Lady of Burlesque (1943)

60% of critics liked it
(5 reviews)
53% of users liked it
(946 ratings)

Barbara Stanwyck shines in her second portrayal of a showgirl in less than two years (the first was in Howard Hawks' Ball of Fire in 1941). In Lady of Burlesque -- which, at times, has a Hawksian edge to the dialogue -- she portrays Dixie Daisy, a striptease artist at a Broadway theater in New York… More Barbara Stanwyck shines in her second portrayal of a showgirl in less than two years (the first was in Howard Hawks' Ball of Fire in 1941). In Lady of Burlesque -- which, at times, has a Hawksian edge to the dialogue -- she portrays Dixie Daisy, a striptease artist at a Broadway theater in New York at the end of the 1930s. In the course of fending off the unwanted advances of brash comic Biff Brannigan (Michael O'Shea), with whom she is teamed in several numbers, and staying clear of the dressing room feuds of her fellow dancers -- including a very nasty dispute between Dolly Baxter (Gloria Dickson) and Lolita La Verne (Victoria Faust) -- she finds herself up to her neck in trouble when one of the women is found strangled with her own G-string. The police don't know what to make of it, especially as the victim was already dying of a fatal dose of poison, which means that there are two murderers somewhere in the theater; and when a second woman turns up strangled inside a prop that Dixie was supposed to be hiding in onstage, she looks like a good suspect. Between the backstage comedy-drama, and the songs, dances, and on-stage comic routines, with the police breathing down both their necks at different times, Dixie and Biff manage to solve the mystery and find each other in this briskly paced, funny, yet amazingly gritty comedy-thriller. Lady of Burlesque was allowed to fall out of copyright in 1971, and since then it was seen in substandard editions until the May 2001 DVD release from Image Entertainment. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 31 min.
Directed By: William A. Wellman
Written By: James Gunn
Genres: Horror, Musical & Performing Arts, Mystery & Suspense, Classics, Comedy

In Theaters: May 1, 1943 Wide
On DVD: May 1, 2001

Critic Reviews

, Variety
Gallant trouping by Barbara Stanwyck, colorful background provided by Stromberg, and speedy direction by William Wellman, carry picture through for good entertainment for general audiences.
Thomas M. Pryor, New York Times
Nothing more than a mystery melodrama with a backstage setting. Not a good mystery exercise either.
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
It isn't without some zip, though you have to wonder why the producers bothered when the censors demanded that the dancers be shown only from the neck up.
Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Although a stream of hard-boiled wisecracks keeps things amusing, the plot gets tied up in the usual dreary whodunit business of providing motives for all and sundry.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Spencer S

An errant film with very little going for it except that at the time it was supposed to be shocking. It doesn't have much else to back it up except for the fact that it is led by none other than Barbara Stanwyck, who plays the beautiful and bodacious Dixie Daisy who is a… More
An errant film with very little going for it except that at the time it was supposed to be shocking. It doesn't have much else to back it up except for the fact that it is led by none other than Barbara Stanwyck, who plays the beautiful and bodacious Dixie Daisy who is a burlesque headlining performer at a striptease theater called Old Opera Theater. Much of the film showcases inferior numbers from the singer and dancer, as well as comedienne, with many scenes backstage to show the voluminous costumes of her counterpart actresses. The film itself mostly takes place in the theater, and doesn't try to explore the characters or their performances as much as it should have. Everyone, including the leads, are so two dimensional and drab, a hard feat to accomplish in a film about striptease artists. The film soon varies into hard boiled detective thriller, but never is smart or intriguing enough to be true noir. Instead it stumbles on clumsy dialogue and plot devices which only serve to lengthen this film into ninety minutes. The humor is even humdrum, as this was in the days of the Hays Code and stays mostly family friendly throughout. If it had been as bawdy as a Mae West, really this film would have sizzled, but Stanwyck is given very little to work with. The only adult content is a hinted affair between the manager and a dancer who was blackmailing him, and the fact that several girls are being strangled to death with G-strings. The book that this was based upon was written by Gypsy Rose Lee, which doesn't give it any prominence and actually serves to cheapen it all the more. Stanwyck had earlier portrayed a performer in Ball of Fire, and in that film there was a lot more production value, better music, and more genuine a character with great humor. Stanwyck started in this line of work and it only makes sense that she would go back to it time and again in films, but this was just not the shocker it was meant to be, and in that, it suffers as a dull picture.
jay n

Saucy little mystery with a great collection of 40's blond wisecracking dames and of course the great Stanwyck. Even the usually vapid O'Shea is more animated and entertaining than his norm, this is probably his best screen performance.
AJ V

This is a funny and interesting look at the old burlesque shows. If that interests you, I recommend seeing this movie.
Lanning :

The only date I make with comics is the Sunday morning funny papers. Gee, if only my ex-true love had felt the same way. She bypassed me for a professional comedian. I kid you not. As a result, I've been working on my routine ever since -- you know, just in case. If… More
The only date I make with comics is the Sunday morning funny papers. Gee, if only my ex-true love had felt the same way. She bypassed me for a professional comedian. I kid you not. As a result, I've been working on my routine ever since -- you know, just in case. If I've learned anything from the whole mess, I gotta say it really is hard to write your own jokes. Damn, flixster friends, do you think Barbara Stanwyck might have a grand-daughter on flixster? If so -- Yo, Barbara Stanwyck's grand-daughter, if you actually exist and you're reading this: Aloha! If you're single, this is a genuine marriage proposal. Don't worry about the singing (if it's inherited); we can work on that. If you're interested, Barbara Stanwyck's grand-daughter, please flixster message me ASAP! I pretty much log in daily. Yea, verily, I promise you the moon -- and then some . . . You want the moon? Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. Hey. That's a pretty good idea. I'll give you the moon, Barbara Stanwyck's grand-daughter. And -- I must ardently reiterate -- then some : )

Cast

            Barbara Stanwyck as Dixie Daisy

            Michael O'Shea as Bitt Brannigan

            J. Edward Bromberg as S.B. Foss

            Iris Adrian as Gee Gee Graham

            Gloria Dickson as Dolly Baxter

            Marion Martin as Alice Angel

            Pinky Lee as Mandy

            Victoria Faust as Lolita La Verne

            Stephanie Bachelor as Princess Nirvena

            Charles Dingle as Inspector Harrigan

            Frank Fenton as Russell Rogers

            Frank Conroy as Stacchi

            George Chandler as Jake

            Eddie Gordon as Officer Pat Kelly

            Gerald Mohr as Louie Grindero

            Lew Kelly as The Hermit

            Claire Carleton as Sandra

            Janis Carter as Janine

            Bert Hanlon as Sammy

            Sid Marion as Joey

            Lou Lubin as Moey

            Lee Trent as Comic

            W. Beal Wong as Wong

            Florence Auer as Policewoman

            David Kashner as Cossack

            Eddie Borden as Man in audience

            Joe Devlin
            
            Kit Guard as Hank

            Victor Laplace
            
            Noel Neill
            
            Fred Walburn as Messenger Boy

            Isabel Withers as Teletype operator

            Barbara Slater
            
            Elinor Troy
            
            Dallas Worth
            
            Louise LaPlanche
            
See full cast