Lady of Burlesque

In 1941, Simon & Schuster published a mystery novel called "The G-String Murders." On the title page was the name of author Gypsy Rose Lee. Yes, the very same Gypsy Rose Lee who is "Baby Rose" in that musical based on her early life, "Gypsy." The book is set in a burlesque theater densely populated by comics, strippers, stage crew, hangers on and one serial killer. The several crimes were eventually solved by a stripper who was coincidentally named "Gypsy Rose Lee." By the standards of the time, it was a good, solid story in a racy setting. The book was a best seller. In fact, Gyps did not write the book, although her autobiography published many years later and her successful stint as a talk show host on Bay Area television certainly suggest she had the gift of gab for it, if not the inclination. The book was actually written by Craig Rice, a well-known and popular hard-boiled mystery writer of the day. Gyps provided the hook, the background, a few anecdotes and some dialogue. Rice put it all together, exchanging writer's credit for the payday the book generated. (By the way, "Craig Rice" was also a false creation. In those days, literary detectives were hard drinking, hard-boiled and surrounded by hard-hearted dames. Only men could write about such he-men, no ladies need apply. That being the case, or so a vastly knowledgeable mystery book specialist informed me many years ago when I first inquired about the true authorship of the book, a certain lady created "Craig Rice" to play on an equal footing with the boys. In the end, she outshone all but the very best.) In 1943, the book was toned down a bit to be filmed as "Lady of Burlesque." Sadly, Gypsy Rose Lee was not cast to portray the fictional "Gypsy Rose Lee." That was a shame, because Gyps was funny, gorgeous, sexy and she brought an instinctive hauteur and class to her down-and-dirty art form. She was a hoot! In Gyps' place was cast Barbara Stanwick, who was funny, gorgeous, sexy and who brought a much more earthy persona to the film than Gypsy would have done. Since everyone knew that Barbara wasn't Gypsy, her character was renamed to "Dixie Daisy" and her position in the hierarchy of theatrical stars lowered by several steps from that of the actual Gypsy Rose Lee. Dixie Daisy is the headliner of a big-time burlesque review that plays at an old near-Broadway theater in New York that once had known the heady glory of being an opera house. She is a stripper, but she also has the lead in the review's big singing and dancing production number. In addition to that, she is the wise-cracking dame with the ever-running motor in the skits of the comics. Michael O'Shea is cast as the Top Banana among the comics, Bitt Brannigan, and a very young Pinky Lee (no relation) as his Second Banana. When the comic skits actually appear on stage, though, it instantly becomes clear that Pinky, a real-life burlesque comedian, is a natural-born Top Banana, while O'Shea, funny hat, baggy pants and all, just fades into the painted scenery. Sadly, the comics perform material created for the movie rather than such classic skits as "Floogle Street" or "Slowly I Turned." Off stage, Bitt Brannigan is the hard-edged, generally unreliable, vaguely comic, vaguely heroic love interest for Dixie. Watching O'Shea, who was competent but never rose to the top rung in Hollywood, it struck me that he was so obviously doing a Bob Hope impression that I could only wonder whether the part was originally intended for Hope. Hope and Stanwick, now that would have been something to see! Certainly, Top Banana Hope would never have faded into the scenery for the likes of a mere Pinky Lee. There is another excellent Second Banana in the cast. She is Iris Adrian as Gee Gee Graham, Dixie's pal and sidekick. Iris was a short, brassy, blowsy, bosomy, wise-cracking blonde whose name was largely unknown to the general public, but whose face and voice would have been instantly recognizable. In movies, radio and television, she could be counted on to appear whenever Abbott and Costello or Jack Benny or Bob Hope needed a reliably astringent dame. Stanwick is terrific and as red hot as the old Production Code would allow. (Even so, I wish Gyps had got the part.) "Lady of Burlesque" is not a great picture but it is as entertaining as all get out and a true credit to the old studio system. That's worth five stars as far as I'm concerned.

The film is based on Gypsy Rose Lee's book "The G-String Murders". Two members of the girlie show have been strangled with their own g-strings; and the fiend is among the employees of the Old Opera House where the daily shows appear. Dixie, Barbara Stanwyck, refuses to let the killer scare her or the other performers out of the Old Opera House. She begins her own investigation to find the killer before he/she strikes again. Michael O'Shea plays one of the burlesque comics and becomes her partner in solving the identity of the phantom murderer as well as Dixie's love interest. Most of the film takes place back stage. However, there are stage numbers performed throughout the film. Stanwyck's dancing and gymnastics on stage are incredible for an actress who seldom did these things in her other films. For those of you old enough to remember, Pinky Lee is a comic in the cast (remember the Pinky Lee Show from the early 50s. You can look it up on You Tube)! All in all, this is a very entertaining film and worth viewing!!

In theory, LADY OF BURLESQUE is a murder mystery, but mystery takes a back seat to the brawling backstage antics of crossed love affairs and star rivalry. Barbara Stanwyck endows star stripper "Dixie Daisy" with her own memorable brand of tough class--and although she can only be shown from the waist up when she bumps and grinds, she still manages to tear strips off her musical number "Play It On The G-String." The rest of the cast is equally memorable, many of them burlesque stars in their own right. Pinky Lee (Mandy) is memorably teamed with Marion Martin (Alice Angel) to delightful effect; Iris Adrian (Gee-Gee)is the gum smacking brash blonde to end all gum smacking brash blondes; and such memorable character actors as Michael O'Shea (Biff), Gloria Dickson (Dolly), and J. Edward Bromberg (Foss) round out the cast superbly. Sad to say, LADY OF BURLESQUE has fallen into public domain, and it has not been well preserved. I have seen several releases of the film, and all of them are plagued with breaks in the film and the soundtrack. LADY OF BURLESQUE may never be regarded as a "great" film, but it is an extremely entertaining one, particularly for those who already know something about the now-lost world of burlesque. As one character says, "Makes me want to leave the wife!" Recommended.

I am being dead serious here...99.9% of all copies of this film are nothing more than cheap public domain prints. Most are shoddy, fuzzy copies that will only disappoint you. Furthermore, if you are like me, you're not interested in a synopsis of the plot - you want to find the best quality copy out there. I can do better than that - I have found the STUDIO ORIGINAL !! Just look where it says "product details" and look for "studio". If the "studio" listing is for "Image Entertainment", then you have the original print! All the other copies are fakes...this is what fools everyone. Unfortunately they just take a guess, buy from the wrong studio release(one of those companies that makes cheap bootleg-quality copies), & get ripped off. If you found my review before buying, then you will be spared from all the guesswork! And your copy will look as good as a normal Turner/MGM release (like Casablanca!) Remember to look where it says "studio: Image Entertainment" - that is the original film. William Wellman made this as an independent release, so you won't see a familiar name like Warner, Fox, Universal, etc(your guarantee you aren't getting a cheap bootleg copy). That is what makes getting a decent copy of this film so hard. But don't worry....Image Entertainment is the partner of none other than the incredible Criterion Collection company, & also produces dvds for NBC/Universal(like "Little House on the Prairie)...I really hope my review will be of help to you!

Please, pay attention. The Elstree Hill DVD has no English subtitles, contrary to what is written on the Amazon page.

Terrific movie. Thanks

Barbara Stanwyck, any fan will enjoy this catty movie. There are some very good one liners , often missed the first time but picked up on subsequent viewings. It is a shame that the censors were quite so harsh at the time, this could have been a little more entertaining.

Well it's friday night .. Wish I could see some Burlesque in person! Anyway, this will do ... Barb was fabulous, some nice toons as well. Unlike the reviewer here who fell asleep watching because this has too much action! (How does that work?) I found it quite entertaining. The print was passable and you can get it cheap. So worthwhile imo. I'd give it ... 6/10

An interesting film - and although it is in black and white, it seemed very glamorous and a good story.