Du Barry Was a Lady
List Price:
Our Price: $13.99
You Save: $5.99 (30%)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $5.69 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Gene Kelly, Lucille Ball, Red Skelton, Tommy DorseyBrand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: Portuguese (Original Language); Spanish (Original Language); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 101 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-06-19
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Movie Reviews of Du Barry Was a Lady
Movie Review: "Why is it all the rich people have the money?"
Summary: 4 Stars
May Daly (Lucille Ball) and Alec Howe (Gene Kelly) are in love, but he's too poor for her taste. Instead of marrying him, she wants to find a rich man even if she doesn't love him. When the hat check boy from the nightclub she works at (Red Skelton) wins a sweepstakes, she reluctantly agrees to marry him after he announces their engagement to the papers. Then after a big mix-up, the new money finds himself knocked out and dreaming he is Louis XV.
It is interesting that Ball wears red and pink frequently throughout the film, two colors that redheads are often warned to stay away from. Consequently, she looks more glamourous in her blonde wig and 18th century clothes in the dream sequence.
This snappy musical jumps around all over the place, but what it lacks in cohesiveness, it more than makes up for in entertainment. Really, the story isn't vital because the musical numbers are so good, and the stars have so much personality.
Kelly is gorgeous here, and his rendition of "Do I Love You?" is beautiful. "I Love an Esquire Girl" is a delight. The lyrics mention a lot of pieces of pop culture that are still relevant today, and it ends with a cameo by a beautiful star. The Cole Porter finale is a lot of fun as well, and a total departure from the story.
The worst musical number is Virginia O'Brien singing "Salome." The song isn't bad and her voice is great, but gosh, are her eyes dead! She looks incredibly bored the whole time she's singing, just staring into the camera like her eyes are made of glass.
Summary of Du Barry Was a Lady
Madcap comedy musical about a hat check man. He gets the girl of his dreams when he wins the lottery - even if she doesnchr(39)t love him. But when hechr(39)s knocked out cold by a drinking accident, he dreams that hechr(39)s King Louis XV after Madame DuPresented in glorious Technicolor, Du Barry Was a Lady is an all-singing, all-dancing musical extravaganza with enough star power to light a major city. Freely adapted from the Cole Porter musical that was a Broadway smash in 1939, this was Lucille Ball's first color film, and after several years of lower-profile movies at RKO, Lucy jumped at the chance to star in an MGM musical, assuming the role that Ethel Merman had played on Broadway. And while Lucy gets plenty of screen time to strut her stuff as the sassy and lovelorn nightclub singer May Daly, the real star of the show is Red Skelton as hat-check boy Louis Blore (played by Bert Lahr on Broadway), whose affection for May is matched by Alec Howe (Gene Kelly), a struggling songwriter with whom May--against her gold-digger instincts--has reluctantly fallen in love. But when newly-rich sweepstakes winner Louis accidentally drinks a "Mickey Finn" intended for Alec, he passes out and dreams of being France's King Louis XV, living in royal splendor and running after the lovely Madame Du Barry (Ball) in the palace at Versailles. It's a comedic spin on The Wizard of Oz, with the contemporary characters (including Zero Mostel in a wacky supporting role) playing their 18th-century counterparts.
This free-form premise is merely a clever excuse for an eye-candy feast of musical comedy, and Du Barry Was a Lady works best as a smorgasbord of all-star entertainment, from the jazzy swing of Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra (with Buddy Rich on drums) to the grand-scale production numbers featuring the splendidly costumed Vargas girls (made famous in the pages of Esquire magazine) and Gene Kelly at his fancy-footed best. It's a veritable explosion of Technicolor fun (this DVD transfer is nothing short of spectacular), and in addition to some fine singing by Virginia O'Brien, vigilant movie buffs can spot Lana Turner in a small, uncredited role. Also included in The Lucille Ball Film Collection, this delightful DVD includes two short subjects from 1943: "Seeing Hands" is an Oscar-nominated "Pete Smith Specialty" short about Ben Helwig, who overcame blindness to become a gifted machinist; the film's progressive message encourages industry to hire persons with disabilities who can make a valuable contribution to wartime industry. Also included is the MGM "Barney Bear" cartoon "Bah, Wilderness," and a faded print of the original theatrical trailer for Du Barry Was a Lady, which really makes you appreciate the dazzling Technicolor of the full-length feature. --Jeff Shannon
Art House & International DVD Video
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Movies most talked about in All About cole Porter
Something for the BoysTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2008-06-17; DVD
Best price: $6.25
Price in other shops:
You'll Never Get RichSony; Release date: 2003-10-21; DVD
Best price: $12.38
Price in other shops:
Anything GoesParamount; Release date: 2005-09-27; DVD
Best price: $5.23
Price in other shops:
Can-CanCancan; Release date: 2007-05-22; DVD
Best price: $10.61
Price in other shops:
BORN TO DANCE/ LADY BE GOOD (DVD MOVIE)DVD
Best price: $28.79
Du Barry Was a LadyWarner Brothers; Release date: 2007-06-19; DVD
Best price: $5.94
Price in other shops:
The PirateWarner Brothers; Release date: 2007-07-24; DVD
Best price: $10.89
Price in other shops:
Night and DayWarner Brothers; Release date: 2004-06-01; DVD
Best price: $4.30
Price in other shops:
You're the Top: The Cole Porter StoryRelease date: 1998-03-31; DVD
Best price: $41.78
Classic Musicals Collection - The Cole Porter Gift Set (High Society / Kiss Me Kate / Les Girls / Broadway Melody of 1940 / Silk Stockings)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2003-04-22; DVD
Best price: $42.04
Price in other shops:
Similar DVD Movies
A Song Is BornRelease date: 2009-04-07; DVD
Best price: $8.04
Price in other shops:
Les GirlsWarner Brothers; Release date: 2003-04-22; DVD
Best price: $3.31
Price in other shops:
It's Always Fair WeatherWarner Brothers; Release date: 2006-04-25; DVD
Best price: $8.93
Price in other shops:
Three Little WordsASTAIRE,FRED; Release date: 2006-04-25; DVD
Best price: $9.98
Price in other shops:
The Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland Collection (Babes in Arms / Babes on Broadway / Girl Crazy / Strike Up the Band)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2007-09-25; DVD
Best price: $32.54
Price in other shops:
Summer StockWarner Brothers; Release date: 2006-04-25; DVD
Best price: $9.14
Price in other shops:
Cover GirlSony; Release date: 2003-08-19; DVD
Best price: $11.99
Price in other shops:
For Me and My Gal (Snap Case)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2004-04-06; DVD
Best price: $2.93
Price in other shops:
TCM Spotlight - Esther Williams, Vol. 1 (Bathing Beauty / Easy to Wed / On an Island with You / Neptune's Daughter / Dangerous When Wet)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2007-07-17; DVD
Best price: $31.15
Price in other shops:
The PirateWarner Brothers; Release date: 2007-07-24; DVD
Best price: $11.67
Price in other shops: