(directed by Mervyn LeRoy, 1933, 96 minutes, b&w)
Made at the height of the Great Depression, Gold Diggers of 1933 enabled audiences to sing (and dance) their troubles away in a classic escapist Warner Bros. musical based on the hit Broadway play by Avery Hopwood that featured songs by Harry Warren and Al Dubin and lavish dance numbers by Busby Berkeley.
The film's titular "gold diggers" are four aspiring showgirls - Polly the ingenue (Ruby Keeler), Carol the torch singer (Joan Blondell), Trixie the comedienne (Aline MacMahon) and Fay the glamourpuss (Ginger Rogers) - whose careers hit a snag when their stage production goes broke. Enter Polly's boyfriend Brad Roberts (Dick Powell), a slumming millionaire who also just happens to be a brilliant songwriter; he not only writes the music for the show, but offers to bankroll it as well. All looks well until Brad's family intervenes to try to stop their son from associating with the "cheap and vulgar" theater world.
Song highlights include "We're In the Money," "Pettin' in the Park" and the unforgettable "Forgotten Man" finale.
In 2003, Gold Diggers of 1933 was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Cast: Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, Joan Blondell, Ginger Rogers, Warren William, Guy Kibbee, Ned Sparks, and Aline MacMahon. (Directed by Mervyn LeRoy, USA, 1933, 96 minutes, b&w)
See more about Gold Diggers of 1933:
Watch the original trailer! (TCM)
Internet Movie Database
Wikipedia
