The Golddigger 1933

The Golddiger 1933

                  You can spend your late afternoon or early evening watching yet another action show or you can delve into fabulous fun by watching this, the frothiest answer to the Great Depression. This movie is great in that it shows what our culture was like in the 1930s. At the beginning of the film a very young Ginger Rogers does an amazing "We're in the Money' and even does a whole verse in 'Pig-Latin' - who today even remembers talking like that? The chorus girls go through their Busby Berkeley routine clad only in oversized coinage and so we know we are off on quite the romp. The next scenes provide the grit of the Depression in the form of closed theaters, out of work actresses and pilfered milk bottles, but not to worry! There is always a song coming on, and Dick Powell, that charming neighbor across the airshaft has already captured Ruby Keeler's heart with his tunes and his smile. Her girl pals are not buying his applesauce, but when he provides the funds to underwrite their next big show that is sure to make them all happy if not famous, well, things start looking up big time. When you consider that the movies were barely out of their infancy, especially talkies, at the time this was made, and you see the professionalism and the elaborate sets and the mind-boggling beauty of all the gorgeous girls, it is truly amazing. Dick Powell’s singing didn’t knock me out my seat too much nor it is unfair to say he is not a great singer, but that was the genre or style back then so, for that I understand. What was the knock out punch and genuinely authentic for myself is the beauty and gorgeous appearance of these women is timeless. Even now, in the days of women's lib, when they want you to believe that women can do anything a man can do, only to find out they can do it so much better, that I will not deny as    we all know the truth. Even going back to the thirties, or even before, nothing's changed. It's still the same. They've always tried to make us believe that every woman is really Wonder Woman, when what they actually are is just simply wonderful. And that holds especially true for Joan Blondell. She is a total sweetheart, and seems to fill the bill as every man's dream girl. Plus, she seems to have been almost universally loved by virtually everybody who knew her, according to what I've read. Hooray for Hollywood, and Long Live Women!

                       Meanwhile there's another plot going on--that of putting on the show so they can all become rich and famous. Of course, the numbers they perform are stellar and classic, and leave the question: how could they ever get a Broadway stage to accommodate all these actors at once in real life? But you know what? The answer is: who cares? The electric violins, fade-ins and choreography are very well done for the movies of the time and overall the movie holds your attention extremely well. The movie ends with a spectacular number "The Forgotten Man." This was at the time a tribute to the World War One veterans who were now reduced to standing on breadlines for the little food they could obtain. The finale is the most serious part of the film and is a commentary on life in the Depression. The singing is one of a kind, Blondell speaks the opening and she does so extremely well. She does not read the lines like a poem; she speaks them like they were her own. She seems very emotionally involved. The scenes in the song play similarly to the finale "42nd Street" in the film of the same name. This song is hard-hitting and should be as remembered as a symbol of the Depression as "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime". The audience sees the marching of the veterans who represents the struggles and battle they faced constantly during the war; then you see the men standing on breadlines and being chased away by police when they have nowhere to sleep but the sidewalk. I believe this part of the movie is a tribute to our Veterans that this number reminded them of the Vietnam War. Very sad; but in my opinion it is superbly done! It's interesting to see a movie take the topic of the Great Depression and turn it into a funny and entertaining musical. Oddly enough, it works quite well!!

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