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IMDbPro

The Gay Impostors

Original title: Gold Diggers in Paris
  • 1938
  • A
  • 1h 37m
IMDb RATING
5.8/10
532
YOUR RATING
Ethelreda Leopold, Helen Blizard, and Mary Rosetti in The Gay Impostors (1938)
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:28
1 Video
18 Photos
ComedyMusicalRomance

Owners and show girls of the bankrupt Club Ballé are mistaken for the Academy Ballet of America and are off to Paris to compete in an International Dance Exposition.Owners and show girls of the bankrupt Club Ballé are mistaken for the Academy Ballet of America and are off to Paris to compete in an International Dance Exposition.Owners and show girls of the bankrupt Club Ballé are mistaken for the Academy Ballet of America and are off to Paris to compete in an International Dance Exposition.

  • Director
    • Ray Enright
  • Writers
    • Earl Baldwin
    • Warren Duff
    • Jerry Wald
  • Stars
    • Rudy Vallee
    • Rosemary Lane
    • Hugh Herbert
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.8/10
    532
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Ray Enright
    • Writers
      • Earl Baldwin
      • Warren Duff
      • Jerry Wald
    • Stars
      • Rudy Vallee
      • Rosemary Lane
      • Hugh Herbert
    • 21User reviews
    • 5Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Gold Diggers in Paris
    Trailer 2:28
    Gold Diggers in Paris

    Photos18

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    Top cast76

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    Rudy Vallee
    Rudy Vallee
    • Terry Moore
    Rosemary Lane
    Rosemary Lane
    • Kay Morrow
    Hugh Herbert
    Hugh Herbert
    • Maurice Giraud
    Allen Jenkins
    Allen Jenkins
    • Duke 'Dukie' Dennis
    Gloria Dickson
    Gloria Dickson
    • Mona Verdivere
    Melville Cooper
    Melville Cooper
    • Pierre aka Fernand LeBrec
    Mabel Todd
    Mabel Todd
    • Leticia
    Fritz Feld
    Fritz Feld
    • Luis Leoni
    Curt Bois
    Curt Bois
    • Padrinsky
    Edward Brophy
    Edward Brophy
    • Mike Coogan
    • (as Ed Brophy)
    Victor Kilian
    Victor Kilian
    • Gendarme
    Georges Renavent
    Georges Renavent
    • Gendarme
    • (as George Renevant)
    Armand Kaliz
    Armand Kaliz
    • Stage Manager
    Maurice Cass
    Maurice Cass
    • Mr. Vail
    Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson
    Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson
    • Doorman
    • (as Eddie Anderson)
    Rosella Towne
    Rosella Towne
    • Golddigger
    Janet Shaw
    Janet Shaw
    • Golddigger
    Carole Landis
    Carole Landis
    • Golddigger
    • Director
      • Ray Enright
    • Writers
      • Earl Baldwin
      • Warren Duff
      • Jerry Wald
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews21

    5.8532
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    Featured reviews

    6TheLittleSongbird

    Passably entertaining if lacking

    Nowhere near as good in comparison to the Gold Diggers of 1933, 1935 and 1937, but on its own it's an okay film. Sure it has a thin plot that doesn't really make sense, Mabel Todd is irritating and her scenes are just weird and Hugh Herbert is not much better. Rudy Vallee's performance is nothing mind-blowing but he has a nice voice and is a likable lead at least, Rosemary Lane is an alluring partner as well as sassy and heartfelt. In support, Melville Cooper has fun with his role and makes the most with what he has, while you will get much pleasure from Edward Brophy's body language alone. The production values are nice and seem to be done with care with some clean photography to go with it, if not as glitzy as the earlier Gold Diggers films and lower in budget perhaps. The music is not the kind you'll remember for an eternity, but the film is well-scored and the songs make for very pleasant listening. I Wanna Go Back to Bali comes off best. What there is of Busby Berkeley's choreography is good clean fun, that for I Wanna Go Back to Bali is spectacular, while the script is witty and smart with a touch of heart and warmth as well. All in all, lacking but passably entertaining and does its job reasonably well. The earlier Gold Diggers films are better though and showcase Berkeley's talents much more effectively. 6/10 Bethany Cox
    6lugonian

    Rudy of the Ballet

    "Gold Diggers in Paris" (Warner Brothers, 1938), directed by Ray Enright, the last in the annual musical series, is the least known and discussed of all the "Gold Diggers" musicals of the 1930s that usually featured Dick Powell with choreography by Busby Berkeley. It's been long unavailable until resurrected on cable's Turner Network Television in 1989, and later on Turner Classic Movies where it played every so often since TCM's premiere in 1994. In spite of its latter-day rediscovery to a newer audience, it's still virtually overlooked and forgotten mainly because it doesn't hold up to its predecessors. Much of it strains for laughs and musical interludes weak, with the possible exception of the finale.

    As for the plot, which opens in Paris, Pierre LeBrac (Melville Cooper) is holding a board meeting where he's selecting several members to go to various countries to bring back the greatest dance groups from all over the world to appear in their upcoming Paris Exposition. Maurice Giraud (Hugh Herbert), afraid to come to America in fear of facing the savage Indians(!), is chosen to go there anyway and bring back the American Ballet Company. While in New York City, Giraud comes to the Club Balle' where Terry Moore (Rudy Vallee), singer and proprietor, is entertaining. Giraud, who mistakes Terry's club for a ballet company, invites Moore's troupe to accompany him back to Paris where they are to appear in the annual dance expedition for $10,000 plus expenses paid to the company. Because his night club isn't making any profits anyway, Terry, along with his partner, Duke Dennis (Allen Jenkins) accept. Before they go, Terry and Duke go to find the best ballet master to train the girls who can only dance to modern swing music. They choose Professor Luis Leoni (Fritz Feld) from the directory, and find Kay Morrow (Rosemary Lane), a ballet dancer and his only pupil. Rounding out the girls, Terry and company board the ship to Paris where he becomes interested in Kay. Also on board is Terry's ex-wife, Mona (Gloria Dickson), who becomes Kay's cabin roommate. While in Paris, situations arise as the real American Ballet Company turns up, having Terry's troupe exposed as impostors.

    With music and lyrics by Harry Warren and Al Dubin, the musical program includes: "I Wanna Go Back to Bali" (sung by Rudy Vallee and chorus); "Day Dreaming All Night Long" (sung by Vallee and Rosemary Lane/ lyrics by Johnny Mercer); "A Stranger in Paree" (sung by Vallee imitating Maurice Chevalier; Rosemary Lane, Mabel Todd, Allen Jenkins, Gloria Dickson and the Schnickelfritz Band); "The Latin Quarter" (sung by Lane, Vallee/chorus); and "I Wanna Go Back to Bali" (sung by Vallee, Mabel Todd, Allen Jenkins and chorus). While "My Adventure" is listed among the songs in the movie, it's not presented in the final print.

    In between Vallee's crooning comes newcomers to the screen, The Schnickelfritz Band, taking the spotlight to themselves with "Listen to the Mockingbird," "Who's That Man? It's Colonel Corn," and performing an instrumental number at the Paris banquet. Though wild and goofy band-players, they's somewhat predecessors towards the more famous Spike Jones and his City Slickers Band of the 1940s. The Schnickelfritz Band faded to obscurity as quickly as they appeared.

    With the exception of Gloria Dickson trying to obtain her alimony from her ex-hubby (Vallee), with few scenes involving a couple of chorus girls playing up to middle-aged well-to-do Frenchmen, the movie itself contains limited "gold digging" antics to offer promise from the title. Most of all, what weakens the plot most is the ventriloquism scenes involving Mabel Todd (the blonde with the buck teeth and odd-ball laugh) as she throws her voice to a great dane to the confused Maurice (Herbert), making him believe he's encountered a "talking dog." Even Hugh Herbert, supporting a mustache and beret, is not too convincing playing a Frenchman.

    It's been mentioned by host Robert Osborne in one of the showings of "Gold Diggers in Paris" that Dick Powell, the original choice, turned down the role that went to Rudy Vallee, making his first screen appearance since SWEET MUSIC (Warners, 1935). Aside from Vallee's Maurice Chevalier imitation, he also impersonates the then current US President, Franklin D. Roosevelt. Busby Berkeley's choreography is the best he could do with this edition, mainly due to limited funds for a lavish show-stopping production. "The Latin Quarter" is a notable tune, best known as background scoring for the Pepi Le Pew cartoons. For a bit of nostalgia, "Gold Diggers in Paris" features clips from the "Young and Healthy" number from 42nd STREET (1933) and "Spin a Little Web of Dreams" from FASHIONS OF 1934 superimposed in its opening title credits, followed by views of Paris, including the famous landmark of the Eiffel Tower.

    "Gold Diggers in Paris," which focuses more on singing and band playing than dancing, has that 1940s musical feel. It also shows the changing of the times along with the decline of the Warners musical. Besides this being the "weakest link" of the series, "Gold Diggers in Paris" still has some good moments to offer. For star searchers, look for Eddie "Rochester" Anderson briefly seen as a doorman, along with future 20th-Fox blonde of the 1940s, Carole Landis, who can be glimpsed as one of the members of gold digging troupe. Never distributed to home video, "Gold Diggers in Paris" became available on the DVD format in 2007. (**1/2)
    6ksf-2

    nightclub act heads to pareee

    Crooner rudy vallee, along with rosemary lane. Funny guys hugh herbert, ed brophy, and allan jenkins along for comedy. A later chapter in the gold digger films, which had begun back in the 1920s. With dance bits by busby berkeley, so we know the song and dance thangs will be big and fancy. The cast and crew from club ballé get a lucky break and accidentally enter the international competition in paris. It's all just an excuse for a bunch of vaudeville routines, with some large ensemble numbers, and a paper thin plot holding it together. Some of the comedy bits work, some don't. Singing by vallee. He even does a parody of maurice chevalier. Herbert never really does zero in on his terrible fake french accent. It's just all over the place. There's a love story. Even a divorce and alimony story. It's entertaining. Not a shakespear by any means, but light and fluffy, just before WW II. At this time, danzig was already under control of germany, but they hadn't started their large war marches yet. In may of 1940, germany would begin its large scale attack on france. Of course, this cast never left the hollywood studio. Directed by ray enright. Started directing just as the silents were becoming talkies.
    6brchthethird

    The French sure like their wine and cheese

    My least favorite of the Gold Diggers series, largely because most of the humor and gags fall flat. And there's also the sentient tree trunk (Rudy Vallee) which happens to have a rather mellifluous singing voice. Dick Powell he is not. And really, hardly anyone stands out in the cast. Allen Jenkins probably the most, and Hugh Herbert also, although he isn't in it as much as I would have liked. The only chorus girl who made an impression was Mabel Todd, who reminded me heavily of Kristin Chenoweth (sans Southern accent). As for Busby Berkeley, there was only one large production number at the end, which was good, but not nearly as much as most of the ones that preceded in this series and Berkeley's other work. Overall, I didn't hate it; I just rolled my eyes a lot.
    richard-1787

    Fun fluff

    This is certainly not as good as the best-known Gold Diggers movies, no doubt for a variety of reasons. While it is a Busby Berkeley movie, there is only one big dance number in it, the finale, a reprise of "I want to go back to Bali" - sung, believe it or not, on a set made up as the streets of Paris, which makes NO sense whatsoever. (The first time that number is sung, in a nightclub in New York City, the women are made up as Balinese, and the set, what there is of it, is supposed to represent Bali.) Most of the songs are instantly forgettable. Still, in an almost childish way, the movie is full of a lot of innocent energy and it never drags. Rudy Vallee sings well, and the character parts - Hugh Herbert and Melville Cooper, playing the same parts they always played - are humorous. I was never bored, which is more than I can say for a lot of movies that pretend to far more than this.

    I wouldn't go out of my way to see this, but neither would I suggest avoiding it.

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      Terry and company are depicted as arriving in France aboard the French liner SS Normandie. It entered service in 1935 and was the fastest liner across the Atlantic, only to be later surpassed by the RMS Queen Mary and finally the SS United States. She remains the most powerful steam turbo-electric passenger ship ever built. She was seized in New York City at the beginning of WW2 and had begun to be converted into a troopship when she caught fire and capsized in February 1942. All plans to return her to service failed to materialize and she was scrapped in 1946.
    • Goofs
      When Mona is in LeBrec's office filling out the forms, the hand shown writing on the forms has short fingernails and no nail polish, whereas Gloria Dickson has long nails and is wearing very dark polish.
    • Quotes

      Duke 'Dukie' Dennis: Oh, a lady!

      Mona Verdivere: Well, what'd you expect, a harem?

    • Crazy credits
      The letters WB in the opening logo sparkle as if made of actual gold.
    • Connections
      Edited into Musical Memories (1946)
    • Soundtracks
      Daydreaming (All Night Long)
      Music by Harry Warren

      Lyrics by Johnny Mercer

      Sung by Rudy Vallee and Rosemary Lane

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • June 11, 1938 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
    • Also known as
      • Gold Diggers in Paris
    • Filming locations
      • New York City, New York, USA(various establishing shots of Broadway, Statue of Liberty, etc.)
    • Production company
      • Warner Bros.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 37 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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    Ethelreda Leopold, Helen Blizard, and Mary Rosetti in The Gay Impostors (1938)
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