DuBarry Was a Lady was adapted from a successful Broadway musical by Cole Porter. Like most of Porter’s Broadway productions, it was a racy affair. (Apparently, there was a Madame DuBarry rage at the time. Marie Antoinette’s court rival has receded into the historical background since then.) Like most Hollywood adaptations of Porter’s shows, theContinue reading “DuBarry Was a Lady (1943)”
Category Archives: Roy Del Ruth
Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935)
Broadway Melody of 1936 was the first of a series of Broadway Melody films that MGM made to match Busby Berkeley’s successful backstage Broadway series, which by 1936 had already delivered five films and had a sixth (Gold Diggers of 1937) in production. Despite their titles, the Broadway Melodies of ’36, ’38 and ’40 wereContinue reading “Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935)”
On the Avenue (1937)
On paper, On the Avenue looks like a great classical Hollywood musical. All the songs are by Irving Berlin. It’s directed by Roy Del Ruth, an unsung master of the genre. It stars Dick Powell, Alice Faye, and Madeleine Carroll. The script is by two good writers, Gene Markey and William Conselman. Lucien Andriot wasContinue reading “On the Avenue (1937)”
Folies Bergère de Paris (1935)
Folies Bergère de Paris has become one of my favorite musical comedies of the period. It was Maurice Chevalier’s last American film before the end of World War II, and it’s one of his best. At the moment, I’d place it up there with Love Me Tonight. I’ve always taken Chevalier in small doses. HisContinue reading “Folies Bergère de Paris (1935)”
Thanks a Million (1935)
Thanks A Million is, like most of the Dick Powell comedies of the mid-1930s, a pip, a perfect example of a neglected gem. It fits somewhere on the line of Depression-era political satire-comedies that stretches from Washington Merry-Go-Round (1932) to The Devil and Miss Jones (1941). In many respects it follows the template of theContinue reading “Thanks a Million (1935)”
Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937)
Variety-show comedies were extremely popular in the 1930s, even before they hit their peak during the war years. They were patterned on vaudeville, music hall, and cabaret stage shows that included a lot of different kinds of acts — hence “variety” — and could be built into spectacular star vehicles in New York, Paris, andContinue reading “Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937)”
Happy Landing (1938)
Happy Landing was the third film Sonja Henie made for 20th Century Fox. She was a monster star in her day, the first female professional skater to become an international sensation. 20th Century Fox was a maverick studio in the 1930s that tended to make low-budget musical comedies that featured some unusual, and unusually good,Continue reading “Happy Landing (1938)”
Born to Dance (1936)
Born to Dance (1936) is definitely not an undiscovered masterpiece, but it’s a fascinating piece of period cinema. Its director, Roy Del Ruth, was a fine, crafty comedy director, but this film’s direction is craaaazy — and not from genius. Still, amazingly illuminating. Why? Bear with me a while. Years ago, I had an epiphanyContinue reading “Born to Dance (1936)”