Tonight's Movie: Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933) - A Warner Archive Blu-ray Review

Run, do not walk, to purchase GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 (1933), just released on Blu-ray by the Warner Archive.

GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 was one of a trio of remarkable 1933 Warner Bros. musicals; the other two, 42ND STREET (1933) and FOOTLIGHT PARADE (1933), were previously released on Blu-ray by the Warner Archive. Click those titles for review links.

I first saw GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 as a teenager when my parents took me to a screening at UC Irvine. I suspect it was a 16mm Films Incorporated print but am not certain. As I watched this spectacularly good-looking new Blu-ray, prepared "from the best preservation elements," I couldn't help reflecting how the print quality I've experienced has evolved over the years since that first viewing.

I reviewed the film here after rewatching it on DVD in 2008. As I noted then, GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 is "the ultimate Depression-era musical." The movie combines gritty realism with magical escapism, and it all works.

The plot concerns a bevy of actresses (Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler, Aline MacMahon, and Ginger Rogers), who land roles in a new show produced by Barney Hopkins (marvelous Ned Sparks, who like the movie itself combines Depression exhaustion with optimism).

The show goes ahead thanks to the backing of Brad Roberts (Dick Powell), who also composes the score and goes on as a last-minute replacement in the lead role. Brad's involvement in the theater horrifies his Boston blue-blood older brother J. Lawrence Bradford (Warren William), who's determined to get Brad to quit and also give up his romance with Polly (Keeler).

And then stuffy J. Lawrence finds himself falling for Polly's roommate Carol (Blondell)...meanwhile, the show must go on! And what a show, packed with amazing numbers choreographed by Busby Berkeley. From the opening moments of Ginger Rogers singing "We're in the Money" in Pig Latin to the final stirring, kaleidoscopic "Forgotten Man" number, this film has it all.

I especially love "The Shadow Waltz," with neon-lit violins forming patterns in the dark. Legend has it that the filming of that sequence was interrupted by the March 1933 Long Beach Earthquake! (My maternal great-grandfather's Long Beach business building collapsed in that quake, but that's another story...) The score is by Harry Warren and Al Dubin; there's a funny joke in the script about them as well.

GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and filmed by Sol Polito. It runs 97 minutes.

The supporting cast includes Guy Kibbee and Etta Moten, who sings part of the "Forgotten Man" number. Future cowboy star "Wild Bill" Elliott can be spotted in the background in a nightclub scene.

Among the chorus girls is Dorothy Coonan Wellman, who married director William Wellman the following year; they had seven children, including William Wellman Jr., who I've been honored to meet on several occasions. She's seen here performing in "The Shadow Waltz."

A number of extras were carried over from the previous DVD release, including the trailer, a featurette, three cartoons, and three shorts. A song selection menu is also included on the Blu-ray.

The included cartoons are I'VE GOT TO SING A TORCH SONG (1933), PETTIN' IN THE PARK (19334), and WE'RE IN THE MONEY (1933). The shorts are THE 42ND STREET SPECIAL (1933), RAMBLING 'ROUND RADIO ROW (1933), and SEASONED GREETINGS (1932).

Like FOOTLIGHT PARADE and 42ND STREET, the GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 Blu-ray belongs on every classic film fan's shelf; all three films look great and have endless "rewatch value." Highly recommended.

Thanks to the Warner Archive for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray. Warner Archive Blu-rays may be ordered from the Warner Archive Collection Amazon Store or from any online retailers where Blu-rays are sold.

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