Dance, Girl, Dance
by Dorothy Arzner
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Lucille Ball, Maria Ouspenskaya, Maureen O'Hara, Ralph BellamyDirector: Dorothy Arzner
Brand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: Black & White, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 90 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-06-19
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Turner Home Ent
Movie Reviews of Dance, Girl, Dance
Movie Review: Making it in "a man's world"....
Summary: 4 Stars
I caught part of Dance, Girl, Dance on TV a few months ago, so I was glad to find this movie was on DVD so I could finish the story. This film is a really interesting look at working-class women making their way in a "man's world," and actually has some pretty striking feminist sensibilities, considering it was made in 1940. This is probably due in no small part to the fact that the film was directed by Dorothy Arzner, one of the only major female directors from Hollywood's "golden" age. The story follows two members of the same dance troupe - Bubbles (Lucille Ball) and Judy (Maureen O'Hara) - as they strive to hit the big time. The two friends are a study in opposites - Bubbles is all sass with a heart of gold and knows what she wants (money, and lots of it) and isn't afraid to do whatever it takes to reach her goals. The conservative Judy loves to dance, not as a means to an end, but because dancing is her passion. Lucy really seems to relish playing the vampish Bubbles, and dominates every scene in which she appears. I don't think I've ever seen Maureen O'Hara play such an innocent ing?nue like the role of Judy - however, when Judy snaps and tells off all of the patrons of a burlesque club, it hints at the feisty, strong-willed personality O'Hara exhibited in her later films (particularly those opposite John Wayne). The subplot involving Louis Hayward, whose marriage is on the rocks, is pretty interesting - Judy's interested because he's hurting and she wants to "fix" him while Bubbles sees dollar signs. I only wish that Steve's (Ralph Bellamy) character and relationship with Judy had gotten a bit more screen time. The DVD picture is crisp & clear, and the disc is padded with two extras - the short "Just a Cute Kid" and the cartoon "Malibu Beach Party." I was pleasantly surprised by how well this movie has endured, and with it's unusually strong exploration of women's roles circa 1940, it's a flick I see myself revisiting in the future.
Summary of Dance, Girl, Dance
Studio: Turner Hm Entertainm Release Date: 06/19/2007 Run time: 89 minutesIf you only know Lucille Ball from her phenomenal success as a TV comedienne, Dance, Girl, Dance will be a surprising revelation. Not only can Lucy dance and sing with the best of them (after all, she spent part of the 1930s playing a glamorous showgirl in various Goldwyn musicals), but she handily steals the spotlight from Maureen O'Hara in this good-looking RKO production from 1940. Lucy's big break had come only three years earlier (in Stage Door), but she'd been working in Hollywood for seven years when this enjoyable movie demonstrated the potential for movie stardom that Lucy deserved but never fully achieved. She's a bit brassy and a bit sassy, but she's got a heart of gold as Bubbles, a struggling ballet dancer who takes a skin-baring job in a burlesque club (under the man-teasing stage name of "Tiger Lily White") to boost her chances of show-biz success. She's a saucy gold-digger compared to the modestly forthright Judy (O'Hara), but their friendship sees them through as they share a dangerous dalliance with a millionaire playboy (Louis Hayward) before Judy discovers true love with Steve (Ralph Bellamy) the gentlemanly leader of a ballet company.
It's not a classic by any means, but Dance, Girl, Dance is still briskly entertaining, and there's a touch of surprising melodrama involving O'Hara's ballet mentor (played by Maria Ouspenskaya). This movie also has the greater distinction of being directed by Dorothy Arzner, one of the only women (along with Ida Lupino) to break into the male-dominated profession of directing in golden-age Hollywood. Working from a savvy screenplay by Tess Slesinger and Frank Davis, Arzner gives Dance, Girl, Dance a feminist sensibility that was ahead of its time, later embraced by fans and critics as one of this movie's most enduring qualities. Also included in The Lucille Ball Film Collection, this DVD includes two short subjects from 1940: The 20-minute Vitaphone "two-reeler" "Just a Cute Kid," from a story by Damon Runyon and featuring comedy star Frank Faylen, and "Malibu Beach Party," a pun-filled Merrie Melodies cartoon hosted by "Jack Bunny" and featuring a variety of sun-tanned cameos from animated Hollywood stars. --Jeff Shannon
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