This romantic comedy, about a dancer's rapid ascent to the top & the two men who would have her, is interesting -- but certainly not because of its too-predictable plot.
No, what makes Dancing Lady interesting is all of the trivia about it that has nothing to do with its main action: it was Fred Astaire's official debut (he plays himself & dances with Joan Crawford in the finale); it features an early screen appearance by The Three Stooges (they do their best to screw up Crawford's audition for Broadway director Clark Gable); and also present are singer Nelson Eddy (also playing himself), Algonquin Round Table-member Robert Benchley (amusing as a perennially-unprepared reporter), and Sterling "Winnie the Pooh" Holloway (memorable as one of the writers of the musical Gable is directing). Also interesting is the fact that so many well-known songwriters contributed to the film's soundtrack, including Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart.
Okay, interesting. But is it worth seeing?
Well, I don't hate myself for having sat through it, but this is not one that I would recommend actively seeking out. Certainly Crawford & Gable are engaging enough, and they are well-supported by a nice ensemble. I was also pleasantly struck by some of Robert Z. Leonard's directorial touches, in particular some creative transitions early in the film & a nicely-handled party scene about halfway through.
However, for Dancing Lady to have risen above the countless films with similar formulaic stories, it really needed a better script. After an energetic first hour, the inevitability of the film's resolution starts to weigh it down, and it all but crawls into its awkward & uninspired musical finale.
Also, too much of the dialogue tries too hard to be clever -- and ends up incomprehensible. I was often reminded of banter you might hear in a modern-day parody of a film from this era.
Score: SIX out of TEN
No, what makes Dancing Lady interesting is all of the trivia about it that has nothing to do with its main action: it was Fred Astaire's official debut (he plays himself & dances with Joan Crawford in the finale); it features an early screen appearance by The Three Stooges (they do their best to screw up Crawford's audition for Broadway director Clark Gable); and also present are singer Nelson Eddy (also playing himself), Algonquin Round Table-member Robert Benchley (amusing as a perennially-unprepared reporter), and Sterling "Winnie the Pooh" Holloway (memorable as one of the writers of the musical Gable is directing). Also interesting is the fact that so many well-known songwriters contributed to the film's soundtrack, including Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart.
Okay, interesting. But is it worth seeing?
Well, I don't hate myself for having sat through it, but this is not one that I would recommend actively seeking out. Certainly Crawford & Gable are engaging enough, and they are well-supported by a nice ensemble. I was also pleasantly struck by some of Robert Z. Leonard's directorial touches, in particular some creative transitions early in the film & a nicely-handled party scene about halfway through.
However, for Dancing Lady to have risen above the countless films with similar formulaic stories, it really needed a better script. After an energetic first hour, the inevitability of the film's resolution starts to weigh it down, and it all but crawls into its awkward & uninspired musical finale.
Also, too much of the dialogue tries too hard to be clever -- and ends up incomprehensible. I was often reminded of banter you might hear in a modern-day parody of a film from this era.
Score: SIX out of TEN