Dancing Fools

The story in Dance, Girl, Dance is a familiar one: one girl wants to practice her art, another gives the audience what it wants. Maureen O'Hara and Lucille Ball are chorus girls. O'Hara wants to dance ballet, but the world wants to see Lucille shake her stuff. Lucy is happy to oblige, and becomes a big name in burlesque. She even hires O'Hara as her "stooge" to do a classical ballet number, which the audience heckles.

We'd probably feel more sympathetic if O'Hara weren't a weak dancer, and wet as a duck's behind. Personally, I was yelling, "Get off the stage!". Ball is definitely the more interesting character - an evil, selfish, backbiting, gold-digging mantrap. And we love her for it. Like in Delightfully Dangerous, burlesque is the gutter and O'Hara gets a big speech about what jerks the audience is. Gee, it looks like good clean fun to me.

Meanwhile, O'Hara and Ball meet sentimental, drunk, creepy Louis Hayward. He woos O'Hara, but goes out with Ball. He also stalks his soon-to-be ex-wife. He is a complex, self-destructive type. But ballet producer Ralph Bellamy (as usual, the nice guy) is taking an interest in O'Hara.

Spoiler: I was amazed that the movie has a happy ending - Ball marries the drunk, then divorces him for $50 grand so he can go back to his wife. O'Hara is heartbroken, but it looks like Ralph Bellamy might get her on the rebound. I've always wanted to see Bellamy get the girl, instead of the jerk. And I never want the nice girl and the cad to get together. I guess it's romantic, but you know it never works in real life.

Soundie pioneer Dorothy Arzner directs, and does a fine job. The girls look outstanding - we paused the DVD for frame after frame, especially the closeups, just to see the way Arzner treated their faces. She did the best she could for the weak dance numbers, mainly by showing reaction shots. Some great characters lend a hand, like Ed Brophy as "Dwarfie" and Maria Ouspenskaya as the girl's ballet teacher.

I can't see this appealing to the general public, but if you liked Delightfully Dangerous or Ziegfield Girl, you should give this a try.