La estrella del Variedades

Gypsy Rose Lee wrote several mystery novels. The most famous is "The G-String Murders", from which "Lady of Burlesque" was adapted. The novel is delightful, as many have noted, opening a window onto a lost world of performances and the lives of those who peopled it. Director William Wellman and writer James Gunn combined their talents with Bernard Herbzrun's inspired art direction to produce a wonderfully-mounted B/W classic of images, characters and mystery here. Heading the cast are dynamic Barbara Stanwyck, Marion Martin, Pinky Lee, J. Edward Bromberg as the policeman on the case and Michael O'Shea as the brash but lovable comic who pursues Stanwyck. The storyline involved rivalries, pretensions and tensions among the ladies of a burlesque troupe; the plot is about respect and how the characters plan to obtain it. The entry of a murderer into the performers' insular and fascinating world of performing and being apart from a society which finds them amusing, exotic and unknowable makes this an interesting "island" vehicle, one used for examining and exampling human values, ideas and actions. The rooftop sequences are still stunning; I find that the human values retain their potency to move and to interest. Stanwyck is marvelous, O'Shea and Pinky Lee perfect. Marion Martin and Iris Adrian, as well as Bromberg, get everything out of their parts that is there, and then some. One-of-a-kind because of Miss Lee's authenticity. faithfully reproduced on screen with swift pace and intelligence. Highly recommended for its atmosphere and for much, much more.

Barbara Stanwyck managed to elevate nearly every film and television show she ever did. The earliest film I saw her in was "The Miracle Woman" from 1931. I just saw "Baby Face" and I own copies of "The Thorn Birds", "Stella Dallas" and this film. "Lady of Burlesque" is a wonderful, atmospheric depiction of an bygone era, complete with Stanwyck doing some amazing dance moves. Some people have criticized the music score as being second-rate, but that is what it SUPPOSED to be. Burlesque wasn't Ziegfeld. Men went to see the girls in various stages of undress, not hear Cole Porter or Irving Berlin. The music and the corny jokes were incidental to the "action" on stage, and it was not for nothing that Arthur Lange's musical score was nominated for an Acadamy Award. The mystery story is well-told and the atmosphere is added to by an excellent supporting cast, with Iris Adrian being a standout. After seeing this wonderfully entertaining film you will feel like you have been whisked back in time to an era long-gone.

Director William A. Wellman gives us Lady of Burlesque a boisterous whodunit played out in an old burlesque theatre. Based on Gypsy Rose Lee's novel The G-String Murders theres plenty of humor surrounding the murders with wisecracks left and right. Theres some bumps and grinds but no stripping due to the movie code at that time. Of course we have the wonderful Barbara Stanwyck here who dazzles us with some neat song and dance routines. Also a lovely bunch of beauties in scanty costumes including gum snapping Gee Gee (Iris Adrian), troubled Dolly (Gloria Dickson), gorgeous Alice (Marion Martin), Lolita (Victoria Faust) and Princess Nirvena (Stephanie Bachelor) both delightfully bitchy. Theres also Michael O' Shea and Pinky Lee involved in the mystery and humor at the old former opera house. So "Take It Off The E-String, Play It On The G-String" (song) and have a good time. Oscar nominee for Best Score.

Nothing deep here, but that's good. A light-hearted comedy in the guise of a mystery. Don't expect to be mystified, the "mystery" only serves as a vehicle for the comedy and a rather believable romance. Barbara Stanwyck, though 36 years old, looks much younger. Her part was rather vivacious, risque, and revealing for a 1943 movie. The lady could act!

The image on the DVD is generally very good, but there are several places where a few "frames" are missing, causing disquieting "jumps", but still, a good investment of time, if only to enjoy watching Miss Stanwyck smile and wiggle.

That body - those legs - yes, it's Barbara Stanwyck, who is sensational in "Lady of Burlesque," a 1943 film based on Gypsy Rose Lee's novel "The G String Murders." The murder mystery aspect of this film (which is pretty lame) is just an excuse to give the audience a taste of life in a burlesque house - the crummy dressing rooms, the fights, the raids, the dumb on-stage humor, and underneath it all, a camaraderie and a closeness. The performances are all very chaste thanks to the censors. Stanwyck performs "Take It Off the E-String (Play It On the G-String)" and she's fantastic. It sounded like she was dubbed in the big parts of the song, but the lower register sounds a lot like her.

Stanwyck is Dixie Daisy, a newcomer to this burlesque house who's making a big splash with the customers and with one of the comics (Michael O'Shea). When one of the girls is murdered, and then another (strangled with a G string), it begins to look as if someone is trying to close the old opera house where the show plays.

Stanwyck is backed up by a lot of pros, including Iris Adrian, O'Shea, J. Edward Bromberg, and Pinky Lee. They're pros but she's a star - and it's her film from beginning to end. Somehow Stanwyck made it all look easy, slipping as easily into this role as she did into all the parts she played throughout her career. And it looks like she did her own dancing too.

"Lady of Burlesque" is a lot of fun, and Stanwyck - sexy, tough, and warm - is spectacular.