Details
Movie Description
It's the summer season at a swanky resort, and none of the employees have any qualms about fleecing the rich guests for all they're worth in this madcap Busby Berkeley farce. Dick Curtis (Dick Powell) sings and romances Ann Prentiss (Gloria Stuart), but her shrill millionaire mom (Alice Brady) insists she marry eccentric T. Mosley Thorpe (Hugh Herbert) instead. Meanwhile, brilliant Russian theater director Nicoleff (Adolphe Menjou) prepares to put on the annual charity show. The show itself contains two of Berkeley's most hallucinatory numbers: "The Words are in My Heart," with its rows of twirling baby grand pianos, and the eerie "Lullaby of Broadway."
A sequel of sorts to GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933, this is a racy, art deco delight, filled with fast comedy, snappy songs, and some of the wildest musical sequences ever. The "Lullaby of Broadway" number is particularly fascinating, more like an experimental surrealist short film than a typical dance number. It's a superb example of director Busby Berkeley at his most innovative.
Synopsis
Singing, dancing and swindling the rich are the favorite activities at a posh summer resort in this, Busby Berkeley's second full-length directorial effort. Desk clerk Dick Curtis (Dick Powell) croons his love to poor little rich girl Ann Prentiss (Gloria Stuart) while her miserly mom tries to marry her off to eccentric T. Mosley Thorpe (Hugh Herbert). Somehow they all manage to put on a show, leading to two of Berkeley's most hallucinatory dance sequences, including the haunting "Lullaby of Broadway."
Film Notes
Over sixty years after this film, Gloria Stuart would receive acclaim and numerous awards for her supporting role in James Cameron's TITANIC.
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