A struggling dancer (Joan Crawford) is reduced to dancing in a burlesque show. But after the show is raided by the police for indecency, she decides to go legit and gets an audition for a Broadway show arranged for her by a wealthy playboy (Franchot Tone), who has ulterior motives. Standard backstage musical where a girl is plucked from the chorus and given her shot at stardom. This sort of stuff was usually the realm of Warners and Busby Berkeley. Crawford is at her most plucky and attractive here, you can see why the public adored her. Unfortunately, as a dancer, she's lead footed and clunky and when she dances with Fred Astaire (in his film debut), you wince. The film was a huge hit but MGM wisely kept her out of musicals for the rest of her tenure there. On the plus side, Clark Gable (as the show's director) is her leading man and as always, they had a terrific chemistry together. It's piffle but entertaining nonetheless. Directed by Robert Z. Leonard (
ZIEGFELD GIRL). With Nelson Eddy, Eve Arden, May Robson, Robert Benchley and Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard, collectively known as the Three Stooges.
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