| Gold Diggers of 1937 | |
|---|---|
 theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Lloyd Bacon |
| Screenplay by | Warren Duff Tom Reed(screenplay constructor) |
| Based on | Sweet Mystery of Life (play, 1935) by Richard Maibaum Michael Wallace George Haight |
| Produced by | Jack L. Warner Hal B. Wallis |
| Starring | Dick Powell Joan Blondell Glenda Farrell Victor Moore |
| Cinematography | Arthur Edeson |
| Edited by | Thomas Richards |
| Music by | Harold Arlen(music) & E.Y. Harburg(lyrics) and Harry Warren(music) & Al Dubin(lyrics) |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 101 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Gold Diggers of 1937 is aWarner Bros.movie musical directed byLloyd Bacon with musical numbers created and directed byBusby Berkeley. The film starsDick Powell andJoan Blondell, who were married at the time, withGlenda Farrell andVictor Moore.
The film features songs by the teams ofHarold Arlen andE.Y. Harburg, andHarry Warren andAl Dubin. It was based on the playSweet Mystery of Life byRichard Maibaum, Michael Wallach and George Haight, which ran briefly onBroadway in 1935.[1][2]Warren Duff wrote the screenplay with the assistance ofTom Reed, who was billed as "Screenplay constructor".
This is the fifth movie in Warner Bros.' series ofGold Digger films, following the nowlost filmsThe Gold Diggers (1923), a silent film, and the partially lost sound filmGold Diggers of Broadway (1929), as well asGold Diggers of 1933 – a remake ofThe Gold Diggers and the first to feature Busby Berkeley's extravagant production numbers – andGold Diggers of 1935.Gold Diggers of 1937 was followed byGold Diggers in Paris (1938).
Meek, aging, hypochondriac stage producer J.J. Hobart, who always thinks he is about to die, is going to mount a new show, but his partners Morty Wethered and Tom Hugo lost the money for the show in the stock market. On the advice of chorus girl Genevieve Larkin, they insure J.J. for a million dollars, so that when he dies, they will have the money they need to produce the show. Genevieve's friend, ex-chorus girl Norma Perry is sweet on insurance salesman Rosmer "Rossi" Peek, and he writes the policy.
When Rossi's boss, Andy Callahan finds out how old J.J. is, he is afraid he will not pass the physical, but when J.J. does, Rossi decides he has to keep J.J. alive as long as possible, to reap the rewards of his sale. On the other hand, Morty and Hugo have everything to gain if J.J. dies, and they try to help things along. When that fails, they talk Genevieve into seducing J.J., but she ends up falling in love with him instead. Rossi finds out the reason for the insurance policy, and talks his boss, Callahan, into investing in J.J.'s show, to save the company the money it would have to pay if J.J. dropped dead after learning he was broke and could not put on the show. When the show is a success Genevieve and J.J. get married, and so do Norma and Rossi.[3]
The production numbers were created, designed, staged and directed byBusby Berkeley. Originally, all the songs for the film were to have been written byHarold Arlen andE.Y. "Yip" Harburg, but Berkeley was dissatisfied and brought inHarry Warren andAl Dubin, who had contributed songs to his previous Warner Bros. films. Their song "With Plenty of Money and You" (which was subtitled "The Gold Diggers' Lullaby") became a hit.[4]
Richard Mauraum wrote the original playSweet Mystery of Life. It was rewritten by George Haight. Film rights were sold to Warner Bros for $100,000 just before opening. The play was a flop.[5]
Although Busby Berkeley had directedGold Diggers of 1935, for this film the director's chair was occupied by Warner Bros. comedy veteran Lloyd Bacon, who had collaborated with Berkeley on42nd Street.Gold Diggers of 1937 marked Victor Moore's return to the screen after a two-year absence followingGift of Gab, during which he starred inAnything Goes on Broadway.[6]
The film was in production at Warner Bros.Burbank studio beginning in mid-July 1936, and premiered on 26 December 1936. It went into general release two days later.[7]
In 1937, Busby Berkeley was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Dance Direction for the "All's Fair in Love and War" production number.[8]Hermes Pan won for the "Funhouse sequence" inA Damsel in Distress.
A one-hour radio adaptation, titledGold Diggers, aired onLux Radio Theatre on December 21, 1936.[9] During the introduction, hostCecil B. DeMille explained that this adaptation combined the plot ofGold Diggers of 1933 with the music ofGold Diggers of 1937. This radio adaptation starredDick Powell andJoan Blondell, who had appeared in both movies.
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