The Horse's Head

#307) The Bargain (1914)

OR “Change of Hart”

Directed by Reginald Barker

Written by William H. Clifford and Thomas H. Ince

Class of 2010

The Plot: Bandit Jim Stokes, the two-gun man (William S. Hart) is wounded while robbing a stagecoach in 1889 Arizona. He is taken in by prospector Phil Brent (J. Barney Sherry) and his daughter Nell (Clara Williams). When Jim and Nell fall in love, Jim decides to give up his bandit ways. An attempt to return the money he stole leads to his capture by Sheriff Bud Walsh (J. Frank Burke). All is lost, unless Jim and the Sheriff can strike…the bargain!

Why It Matters: I’m just going to crib directly from the NFR’s write-up: “[“The Bargain”] was selected [for the NFR] because of Hart’s charisma, the film’s authenticity and realistic portrayal of the Western genre and the star’s good/bad man role as an outlaw attempting to go straight.” There’s also an essay by Library of Congress film archivist Brian Taves.

But Does It Really?: I’ll give “The Bargain” a pass for its historical impact. William S. Hart is mostly forgotten today, but without him we wouldn’t have the morally conflicted cowboys of every western for the next 50 years. “Hell’s Hinges” is still the definitive Hart western, but “The Bargain” is where it all began. The film is worthy of preservation, but this one may just be for the movie buffs.

Everybody Gets One: William S. Hart didn’t become a film star until he was 49 years old! After years of struggling as a stage actor, Hart convinced producer/longtime friend Thomas Ince to give him a shot at the movies. Hart started out in a few shorts before making the jump to leading man with “The Bargain”. Thomas Ince was a prolific film producer who earned the moniker “Father of the Western”. We’ll see more of his work in “Hell’s Hinges”, “The Italian”, and “Civilization”.

Other notes

• The version of this film available on the Library of Congress’ YouTube page does not come with an accompanying soundtrack. I am not watching an 80-minute movie in complete silence. Take me away, Ennio Morricone!
• “The Bargain” starts off with an interesting prelude. Each cast member is introduced taking a bow in formal wear, followed by a dissolve of him or her completing the bow in full costume. A unique opening to be sure, but it does eat up a lot of screentime, and I’m not quite sure what it has to do with anything.
• This may be one of the first movies to do location shooting. The establishing shots of the expanse are from the Grand Canyon!
• 1889 seems far away, but it was only 25 years prior to this film’s production. “The Bargain” was the “San Junipero” of its day!
• William S. Hart kinda looks like a Baldwin brother. Somewhere between young Alec and current William.
• I’m tickled that Jim is always addressed as “Jim Stokes, the two-gun man”. Was the concept of having two guns that revolutionary? And isn’t the title an obvious giveaway for a wanted criminal?
• They’re near Bald Mountain? Don’t stick around at night.
• Speaking of, I love that the filmmakers hadn’t figured out “day-for-night” shooting yet. Afternoon turns into dawn real quick around these parts.
• I want to believe that Jim is in love with Nell, but there is zero character development between these two.
• For a split second I thought I had spotted a boom mike dip into one shot. And then I had to remind myself that this is a silent movie and boom mikes were still about 15 years away.
• The farewell letter Jim writes to Nell begins “Dear little woman”. Unless he’s writing to Jo March that’s a definite foul.
• Just once I want someone in a silent western to say “Them’s fightin’ intertitles!”
• It takes forever to get to it, but Jim’s capture at the saloon is fun to watch. The editing and cinematography suddenly stop being slavish to the rudimentary style of silent films.
• All of the intertitles have the Paramount Pictures logo on the bottom, but Paramount wasn’t founded until 1916, two years after “The Bargain”. Is this print from a re-release?
• And then we watch a painfully long shot of a horse tumbling down a steep hill. Can PETA retroactively fine this movie?
• I gotta say playing random Ennio Morricone western music really did spice things up. There were even a few “Dark Side of Oz” moments of impressive synchronization.

Legacy

• William S. Hart became a bona-fide movie star thanks to “The Bargain”. His reign continued into the mid-20s, before younger, flashier Tom Mix came along and made Hart’s slower, meditative brand of western obsolete. Hart’s last starring vehicle was 1925’s “Tumbleweeds”, though his final film appearance was a brief cameo in fellow NFR entry “Show People” in 1928.

• Hart passed away in 1946, and left his home to Los Angeles County to be converted into a museum. The William S. Hart Ranch and Museum is still around and open to the public. Road trip, anyone?

• And Thomas Ince died a peaceful death not surrounded in controversy or yellow journalism at all.

Further Viewing: William S. Hart only made one sound film, a new prologue shot especially for a 1939 re-release of “Tumbleweeds”. He looks back on the American west and his love of making movies, knowing full well that this will be his farewell to the movie-going public that made him a star.

#1) Sunset Boulevard (1950)

OR “Under Norma Circumstances”

Directed by Billy Wilder

Written by Wilder & Charles Brackett & D.M. Marshman Jr.

Class of 1989

This is a revised and expanded version of my original “Sunset Boulevard” post, which you can read here.

The Plot: As narrated by a corpse floating in a Hollywood swimming pool, jaded screenwriter Joe Gillis (William Holden) finds himself at the mansion of former silent film star Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) and her devoted butler Max (Erich von Stroheim). In need of a job, Joe agrees to help Norma pen her comeback vehicle, while she regularly relives her glory days and becomes Joe’s sugar mama. Later, script girl/aspiring writer Betty Schaefer (Nancy Olsen) sees potential in one of Joe’s screenplays, and the two begin a professional and personal relationship. But is Joe in too deep with Norma’s delusions to return to the real world? What part of “narrated by a corpse” didn’t you get?

Why It Matters: The NFR calls the film “the greatest movie about Hollywood” and praises the “brilliant dialog, decadent production design and wide-ranging acting styles”.

But Does It Really?: The truly great movies defy their own genre. “Sunset Boulevard” isn’t just a drama or film noir, it’s both, plus a gothic horror film and a black comedy, and it succeeds on every front. The airtight screenplay lays a solid foundation amplified by Wilder’s polished direction and flawless performances from Holden, Swanson, and von Stroheim. Like many of the first 25 NFR films, “Sunset Boulevard” is an untouchable classic, and the epitome of greatness in film.

Shout Outs: Quick references to “Gone with the Wind” and “King Kong”, plus the Washington Square set from “The Heiress”!

Everybody Gets One: 30 years, 750 movies, and this is still Gloria Swanson’s only NFR appearance. Like Norma, Swanson was one of Hollywood’s biggest silent film stars. Unlike Norma, Swanson knew that “talkies” were here to stay, and moved to New York to work on radio and television. Her film career was long over when Wilder approached her about “Sunset Boulevard”.

Wow, That’s Dated: Shoutout to Hollywood hangout Schwab’s Pharmacy, plus “The Young Lions”, Elsa Maxwell, the song “Buttons and Bows” (sung by its composers!) and a “too soon” joke about Joe being a “Black Dhalia suspect”.

Seriously, Oscars?: “Sunset Boulevard” was an instant hit, and scored 11 Oscar nominations (including Best Picture), second to “All About Eve” and its record-breaking 14. “Eve” took home the big prizes, but “Sunset” managed three wins: Original Screenplay, Art Direction, and Score. In a fiercely competitive Best Actress category, Gloria Swanson lost to newcomer Judy Holliday for “Born Yesterday”.

Other notes

• Is it “Sunset Boulevard” or “Sunset Blvd.”? The poster spells out the word, but the on-screen title is the abbreviation. Make up your mind, iconic classic!
• It was a logistical nightmare to get the shot of Holden floating in the pool, but man was it worth it.

• Of course three screenwriters would see themselves as a rugged Bill Holden type.
• Speaking of, Wilder & Brackett were an established writing team at this point; third writer Marshman was a journalist who impressed the two with his critique of “The Emperor Waltz”. Who says filmmakers and critics can’t get along?
• As soon as the movie gets to the mansion, we are in full haunted house mode. Kudos to everyone, especially cinematographer John F. Seitz and composer Franz Waxman. Sadly, the “Phantom House” was demolished in 1957 to make way for high-rise office buildings.
• “I am big, it’s the pictures that got small.” Swanson nails her character right from the start. She starts off theatrical but not over-the-top (difficult to pull off), so she has somewhere to go at the end.

• 50-year-old Norma wants to play twentysomething Salome? What’s next, directing and starring in another remake of “Gypsy”?
• Everyone’s favorite meta-reference: the silent movie Norma screens for Joe is 1928’s “Queen Kelly”, starring Gloria Swanson and directed by Erich von Stroheim.

• Norma’s bridge-playing waxworks are real-life silent film stars Buster Keaton, Anna Q. Nilsson, and H.B. Warner. Even with one line, Keaton’s hilarious.

• Joe mentions that his birthday is December 21^st, and he’s around to celebrate New Year’s with Norma. Was he at the mansion for his birthday? And what’s Christmas like at the Desmond residence? I hope Norma didn’t spend too much on gifts for the monkey.
• That’s a young, surprisingly cheerful Jack Webb as Artie. I guess he knows a guy at the Bureau of Missing Persons.
• Everyone’s great, but Nancy Olsen is the underrated gem. As a character, Betty is the polar opposite of Norma: young, practical, down-to-earth, and adaptable to the changing politics of Hollywood. Olsen nails every aspect of the character, and it’s a shame she never became a bigger name.
• Gloria Swanson does a really good Chaplin imitation. Didn’t see that coming.
• Legendary director Cecil B. DeMille appears as himself, on the set of his actual film “Samson and Delilah”. Riffing on his past collaborations with Swanson, DeMille turns out to be a fine actor and scene partner for Norma.

• How does one get the nickname “Hog-Eye”?
• Apparently von Stroheim was always dismissive of his own performance in this film. But why? Max doesn’t have a lot to do, but von Stroheim gets the character’s mystic (and ultimate sadness) down pat.
• The shot of Norma spying on Joe as he says goodbye to Betty gives me the chills every time.
• My one gripe with the film comes during “All right Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up.” Right after this line, they cut away from Norma to Max, and then back to Norma. I suspect this was done to piece together the best parts of two separate takes, but it does rob the final moments of their power just a little bit. Other than that, great movie.

Legacy

• Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett parted ways after “Sunset”, following a dispute the two had during production. Wilder’s next picture was “Ace in the Hole”, but he’d have to wait until his collaboration with I.A.L. Diamond to get his next bona-fide classic: “Some Like It Hot”.

• “Sunset Boulevard” put Gloria Swanson back in the limelight, but not for long. Swanson turned down many pictures, all of them asking her to play a Norma Desmond-type, and retired from film again. She eventually reunited with “Sunset” co-star Nancy Olsen in…“Airport 1975”?

• Along with his work in “Born Yesterday”, William Holden also benefited from the success of “Sunset”. He would win an Oscar for another Wilder film: 1953’s “Stalag 17”.

• The first attempt at musicalizing “Sunset” in the ‘50s (with a happy ending) fell through, but the film finally made it to the stage with the ‘90s Andrew Lloyd Webber composition. It correctly expands the material to operatic stature.

• Half of all “Carol Burnett Show” sketches were Carol as “Nora Desmond” and Harvey Korman as “Max”.

• David Lynch references “Sunset Boulevard” throughout his work, most notably in the similarly titled “Mulholland Dr.”.

• Submitted for your approval, “Sunset Boulevard” inspired not one, but two episodes of…“The Twilight Zone”.

• And of course, everyone who has told Mr. DeMille they are ready for their close-up.

#306) Mabel’s Blunder (1914)

OR “Ready, Willing, and Mabel”

Directed & Written by Mabel Normand

Class of 2009

The Plot: Mabel (Mabel Normand) is a stenographer whose boss (Charles Bennett) has a thing for her. What the boss doesn’t know is that Mabel is secretly engaged to his son Harry (Harry McCoy). When a mysterious woman (Eva Nelson) catches Harry’s eye, Mabel becomes jealous. She switches clothes with her brother (Al St. John) and poses as Harry’s chauffeur. There’s mistaken identities and hilarious misunderstandings when Mabel Normand takes the wheel and directs her own Keystone comedy.

Why It Matters: The NFR praises Normand’s “spontaneous and intuitive playfulness” as well as her ability to be “romantically appealing and boisterously funny”. An essay by Mack Sennett expert Brent E. Walker puts the film and Normand into their historical context.

But Does It Really?:This film is definitely on the list for what it represents rather than for what it is. On its own “Mabel’s Blunder” is a decently paced comedy whose jokes are very tame by today’s standards, but it’s directed and written by silent film legend Mabel Normand, and that’s all you really need. As we in the Time’s Up/Me Too era are finally starting to let women hold the reins again, it’s nice to look back over 100 years ago and see a woman who had creative control over a movie because she was, ya know, funny and talented. The NFR wouldn’t be complete without Mabel Normand, and “Mabel’s Blunder” is an excellent choice to represent her.

Everybody Gets One: After a brief stint as a Gibson Girl model, Mabel Normand found herself acting in films for the likes of D.W. Griffith. One of these early film appearances caught the eye of producer-director Mack Sennett, who persuaded Mabel to make the move with him from New York to Hollywood. Sennett founded Keystone Studios, the two started their professional and personal relationship, and Hollywood lore was made. When Keystone became a runaway success, Sennett added extra film units to the roster, and gave one to Mabel. She directed 14 shorts for Keystone, as well as co-writing several of them.

Wow, That’s Dated: I want to say the plot is dated, but then again, maybe it’s not? One thing I will ask: when did cars start getting roofs? All of these silent films have open-air cars, but convertibles existed back then. Was it still considered a bonus feature for a car to be protected from the elements? Or was this a coalition with the scarf-cap-and-goggles people?

Other notes

• As with many a silent comedy, I suspect this plot line was recycled as an episode of “Three’s Company”. It may even be one of those plots that they did once in the Roper-era and again in the Furley-era.
• I applaud this film’s very limited use of intertitles. It’s still mostly people talking and gesturing, but Mabel and the other performers get the story across with their performances.
• The majority of “Mabel’s Blunder” hinges on your belief that the mere concept of cross-dressing is hilarious. “Some Like It Hot” this ain’t.
• Side note: Mabel Normand is allegedly the first movie star to take a pie to the face. That’s still up for debate, but hey, someone had to be, so why not Mabel?

Legacy

• Mabel Normand’s directing career was sadly short-lived. Mack Sennett agreed she was talented, but unfortunately some of her male co-workers refused to take orders from her. And there’s the start of your inherently sexist studio system.
• Normand and Sennett created their own studio company for Mabel in 1916. The Mabel Normand Feature Film Company folded in 1918 along with Keystone after their parent studio Triangle Film started faltering. With their personal relationship also ending, Mack and Mabel went their separate ways.
• Mabel’s life post-Sennett has a few grey areas (her Wikipedia page has a lot of “Citation Needed” caveats), but we know that her career started to wane in the early ‘20s while working with Samuel Goldwyn. Her association with the murder of director William Desmond Taylor further damaged her reputation – Normand was the last person to see Taylor alive, but was quickly ruled out as a suspect by the LAPD. Mabel worked with Hal Roach Studios, and married her old co-star Lew Cody, before her death in 1930 of tuberculosis at 37 years old.
• Among the up-and-coming talent Mabel worked with were Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle and Charlie Chaplin. In fact, it was in one of Mabel Normand’s other 1914 films, “Mabel’s Strange Predicament”, that Chaplin first played his iconic Tramp character. The Tramp’s creation is re-enacted in the 1992 film “Chaplin”, with Robert Downey Jr. as Chaplin and Marisa Tomei as Normand.

• Mabel Normand (and her association with Mack Sennett) has been immortalized many times over the years, most famously in the cult Broadway musical “Mack & Mabel”. Despite the pedigree of Jerry Herman, Robert Preston and Bernadette Peters, the show didn’t run long, but man alive what a score that is.

#305) In Cold Blood (1967)

OR “Fun With Dick and Perry”

Directed & Written by Richard Brooks. Based on the non-fiction novel by Truman Capote.

Class of 2008

The Plot: “In Cold Blood” is a detailed account of the crimes, arrest and execution of real-life criminals Dick Hickock & Perry Smith (Scott Wilson & Robert Blake). After Perry breaks his parole by travelling to Kansas, he and Dick murder Herbert Clutter (John McLiam) and his family on their farm in Holcomb. The two killers drive across the country evading the law, with Kansas Detective Alvin Dewey (John Forsythe) left to solve a murder with no witnesses, suspects, or motivations. What follows is a true-crime story heightened by cinematic expression, and brutally realized by post-code Hollywood.

Why It Matters: The NFR praises the film’s “unsparing neo-realism”, singling out Brooks, Robert Blake, and cinematographer Conrad L. Hall.

But Does It Really?: It’s easy to forget “In Cold Blood” amidst all the landmark 1967 taboo-busting films, as well as Richard Brooks amidst the great writer/directors, but both are deserving of a place on the Registry. Brooks uses his efficient storytelling sensibilities and the freedom of New Hollywood to tell a bold, startling, compelling look at one of the most publicized crimes of the 20^th century. The documentary-style aesthetic lends itself well to Smith and Hickock’s story; the movie neither glorifies nor sympathizes with these two, we’re just along for the ride. Perhaps Brooks is telling us that there is no such thing as “in cold blood”, and there is a complexity of emotions going on inside the head of every killer. Kudos to Richard Brooks and “In Cold Blood” for more-or-less inventing the true crime film genre.

Shout Outs: An unintentional meta-reference: Perry Smith’s favorite movie was “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre”, which gets referenced in the film by Robert Blake…who was in “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre”!

Everybody Gets One: TV’s Bachelor Father/Charlie/Blake Carrington: John Forsythe, giving a wonderfully subtle performance in a rare film role. And special mention to John McLiam, Ruth Storey, Brenda C. Curran and Paul Hough as the Clutters, aka “the vics”.

Wow, That’s Dated: One of Smith and Hickock’s criminal charges was passing bad personal checks. Is that even possible anymore?

Seriously, Oscars?: A critical and commercial hit, “In Cold Blood” managed four Oscar nominations. The film faced some remarkably stiff competition, losing Director, Adapted Screenplay and Cinematography to, respectively, “The Graduate”, “In the Heat of the Night”, and “Bonnie and Clyde”. Composer Quincy Jones was still a newcomer to the Hollywood scene, and his jazzy-counterpoint score lost to overdue veteran Elmer Bernstein for “Thoroughly Modern Millie”.

Other notes

• In terms of historical accuracy, both the novel and film of “In Cold Blood” are Sergeant York Accurate: the tree is the same, they just changed a few leaves. Capote’s reportage was called into question from the beginning, and Richard Brooks made it a point not to reference the novel during production. A former journalist, Brooks opted to do his own research, and filmed many of the reenactments at their actual locations.
• Both Robert Blake and Scott Wilson were cast based on their physical resemblance to the real Smith and Hickock. Wilson was playing a supporting part in “In the Heat of the Night” when star Sidney Poitier got in contact with Richard Brooks (Poitier’s breakthrough performance was in Brooks’ “Blackboard Jungle”) and suggested Wilson for the role of Hickock. Wilson did not know Poitier was responsible for his casting until years later.
• Right out the gate, this film astonishes in its presentation, thanks to the cinematography of Conrad L. Hall, the score of Quincy Jones, and the editing of Peter Zinner. 1967 moviegoers could not have been ready for this movie’s rapid-fire intro.
• The first part of the film follows the novel in its juxtaposition from Smith and Hickock to the Clutter family. Without anything too monumental occurring, there’s a lot of suspense waiting for these two paths to collide.
• It’s a shame Scott Wilson’s career never took off the same way Robert Blake’s did. Wilson is very good playing the less showy of the two parts. His on-screen charm reminds me of Owen Wilson (no relation).
• Also getting their due is character actor Charles McGraw. Known for his bit roles in films such as “The Birds” and “Spartacus”, McGraw finally gets a chance to shine in the pivotal role of Tex, Perry’s abusive father.
• When do Dick and Perry run into Kit and Holly from “Badlands”? I’ll take “‘50s Serial Killers” for $400, Alex.
• Maybe it’s the simple aesthetics or the black and white cinematography, but this whole film looks like it could have been made yesterday. Not bad for a 52-year-old movie.
• The Clutter murder was filmed at the actual Clutter residence. How bizarre must that have been? I’m getting chills just thinking about it.

• That’s Will Geer (aka Grandpa Walton) as the prosecutor, having fun chewing the scenery in his brief cameo. Makes you wonder what the defense attorneys’ argument sounded like. Were Twinkies a thing back then?

• The only real-life location that denied permission to the film production was the Kansas State Penitentiary. The film’s final sequences were filmed on soundstages at the Columbia lot. Several items from the prison were purchased for authenticity, including the actual toilets from Hickock and Smith’s cells!

Legacy

• Richard Brooks’ career hit its apex with “In Cold Blood”, but he did follow-up this film with “The Happy Ending”, starring John Forsythe and an Oscar-nominated turn by Jean Simmons, aka Mrs. Richard Brooks.

• “In Cold Blood” made an unexpected star out of Robert Blake. He was eight years away from playing Detective Tony Baretta, and 34 years away from being accused of murdering his wife, Bonnie Lee Bakely (he was acquitted, but was fined $30 million for liability over Bonnie’s wrongful death).

• Scott Wilson eventually found notoriety as Hershel Greene in “The Walking Dead”.

• “In Cold Blood” was remade as a TV miniseries in 1996 with Eric Roberts and Anthony Edwards taking on Smith and Hickock. It’s…longer than the original, I give it that.

Further Viewing: The great Parallel Thinking Double Feature of the mid-2000s: we got TWO movies about Truman Capote and Harper Lee travelling to Kansas to research “In Cold Blood”. 2005’s “Capote” stars Philip Seymour Hoffman and Catherine Keener, while 2006’s “Infamous” stars Toby Jones and Sandra Bullock. “Capote” came first, so naturally that’s the one everyone assumes is better.

#304) Dance, Girl, Dance (1940)

OR “What’s Up, Tiger Lily?”

Directed by Dorothy Arzner

Written by Tess Slesinger and Frank Davis. Story by Vicki Baum.

Class of 2007

No trailer, so here’s Maureen O’Hara and Lucille Ball dancing the hula!

The Plot: Judy and Bubbles (Maureen O’Hara and Lucille Ball) are two chorus girls with aspirations of making it as dancers. Judy is studying to be a ballerina with the esteemed Madame Basilova (Maria Ouspenskaya), but blows a chance to audition for the renowned dance producer Steve Adams (Ralph Bellamy). Bubbles finds success as a burlesque stripper with the stage name “Tiger Lily”, and procures work for Judy. The catch: Judy’s ballet will serve as a stooge for Tiger Lily, with a male audience that will objectify her as she dances. There’s also a subplot about Jimmy (Louis Hayward), a potential suitor for both women, because ‘40s audiences weren’t ready for this much emotional complexity and female empowerment.

Why It Matters: The NFR gives the film (and director Dorothy Arzner) its proper historical context, and calls the film “a meditation on the disparity between art and commerce.” There’s also a thoughtful essay by film critic Carrie Rickey.

But Does It Really?: “Dance, Girl, Dance” is exactly the kind of movie I’m looking for while working on this blog. There are always the indisputable classics, but I love when the NFR makes room for a well-made movie that was ignored in its day. In addition, the film’s NFR induction is a representation of Dorthy Arzner, the only female director in the Hollywood studio system. “Dance, Girl, Dance” is the kind of female-driven character study that was common in the ‘70s and ‘80s, trapped in the cookie cutter production line of a ‘40s studio film. I thoroughly enjoyed discovering this movie, and I’m delighted “Dance, Girl, Dance” has found a place on the list.

Shout Outs: Be on the lookout for a quick shot of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” playing at a Times Square movie house.

Everybody Gets One: Raised in Los Angeles, Dorothy Arzner was familiar with the film industry (her parents’ restaurant was frequented by the likes of Mary Pickford and Mack Sennett), but her career goal was to become a doctor. After a disheartening experience working in an ambulance unit during WWI, Arzner changed course and found a job at the Paramount script department. She worked her way to editor and eventually director with 1927’s “Fashions for Women”. Her being the only female director in a sexist system didn’t seem to matter as long as her films did well at the box office.

Wow, That’s Dated: We have a BLACKFACE WARNING, this is not a drill!  Two of the ballet dancers appear in blackface during the troupe’s first number.

Seriously, Oscars?: Nothing. Not a single nomination. RKO’s big Oscar contender that year was Ginger Rogers’ post-Fred vehicle “Kitty Foyle”. Dorothy Arzner never received an Oscar nomination during her career, but did receive her share of awards and tributes when her work was rediscovered in the ‘70s.

Other notes

• First things first: that is one misleading title. I went into “Dance, Girl, Dance” assuming it would be a frivolous musical comedy. I’m delighted I was wrong, but still, I can only imagine how misled 1940 audiences must have felt. The film’s working title was the slightly better “Have It Your Own Way”, which I’m claiming for my script about the founding of Burger King.
• Both of the film’s leading ladies were not the icons they are known as today. Maureen O’Hara had just moved to Hollywood following her breakthrough performance in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, and Lucille Ball was an RKO contract player/radio performer trying to catch a break.
• Lucy’s a natural blonde!? What else from my pop culture knowledge is a lie?
• Jimmy says Judy looks “like a star. The one that’s shining when the others have all quit.” That may be the best description of Maureen O’Hara.
• Shoutout to children’s book character/effeminate Disney cartoon Ferdinand the Bull. At the time, Disney features were distributed by RKO, so the plush Ferdinand is nice little piece of synergy.
• Maureen O’Hara confessed years later that she wasn’t much of a dancer, and it’s pretty obvious that she’s doubled in the wide shots.
• Dorothy Arzner’s partner Marion Morgan choreographed the dance routines in this film. In an era when homosexuality was never discussed or acknowledged, Dorothy and Marion maintained a 40-year partnership.
• Lucille Ball is being sexy and I don’t know how I feel about it. Is this why Ricky never let her be in the show?

• Unsurprisingly, “Dance, Girl, Dance” passes the Bechdel test left, right, and center.
• American burlesque was on its way out by 1940, “Dance, Girl, Dance” may be its dying breath.
• Is this what made Lucy think she could do “Wildcat” and “Mame”?
• Like many proto-feminist films, our two female leads fight over a man. It does take some of the bite out of the film’s proceedings.
• Jimmy says multiple times that he is enamored by Judy’s blue eyes. Good thing this is a black and white movie: Maureen O’Hara’s eyes are green.
• For those curious about the film’s progressive viewpoints, look no further than the scene where Judy scolds the primarily male audience for objectifying her. Right on, Maureen!

Legacy

• “Dance, Girl, Dance” was a critical and commercial flop, and Dorothy Arzner only made one more film, 1943’s “First Comes Courage” before leaving the studio system for good. She divided her time between directing commercials and other short films, and teaching film at UCLA.

• Fortunately, Dorothy Arzner lived long enough for “Dance, Girl, Dance” to be reappraised by film students during the feminist movement of the early ‘70s.

• Perhaps the film’s most impactful legacy: it was during production that Lucille Ball met her future husband Desi Arnaz on the RKO lot. Years later, when RKO folded, the sound stages were sold to Lucy and Desi’s production company: Desilu.