Mjeteconer Just perfect...

GurlyIamBeach Instant Favorite.

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

talisencrw A really fun film that I found in my Maureen O'Hara TCM 4-pack that I highly recommend if you enjoy films from that era. I like the two films I've seen so far from Arzner, who was one of the earliest and most successful of female directors and I believe the first openly lesbian one--the other work I've seen of hers is the great pre-Code look at alcoholism, 'Merrily We Go to Hell'.This is great if you either like musicals from the era, are a Maureen O'Hara or Lucille Ball enthusiast (holy, she was unbelievably a knockout in her early filmic days!) or are simply curious about the works of early female and/or lesbian directors. Arzner--at least in the two films I have seen from her thus far--showed she truly deserved to be successful in the industry.

MartinHafer In some ways, the plot to "Dance, Girl, Dance" is a lot of nonsense. After all, if you are looking for a realistic movie that could happen on this planet, you'd better keep looking. However, if you can accept the film for the campy picture that it is, it is quite enjoyable.The film begins with a dance troop. Their performance is interrupted by a police raid and they appear to be out of work when a nice guy (Louis Hayward) encourages the patrons to pay the girls for that show. He then shows a lot of interest in Judy (Maureen O'Hara), but the super self-absorbed Bubbles (Lucille Ball) steals the guy and goes off on a date with him. Although the date turns out to be a bit of a bust, this is the pattern that would continue throughout the film. In other words, although Judy is a nice person and the most talented dancer, Bubbles would routinely step in and hog all the glory. And, in the world of dancing, Bubbles ego-centrism really helps her make a splash with a new job--doing a dance that is only a step or two better than being a stripper. Later, she gets Judy a job--but only in a very subordinate role which is meant to be laughed at by the audience! There is far, far more to the movie than this.The best way to describe it is to compare it to two movies--one old, one rather new. It reminds me of a Bette Davis/Miriam Hopkins film called "Old Acquaintance". The two are friends but repeatedly, the one 'friend' takes all the glory and treats her friend poorly. This continues throughout the film until finally the put-upon friend has had enough and she realizes that this friendship just isn't worth it--and finally tells her off. The other film is "Showgirls". While I've never seen all of this trashy film, the behind the scenes backstabbing and egos are clearly evident in both films. Overall, "Dance, Girl, Dance" is entertaining and the ending is pretty satisfying. However, don't expect a film that is particularly realistic or that seems even remotely plausible--though both actresses did a nice job in their respective roles.

Ted Amidst the boy's club of classical Hollywood cinema, Dorothy Arzner's Dance, Girl, Dance is notable as a rare female vision. While the film's behind-the-scenes-at-the-girly-show subject matter might have been sensationalized in other hands--"NOT SUITABLE FOR GENERAL EXHIBITION" brags the poster--Arzner unceremoniously mutes the male gaze throughout: rather than command her camera to linger leeringly on the female form, she chooses to communicate her dancers' eroticism through,for example, an unmoving shot of a man's eyeballs.The film's characters are faced with two modes of femininity to embrace, neither particularly appealing: Lucille Ball's Bubbles exploits her sexuality so that she might latch on to--and this is a direct quote, and I s*** you not--a "great big capitalist;" Maureen O'Hara's Judy maintains a healthy self-respect and work ethic to absolutely no avail.Dance, Girl, Dance will be entertaining to contemporary audiences for its antiquated weirdnesses-- Louis Hayward in particular is delightfully insane as Mr. Harris, completely derailing the movie every time he's on screen--but the movie's real power is in its harrowingly cynical finale: our protagonist is literally forced into a chair and told not to think by a patriarchal businessmen, and through the least convincing laughter I've ever seen on screen, Judy laments how easy her life could have been had she subjugated herself sooner. I don't know if Arzner was trying to make a statement on the impossibility of maintaining a strong female identity in male-dominated culture, but that is certainly what she did. -TK 9/2/10

pcronin Judy O'Brien is an aspiring ballerina in Madama Basilova's dance troupe. Lucy "Bubbles" has oomph and no class, so she makes it big in burlesque right away. This movie is frustrating. First, Madama Basilova takes her favorite and principal dancer Judy to New York to meet the major ballet company director. In her excitement she rushes into oncoming traffic and dies instantly. Judy should have been holding her hand or keeping her back, but what can you do. Next when Judy finally does go back to meet the producer Steve Adams, the receptionist doesn't know who she is, she watches the dress rehearsal and is intimidated. Now she doesn't even want an audition. Then infuriatingly Steve Adams gets on the same elevator down, and she doesn't even put two and two together. He is immediately smitten by her beauty, but she assumes he is merely a flirtatious smoothie and her dignity is further assaulted by the fact that she has lost her last dime, missed the bus, and is without an umbrella in the rain. He never says his name, so she goes onto an offer she can't refuse from Bubbles as a shill to intro her number. Then she endures cruel taunts from perverts and the shame of having to compromise her principles just to survive and dance. Luckily Steve Adams reads about her in the papers and goes to watch her performance. He is ready to sign her but she still doesn't know it's him and rips up his business card! Among this is the wealthy tire company heir from Akron Jimmy Harris, a fickle but harmless and fun playboy who offers a momentary romantic diversion for Judy and Bubbles, but ultimately gets back together with his estranged wife. It's a happy ending providing some relief when Judy finally meets Steve Adams and he promises her career with the company will be stellar. She will at last be able to adapt the "Morning Star" that she is. This should be the beginning of the sequel, where she becomes a Mrs Ballanchine type except that instead of tiring of her as she grows old he falls more deeply in love with her with each ballet that is created for her, as her greatness fame world renown and idolatry grow ever more out of control. And no tragedy like "The Red Shoes" except for that of his ultimate passing as he is older and his work is done here, he cannot outdo himself and his legacy to the world is complete, with heartwarming memories for effective softfocus slomo dreamlike flashbacks. But at least we know it gets better after the movie ends.