Ryan Hogg This tidy little musical film had actors who were good actors and even better performers. The film itself used what I consider correct use of singing and dancing. Because rather than the stereotypical sing and dance situation that actors do when their characters are feeling a strong emotion, they actually worked it into the narrative to give the musical numbers a purpose. The film while at times being gender orientated through weak women and strong upper class men; the film did show both genders switching roles, having independent women and manipulated men which is probably why the ending was so gender balanced.

Spondonman Classy film complete with classy guys, classy dames and classy tunes. This was the perfect bookend to 42nd St, the perfect let's put on a show film, so much so when young I used to get them completely mixed up and with interchangeable songs. I hadn't seen it in over 15 years but thanks to a very Good Samaritan I saw it again tonight and was suitably re-impressed and wondered how I could ever get confused. Why, 42nd St had marvellous songs while Gold Diggers Of 1933 had magnificent songs.Mysterious song composer, singer, actor Dick Powell mysteriously bankrolls a stage musical, with his girl Ruby Keeler starring. Turns out he has an old fashioned morally stern family headed by brother Warren William who doesn't approve of his lifestyle, leading to most of the dialogue in the script. In her choice of men the cheap and vulgar Joan Blondell must've needed those big eyes testing! The innocent love affair between Powell and Keeler is again enchanting to take in, along with Blondell's and Aline MacMahon's incessant coy pre-Code quips. Songs include We're In The Money, Torch Song, Petting In The Park, Forgotten Man, and the unforgettable Shadow Waltz imho the finest Warren & Dubin collaboration. And Busby Berkeley excelled himself in the production of that one too, the number seems to get more amazing as the years pass when you remember the technical limitations they had to put up with in 1933 with such fine results.All in all one of the best musicals produced, with so many memorable bits, from pre-Code sassiness to gloriously romantic tunes. This is a film where getting a lodging for a night takes on a whole new meaning! Sadly it all got a little tamer after this and Footlight Parade, but what a ride.

charlytully Like many of the movies involving Busby Berkeley, the impact made on viewers by GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 likely will be counter-intuitive. Other than being promised several times earlier in the story, Berkeley's closing ballad of The Forgotten Man has merely a tenuous relationship to the previous 95 percent of this film. Yet it catches the essence not only of its fictional world, but also the flavor of the atrocities waged against ordinary Americans by the Hoover Administration in the early 1930s, as well as the Corporate-purchased U.S. Administrations and Congresses of the 21st Century, which have allowed a concentration of wealth that now exceeds that prompting Theodore Roosevelt to bust the trusts of the Robber Barons even before Teddy's cousin Franklin socialized much of the American economy. Perhaps Berkeley's chief accomplishment was to get his truth into a format entertaining enough to win over not only the public well off enough to be able to spare a dime for the movies, but also the suits at Warner Brothers (though they admittedly WERE notoriously cheap, and consequently always on the look-out for anything sensational). Michael Moore's tirades of today cannot hold a candle to the subtly subversive power of this GOLD DIGGERS, which features sexy girls socking it to the rich guys before standing up and shouting out for their own "forgotten men."

sme_no_densetsu While "42nd Street" gets most of the acclaim today I think that "Gold Diggers of 1933" may be the best all-around effort among the Busby Berkeley musicals. The story concerns a Boston blue blood songwriter who finances a Broadway show and ends up taking the stage at the last minute. However, when his brother hears about his undignified behaviour he comes to town in order to put an end to his newfound career & romance.The cast is a fine one which produces several entertaining performances. A number of the actors are "42nd Street" alumni, including Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, Guy Kibbee, Ned Sparks & Ginger Rogers. Warren William, Joan Blondell & Aline MacMahon join them to make up an enviable cast.Mervyn LeRoy was in the director's chair and he did a pretty good job but the obvious attraction here is Busby Berkeley's peerless musical numbers featuring the music of Warren & Dubin. From the opening number "We're in the Money" to the visual splendour of "Pettin' in the Park" & "The Shadow Waltz" it's clear that we're seeing and hearing something special. However, I question the use of "Remember My Forgotten Man" as the closer since I consider it the weakest and least 'fun' of the numbers.Minor complaints aside, "Gold Diggers of 1933" is an entertaining musical containing some stellar work from Busby Berkeley along with catchy songs from Warren & Dubin. Unlike some of the other Berkeley musicals the story here is more than just an excuse to show some musical numbers, which I think elevates it above the pack.