Simply Perfect

Fantastic!

best movie i've ever seen.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Having just watched "The Big Street", released by RKO 2 years after this 1940 film, I couldn't help noticing that both films were dramas including the marital designs of a superaggressive, heartless, gold digging prima dona theatrical singer or burlesque queen, played by Lucille Ball. The main difference in the plots of the two films is that, in the present film, Lucy, representing low class dancing talent, is scripted as a bad girl to Maureen's good girl image, representing high brow dancing, especially ballet. In "The Big Street, Lucy's character is the only main female character, becoming permanently crippled early in the film. In a sense, she is both good and bad, mainly the latter, usually acting arrogantly or complaining to everyone. Yet, she is worthy of some sympathy, as a successful Broadway night spot entertainer, who is rendered crippled in a spat of jealousy by her gangster boyfriend. In the present film, the two female stars are often friends, but are also jealous of each other because of their different dancing personas, and their competition for matrimony to a rich playboy drunk(Jimmy), who is nice to the girls. There is also a 3rd woman involved: Jimmy's recently divorced ex-wife,played by Virginia Field. She will come into prominence in the confusing final portion of the film.Judy(Maureen) has struck up a friendship with Jimmy, but when Lucy(Bubbles or, later, Tiger Lily) learns that he is rich and divorced, she manages to get a marriage license out of him while he is good and sauced. He doesn't even like her. Judy is jealous and has a cat fight on stage with Tiger Lily, getting the best of her.While this is primarily a drama about the problems of surviving in the commercial world when your primary interest is in serious dance, it does have its comedic moments. Besides the afore mentioned cat fight, Maureen is funny in night court, with her unexpectedly candid answers to the judge's questions relating to the cat fight. Tiger Lily gets Judy a dancing job as her stooge between her own performances. But the raucous patrons only jeer at her conservative dancing style and relatively cool demeanor, whereas they cheer for Tiger Lily's sexy performances. But, at least she is surviving and being paid more than her previous job as a chorus girl in a dive. Judy eventually comes to realize that Jimmy, with his drinking problem, would not make an ideal husband for her. In the end, she realizes that Steve(Ralph Bellamy), whom she just found out apparently is the director of a Broadway theater troupe, is very impressed with her potential, and appears to be a very nice man. He bailed her out of jail, and offers to train her to be a classy Broadway dancer. Clearly, he loves her, but we have no idea whether he is married or interested in her as a wife, despite the parting scene in the film.This film, appropriately, was directed by the only Hollywood female director during Hollywood's "Golden Age": Dorothy Arzuer. This was her next-to-last film. While some interpret it as being pro-women's lib, I can think of various films from that era and the '50s that were much more so.

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.

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.

Considering the fact that Lucille Ball has the third name in this movie, she has a very noticeable role that proves she is a great actress. Of course, everybody knows that Lucille Ball is best known for her character in "I Love Lucy," but watching this movie would really surprise you. She does a terrific job as a vain and conceited girl who wants to be on top of everyone. Not to mention, she is very attractive and alluring in this movie. I personally believe that this movie focuses a great deal on Lucille Ball, and that's the best part. "Dance, Girl, Dance" would probably be one of the few movies, where Lucille Ball fans can actually see her terrific talent as an actress on the big screens and on television.