Dance, Girl, Dance

A surprising and fascinating little gem of a movie. Directed by Dorothy Arzner, the film is able to delve into the emotional landscape of women with dreams, women who have to work to make their living. O'Hara and Ball are both fantastic, and Arzner easily elicits sympathy for their struggle. Yet the film never stops being fun, finds time for both musical and dance numbers, and ends up being one of the more delightful films I've seen in some time.

One of those films that just inspires joy. O'hara and Ball are fantastic, both separately and especially together, the writing is sharp and the dance numbers are really good. The editing could be a little better but it's a minor complaint for such a wonderfully pleasant time.

It's always a pleasure when a film that was barely on one's radar turns out to be a major find. This is a sophisticated, witty treat with charming O'Hara and sassy Ball trading barbs and building towards a show-stopping catfight. The characters are well-drawn, Lucy's songs are smashing and it all culminates in an entirely satisfying conclusion where pretty-much everybody gets what they want. Great stuff.

Just when you think you know where this is going...Suffice to say, a minor masterpiece. Also, I love the distinctive RKO matte work of the buildings—and with Robert Wise as the editor—a little taste of what was to come the following year with that Hearst biopic.

Some of the retrospective claims made about this little melodrama may be slightly overstated, but as a study of conflict and struggle - at once personal, economic, sexual and artistic - it does indeed contain a few surprises, offering a perspective almost entirely absent from contemporaneous Hollywood works, and evincing a sophistication and understanding exceeding numerous more recent efforts to tread the same ground. Definitely more than just a curiosity.

A love triangle that is clearly more about the friendship between two women than it is either of their romantic involvements with the same man, and that is unquestionably the correct path to follow in this case. I have thought about Lucille Ball in this sporadically since initial viewing. An often damning depiction of the fellas, I still found this to be slightly more subtle than Alex Garland's Men.

Forgettable. Neither the plot, nor the dancing sequences were too memorable. The film felt somewhat forced and the actors - although still very solid - felt uninspired. The preachy elements of the film do not work in its favour either.

Viewed April 7, 2022. Dorothy Arzner has a more distinct sensibility here than in The Bride Wore Red or Christopher Strong, particularly her portrayal of the dancers' artistry versus the leering, objectifying audiences they encounter. There are some very striking close-ups of O'Hara in the performance scenes that predict stuff like The Red Shoes or Mickey One, albeit not nearly as stylish.

Star Rating: ★★★1/2

Fun, well-acted and joyful. It's not perfect or exactly 'memorable' but it's a fun time for 90 minutes runtime.

Em honra de Mary Carlisle (1914 - 2018) Fico pensando o porquê aquele filme zoado do Verhoven adquiriu status de clássico moderno sobre a rivalidade do burlesco se este filme da Arzner é o filme definitivo sobre o assunto. Elenco maravilhoso e uma pegada entre o cômico e o melancólico tornam esse filme indispensável. DVDRip no MakingOff

Well-acted and humorous.

Melodramatic, but sincere in its portrayal of a romantic triangle, and does well to portray the women's concerns about making ends meet - and their ambitions towards career success. In a male-dominated Hollywood that painted an incomplete picture of women's perspective, this injected some well-needed social realism.

Being brought up with I Love Lucy it was impossible to watch Lucille Ball dancing without laughing. Didn't matter if elegant, classic or vampish, I had to laugh. No escaping it as I love Lucy so. But it was pure class watching her as the vixen. Played mostly for comedy it was right up her alley!