1933, many of which either praised Berkeley or his entertaining musical of the Depression era. All reviews on this website were in support of this film and its imaginatively-staged numbers. Top critic Richard Brody stated that “The movie thrives and survives on Berkeley’s genius; for all his spectacular theatrical flair, he’s a sociobiologist in rhythm.” He notes how he believes Berkeley made a very successful film by effectively capturing the rhythm of the characters in the film. Other critics praised Berkeley’s brilliance in directing such an entertaining musical during the Depression era.
Seminar Themes
This movie effectively manages to balance the different needs, from the poverty and starvation to the sexual attitudes and sophisticated sense of humor of the characters, to a great success. The showgirls and the Bradford family’s different lifestyle can be seen throughout the film. There is a negative connotation of the showgirls because the wealthy view them as “gold diggers” and believe that they cannot be trusted. The film shows how showgirls struggle to make money and pay off their rent, whereas the Bradford family easily gave up $150 for two hats for the girls. Although it was for Brad, this rich family gives up money like it is no big deal, whereas these showgirls struggle to earn it.
There is a vast disparity between the wealthy and the poor in the Gold Diggers of 1933. The showgirls are struggling to find jobs during this Depression era and their only hope is Barney Hopkins. Hopkins, however, did not have any money to put on this show. This is when Brad came into play with $15,000. After realizing that Brad was heir to a millionaire family, we see how easily he is able to come up with this money. Brad chose to live in the cheap apartments, rather than live the lavish lifestyle his family has. Through his brother and the lawyer, the movie shows how the rich Bradford family easily tries to pay off the showgirls in return for leaving Brad alone. They dress in sophisticated attire, whereas in the beginning of the movie the girls are shown to be complaining about the lack of new clothing they own.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iN_JXwNudh8
Works Cited
“Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933).” IMDb, www.imdb.com/title/tt0024069/awards. Accessed 5 Nov. 2017.
“Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933).” Rotten Tomatoes, Fandango, www.rottentomatoes.com/m/gold_diggers_of_1933/. Accessed 5 Nov. 2017.
Nixon, Rob. “Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933).” Turner Classic Movies, www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/3463/Gold-Diggers-of-1933/articles.html. Accessed 5 Nov. 2017.
December 17, 2017 at 1:22 am
What amazed me most about this film was the technical feat that the director was able to accomplish given the time period. Given the new-ness of the medium, a production this elaborate was a difficult task to accomplish. I know that having been shot on film, the editing of the film must have been a grueling and arduous process in and of itself so for a film to have such gorgeously flowing scenes, it would have required extensive planning and accounting for the most minute of details. This film though telling a great story, also acts as a sort of time-capsule for the filmmaking techniques employed at the time and I think for that alone it is worth a watch. It is only bettered by the quite catchy musical score and elaborate dance sequences, making it an ultimate feast for the senses.