Dance, Girl, Dance

Of all Maureen O'hara's pictures, this is definitely one of her best. How good would Lucille Ball have been as the streetwise floozy without Maureen's counter-role as a decent and moral girl struggling to overcome obstacles to fulfill her dream of becoming a dancer. Not once does her performance stray into the realm of treacle, her character, though perhaps a little naive never becomes timid to the point where she can't take care of herself in the clutch. She handles Lucy quite admirably in the latter stages of this film. Tis true Lucille Ball does her fair share of scene stealing and her performance is effective, but this is still Maureen's picture all the way. Also good performances by Louis Hayward (his only good role?) and Ralph Bellamy ensure this movie is well worth sitting through.

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.

This film followed the delightful film "Stage Door" by only three years. Perhaps that is why Bosley Crowther wrote for the New York Times that it is "just a cliché-ridden, garbled repetition of the story of the aches and pains in a dancer's rise to fame and fortune." The film was a financial failure. But I disagree with Crowther. Though it is difficult to live up to the quality of "Stage Door", this film stands on its own and merits attention. And it is very entertaining.

Unlike the earlier film, Lucille Ball is a huge part of "Dance, Girl, Dance", playing a burlesque star named Bubbles with panache and charisma. In sharp contrast, Maureen O'Hara plays the role of Judy O'Brien-a dancer who longs to perform serious ballet. Both women are strong in their roles, though O'Brien does not perform her character's most demanding dance moves.

Much has been written about the influence and effect of director Dorothy Arzner on this film. Much of that is overstatement and revisionism. But the director gives us some terrific close-ups of the characters in this film, something many directors don't do enough of.

Also deserving mention are the lighting and the costuming.

Watch for Maria Ousopenskaya in a brief but strong performance as the ballet mistress/manager whose life is dedicated to dance.

And watch for the speech in the courtroom scene. It outshines the earlier speech where Judy addresses the burlesque audience, though the latter speech is often lauded.

More than anything else, this film has a lot to say about tabloid journalism. And it says it well.

Dance Girl Dance tells the story of two redheaded dancers in their salad days. One is Lucille Ball who makes it to the top in burlesque. The other is Maureen O'Hara who has the ambitions and the talent, but not the drive to succeed in classical ballet. She acts as a stooge/foil for Lucy's burlesque act and takes the money as well as the audience jibes that come with it.

Both of them pique the interest of Louis Hayward a soon to be divorced playboy from Virginia Field. In addition even though O'Hara chickened out of the audition, ballet company head Ralph Bellamy thinks she has that something which will make her succeed in ballet.

All these lives are tangled up with each other, but the focus is on the rivalry between Lucy and Maureen. It's friendly at times and not so friendly at others. It gets real nasty when the two have a knock down drag out brawl on stage. The customers at the burlesque sure got their money's worth that night, all these two needed was a pit of mud.

In her memoirs Maureen O'Hara had nothing but kind words to say for Lucille Ball whom she got to be great friends with. She also said that by dint of her training as a Goldwyn Girl, Lucy had quite a head start on her in the dance department. O'Hara recalled the shoot as exhausting but she was proud of the finished product. As well she should have been.

Lucy also met her leading man from her next scheduled picture Too Many Girls and fell in love with him. That would be Desi Arnaz and we all know where that romance went.

O'Hara also enjoyed working for Dorothy Arzner and felt that Arzner brought a special dimension to what is a 'woman's picture' since it's about the friendship between two women. In any event Dance Girl Dance is a work anyone associated with it can be proud of.

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.