ThiefHott Too much of everything

UnowPriceless hyped garbage

Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Panamint I give this movie a 10 rating because it includes one of the most powerful and effective few minutes ever committed to celluloid- "Forgotten Man". Its ironic that a 1930's pre-code musical would have a sequence that can sock you in the face and make you think with every viewing, but it does. Consider this bluesy number whenever you hear about the current Veterans Administration hospital outrages and you will realize that this small piece of film is absolutely timeless.Otherwise Gold Diggers of 1933 is a good musical with some fine dance numbers including the amazing "Neon Violins" that is as off the wall inventive as it is beautiful.This Hollywood movie-factory production is possibly one of the very few films that really affected you when you first saw it, thanks to "The Forgotten Man".

atlasmb "Gold Diggers of 1933) opens with Ginger Rogers singing as part of a bevy of chorus girls. Then it switches to an apartment shared by three others in that show, bemoaning how tough it is to get a job. It's the depression, and it colors every aspect of the story. (Another film about the backstage lives of actresses will follow in 1937--"Stage Door", also starring Ginger Rogers, is a better film, but both are worth watching.)The three women are played by Ruby Keeler, Joan Blondell, and Aline MacMahon. Just when they are at their lowest, there is hope of a new revue--if only they can find financing. The funding finally comes from a surprising source, and the film launches into a number of parallel love stories that develop as the show gets off the ground.The rest of the cast is talented, including Dick Powell, who is well suited for the revue format. A large portion of the film is consumed by Busby Berkley extravaganza pieces that deserve to be seen for their own historical significance. The final number is driven by a beautiful piece of music, "My Forgotten Man", a lament for the victims of the economy, especially those who served as doughboys in WWI. It's a jazz march with gospel overtones--a very powerful piece of music, accompanied by scenes of soup lines filled with former heroes."Gold Diggers" is also notable for its pre-Code titillations, like the obligatory stocking shots and the racy implications of nudity, in silhouette.

tavm After maybe about 15 years, I finally got to watch Gold Diggers of 1933 again and boy, it's even better than I remembered it! First off, there's the wonderfully fantastic opening number "We're in the Money" as warbled by Ginger Rogers in a skimpy coins costume especially as she also sings it in Pig Latin making it such an iconic scene to this day (I also remember it being presented as a lottery commercial in Jacksonville, Florida, when I lived there during the '90s). Then after the rehearsal is closed because of lack of funds, producer Ned Sparks then, months later, proposes to the other chorus girls a show about the Depression of which songwriter Dick Powell already has a song for but no words yet. By the way, the other girls are Joan Blondell, Aline MacMahon, and Ruby Keeler. Also, Sparks says a couple of ironic lines like "Cancel my contract with Warren and Dubin!" of which he meant the songwriting team of Harry and Al who wrote all the songs in this movie, and then comparing the team of Powell and Keeler to the Astaires on Broadway of which one of them, Fred, would eventually find a new partner in Ms. Rogers, who was in this scene, at RKO later in the year. There's also Warren William and Guy Kibbee in support of which the latter plays a similar role here as he did in 42nd Street except here, he's not in charge of the finances of the show nor does he ever realize he's being used by Ms. MacMahon. Oh, and while Ms. Rogers eventually became his new ingénue in 42nd Street, here she never gets the chance! Oh, and as a fan of It's a Wonderful Life, I have to note that Charles Lane, who was the one who told Mr. Potter about George Bailey's plans for Bailey Park, was the writer in 42nd Street and is the society reporter here who finds out about Dick Powell's real-life status. Powell, himself, is quite fine here whether singing "Pettin' in the Park" with Keeler-hey, get a load of 9-year old Billy Barty pulling the curtains as those girls are dressing up!-or being involved in the machinations of humiliating brother William. As for Berkeley, well, he tops himself here with not only the "Money" number but also another one involving neon violins and then there's the "Forgotten Man" number as first recited in spoken word by Ms. Blondell before segueing to Etta Molen singing those same words as we see many former World War I soldiers marching in the rain before those same men then end up on long lines at the soup kitchen before Joan then sings (through Marian Anderson's voice) the harrowing coda. Very powerful number to end a movie and it still feels heartbreaking just remembering it. So with all that, Gold Diggers of 1933 is not only still very funny and entertaining, it's also something worth thinking about when one remembers the era it was made and set in...

tomgillespie2002 This masterpiece from 1933 is one of the best examples I've seen of early Hollywood exploitation, although by today's standards if you didn't already know it was controversial at the time you probably wouldn't notice. With the introduction of the talkies in the late 1920's, Hollywood seemed unable to control various movies using subtle innuendos, and actresses displaying a bit more skin than they should until the Hays Code came into full force in 1934, which enforced the boundaries as to what was deemed acceptable on screen. Gangsters profited from crime, women displayed their legs, and in the case of Gold Diggers Of 1933, women used their sexuality to conquer men and gain what they wanted.Set during the Depression, it follows a quartet of stage dancers after their show is stopped due to the creative director failing to pay the bills. Things look on the up when the girls are asked to return for a brand new show, which would tackle the effects of the Depression on the common man and the state of the country. The enthusiastic director Barney (Ned Sparks) overhears the girls' neighbour Brad (Dick Powell) crooning a tune playing his piano, and invites him to play more tunes and eventually write the score for the upcoming musical. Barney also needs a lot of money to fund, something that Brad is happy to pay in case, much to the girls' suspicion.It comes across as a film with two halves - the first focusing on the development of the musical, the relationship between Brad and dancer Polly (Ruby Keeler), and the confusion surrounding the shady Brad's situation. The second seeing fellow dancers Carol (Joan Blondell) and Trixie's (Aline MacMahon) attempts to squeeze as much cash as possible out of Barney's upper-class brother Lawrence (a brilliant Warren William) and bumbling Peabody (Guy Kibbee). The first is a masterclass of beautiful stage numbers, fantastic songs, and good old-fashioned escapism. The second is where the film hits full stride, providing laugh out loud situations and some verbal comedy that wouldn't look out place today, as the girls flirt with and tease the old men as we cheer them on. It's the kind of thing that Sex And The City wishes it could pull off when it isn't being so materialistic and soulless.When you think it's over it pulls off one last masterstroke in the highly effective 'Remember My Forgotten Man' musical number, as Joan Blondell sings about how her man fought for her country and now begs for food and resorts to picking up discarded cigarette butts, as bloody soldiers march through the street. It's a beautiful moment and really sums up the era. It offers an insight into the whole Pre-Code Hollywood movement, where people would go to the cinema to escape their everyday struggles to see an actress like Blondell revealing a bit more leg than she should, or a Pre-Code veteran such as Warren William sneer his way through some juicy lines and villainous roles. It gave the general public that little something extra to get excited about.This is a film that has everything, and if you can track it down I would urge you to see it. It's a fascinating time capsule, and even has a very early role for Ginger Rogers as the flirty Fay. It has also been entered into the National Film Registry for preservation by the Library of Congress. A must-see.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com