Spidersecu Don't Believe the Hype

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Dirtylogy It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

mathmaniac I had never seen Joan Crawford in shorts, never seen her 'gams' displayed in all their lengthy glory, never watched her dance. Hmmph. She's no Ginger Rogers, I can tell you that! She does have chemistry with Clark Gable. That makes up for her NOT being Ginger Rogers when she dances with Fred Astaire in this film.Crawford is beautiful, yes. The young Joan Crawford was never so beautiful as when she was young with those gorgeous luminous eyes, those heavy lush lashes, and surprisingly toothy smile.Clark Gable has a scene with Crawford in this film in which he performs some gymnastic moves, as part of his fitness regimen. It reminded me that this magnificent man was not only handsome and charismatic but also strong and slender and sexy! Move over, Tom Cruise - you with your fondness for doing your own daring stunts! Cary Grant, Randolph Scott, Charlie Chaplin, and now Clark Gable. These men were gymnastic athletes. Wow! And looked good in their clothes, of course.I often wished for Ginger to be dancing with Fred. This movie made me wish there was more, more, more, to the story. But what I could see and enjoy was a delicious appetizer even if not a feast.

rickrudge Dancing Lady (1933)Janie Barlow (Joan Crawford) is an aspiring dancer who is stuck playing in sleazy vaudeville shows. She has dreams of dancing on Broadway. The theater she works in is raided and a rich playboy, Tod Newton (Franchot Tone) bails her out of jail and sets her up in the Broadway show that he's producing. He seems madly in love with her. The harried director, Patch Gallagher (Clark Gable) is trying hard to make his show a success when the producer brings in this girl out of nowhere. Patch works Janie hard and she shows some talent. He's even beginning to like her, a lot, but the producer owns the show.This movie has some great guest stars like Fred Astaire, Sterling Holloway, Gloria Foy, Nelson Eddy, as well as Ted Healy and his Stooges (the original 3 stooges). But, it's mostly that young Clark Gable that catches your eye. However, this is Joan Crawford's movie and it's really all about her and the fashions that she wears (or doesn't wear).

secondtake Dancing Lady (1933)There are so many reasons to love this film above and beyond the dance numbers, which are only dazzling filler starring Fred Astaire. Yes, I mean to say that there is a lot going on here that is unsuspected and moving, beautiful and hilarious.Start with Joan Crawford. By now a star in her own right, she gets to reprise some of the routines, and personal history, that led to headlining a major movie like this MGM spectacle. Or start with Clark Gable, also a great star, and a year before It Happened One Night (which is surely a better film, but a more restrained one). Gable is held down a little by his role, which is meant to be secondary to the pretty and charming Franchot Tone, the other leading man, except that Gable has twice the screen presence, and of course has the underdog part.Add the music, which I can take or leave in many musicals, and which is more or less forgettable here, but which is so integral to the plot it works just fine. Related to this are the many amazing sets, including the sets within the sets when shooting rehearsals and performances, all of which are great Deco showcases. And finally, the brilliant, unrelentingly stunning photography by Oliver T. Marsh (see also another Crawford film, The Women). This is no small feat.Did I mention Fred Astaire? With little fanfare, arriving on stage with Crawford but under his own name, he dances, and sings! A perfect element for authenticity and flair, and it's his Hollywood debut. Oh, and we may as well mention the well placed, often used, never overused threesome known elsewhere as the Three Stooges, who appear and reappear with their usual comic zaniness. This was their debut year, doing cameos in several features with MGM. Yeah, all of this is in one film.For those wondering, the director, Robert Z. Leonard, did do a range of films over several decades, including some other musicals, and dramas worth seeing like the notable 1940 Pride and Prejudice (the one with Olivier). I suppose it was the producer who corralled such a terrific cast, but the director made them integrate with amazing fluidity. And there are some camera effects, too, that are first rate--virtuosic and fun, like the fast blur-pans (sideways and vertically) and a sequence or fast motion walking legs on the sidewalk as Crawford pursues Gable.Someone might say, hey wait a minute, the plot is contrived (it is only a little) or the overall tone is one of bald entertainment, not real drama. And the reply is, of course, of course! Just like any other Fred Astaire movie, or An American in Paris, or any number of serious dramas. No, there is little holding back Dancing Lady. You have to see it.

XweAponX ...But she can fake it very well! I have high respect for her very erotic and eccentric style, but she plainly could not keep up with the chorus line, Not in the hero dancing numbers at least. There is one shot where the chorus line is in the background, and Crawford is in there, following every move, so we know she had some rudimentary skills, but Tap was not one of them. She had some very Eely, Kinky, sensuous moves, and when she dances by herself, it works well: But when she tries to tap along with Larry Fine, it seems forced, and she she dances with Astaire, she has just no grace. Compared to Elanore Powell and Anne Miller who made it look so easy to dance, Crawford with staire looks like she is working too hard.The dancing numbers would have worked better if they had designed them around Crawford's eccentricity, rather than trying to force her into a Broadway mold. It did not work, which is probably why this is one of the few films I have seen where Crawford dances. Crawford was good within her own scope - Trying to have her face off with Astaire was not effective, at least not as effective as it could have been had they used Crawford's own unique style and choreographed around that.This film followed "Broadway Melody of 29" and maybe it was originally conceived to be part of that series of films, and so the format of the film is very much like those Broadway Melody/42nd street films.I can't think of any other musical comedies where Crawford played the lead, she obviously had some talent, but she also was very unusual. Pairing her off with Gable works because they have similar personalities, and the relationship with Franchot Tone, she plays off as being very strained, and that works as well. There is quite a bit of tension between the three, but it is not too much like most romantic comedies- The amount is just right.This film has little appearances by The Three Stooges, Fred Astaire, Nelson Eddy, and Sterling Holloway (As the geeky author of the show). Most noticeable is Eve Arden in a cameo, "Hey, that was Eve Arden!" and you don't realise this until her character walks off. Finally, Joan's roommate "Rosette" played by Winnie Lighter is was a perfect choice, and the interaction between the two seems like normal conversation.Regardless of Crawford's weakness with conventional dancing, this film is one of her best, she has a believable character properly impassioned.This film being made in 1933, the Hayes office probably had a lot of problems with the very large amount of skin in this film- To blazes with the Hayes office! But with or without the vast amount of bare legs shown here, this film is a highly enjoyable romp, for 1933 and 2009.When people ask me "Joan Crawford or Bette Davis?" I always answer "Davis" - but in this film, I say "Crawford!"- The films she made from the early 30's to 1940 are all my favourites with her, after that, I don't care about her characters that much. In this film, I care about Janie Barlow, Crawford Makes me care.