“Go
on, laugh, get your money's worth. No-one's going to hurt you. I know you want
me to tear my clothes off so you can look your fifty cents' worth. Fifty cents
for the privilege of staring at a girl the way your wives won't let you. What
do you suppose we think of you up here with your silly smirks your mothers
would be ashamed of?”
Dance, Girl, Dance is one of those old
films that involves a mix up and the whole plot could have been avoided and no
one would have gotten hurt had the lead character(s) not been so damn stubborn.
Of course being stubborn and causing a mix up is part of what moves movie plots
along but it drives me crazy!
Bubbles
(Lucille Ball) and Judy (Maureen O’Hara) were working in a burlesque as chorus
girls when the police come and shut it down. A handsome young man named Jimmy
Harris (Louis Hayward) was sitting in the audience when the club was raided. Jimmy
likes Judy. He dances with her and talks to her and then all the sudden Jimmy
changes his mind about Judy and leaves with Bubbles. Judy is not too upset
about losing Jimmy because she loves dancing more than anything.
Judy
goes back to her old boss, a woman simply called Madame. Madame runs a dance
troupe but now that Bubbles is gone no one wants to hire the troupe. Judy says
she is willing to learn the oomph that Bubbles had. One guy, an owner of a
dance place, just wants Bubbles not Judy because he does not want class. Madame
sees Judy dancing all by herself in the studio. She gives Steven Adams (Ralph
Bellamy), a ballet producer, a call. Madam sets up an appointment for she and
Judy to meet with Steven. On the day of the meeting Madame is hit by a care and
dies. Judy goes back the following week to meet Steven. As she is waiting Judy
watches a dance number being performed. Her confidence takes a dive she does
not feel she is good enough to be a ballet performer and leaves. Steven is in
the same elevator as Judy and follows her out of the building. He sees her
looking for the dime she had dropped. He tells her he noticed her in the
elevator. She tries to walk away from him not knowing who he is. Steven
continues following Judy for a while and he tells her she looks unhappy.
Bubbles
comes back to New York City with the new name Lily White. She has enough money
where she is able to pay Judy and her roommate’s back rent. Lily was discovered
and has become a big burlesque star. Lily has come looking for Judy because she
needs an opening for her act. Lily begins her number then walks off the stage.
Judy goes out on stage thinking she will be doing ballet for people who want to
see the kind of dancing she does. All the men in the audience hate her act they
want Lily to come back on. Judy realizes she was being used as a sort of tease
for the men and she is terribly upset.
The
show becomes a huge hit. The papers begin writing up about Judy, mostly that
she is a stooge being used to tease the men in the audience. Steve goes to see
the show for Judy. Jimmy goes to the same show. He stands up for Judy and tells
everyone in the audience to shut up. When Jimmy goes backstage he does not even
remember Judy until he sees a Ferdinand bull he had given her. After the show
Judy sees Steven. He gives her his card but she rips it up thinking he is
making fun of her. She still does not know that he is the Steven Adams that she
was supposed to have met.
Judy
gets in the papers again but this time it is not for her dancing. She went out
on a proper date with Jimmy. He took her to a restaurant where he used to go
with his wife Elinor all the time. Everyone stares at them. When Elinor comes
by the table Judy can immediately see that he is still in love with her. The
next day Lily is furious with Judy for going out with Jimmy mostly because he
is rich and also for the fact that she got into the papers. Steven’s secretary
sees Judy’s picture in the papers and realizes Judy is the girl who had been
waiting in the office that one day.
Steven
goes to see Judy again at the show. Judy has finally had it. She is late for
her queue and she just walks out. When she gets to center stage instead of
dancing she rips into the men in the audience telling them how much they are
like pigs who comes to stare at her because they cannot look at their wives in
that way and how disgusting they all are. When she finishes her speech Steven
and his secretary clap. Lily is furious with Judy and the two of them brawl
right out onto the stage. They get arrest for publicly fighting. In court Judy
tells the judge that she just lost her head but that she got a load off of her
mind. The judge sentences her for disorderly conduct.
Fortunately
Judy is not put in jail. The next day she goes to see Steven at his office.
When she sees Steven and realizes he was supposed to be the one she had to
speak to she is upset with herself because everything could have been so
different.
From
what films I have seen Maureen O’Hara in they fail because she is in them. I
adore O’Hara as an actress. She was perfect in this role because she was classy
and beautiful. Her feisty temper was perfect for the scene where Judy gave the
speech on stage. Ralph Bellamy does not leave too much of an impression but he
is Ralph Bellamy and he always adds fantastic charm and warmth to any of film
he is in (even if he plays grumpy sour men). Lucille Ball looked amazing. It was
kind of odd to see her in slinky outfits and pretending to be a burlesque dancer
but she did a great job with the character and its sleaziness.
Dance, Girl, Dance was an alright film. It
is not a film that would first come to my mind when suggesting classic films to
see or films of either actress. Maureen O’Hara’s and Lucille Ball’s performances
are worth sitting through.
