FINALLY got to my beloved Film Forum to see a Busby Berkeleydouble feature – 1934′s Wonder Bar and 1935′s Gold Diggers of 1935!
Wonder Bar was basically one long revue show, with some really bad Al Jolson jokes. The story was strange – making light of murder and suicide, and had a very uncomfortable song & dance sequence in blackface. My oh my! Plus, boring Kay Francis and Dolores del Río are not exactly my cup of tea for leading ladies. Zzzzz. Still, the Busby dance numbers were great, and any movie with Guy Kibbee is worth seeing!
Gold Diggers of 1935 was JUST as fun as the GDs of ‘33, and had 100% less blackface, which is always recommended for any movie! I rooted hard for Dick Powell and Gloria Stuart to fall in love (spoiler alert – they did!), and Alice Brady, Hugh Herbert and Adolphe Menjou’s manic manicness kept us in stitches from frame one til frame end! And oh, the Busby dance numbers were fabulous, especially the 1936 Academy Award for Best Original Song ‘Lullaby of Broadway’ one!
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