Dix sous la danse

... I wouldn't give you a plugged nickel for that heel husband of hers.

When we first meet Barbara O'Neill (Barbara Stanwyck) she's hustling dances at a dime a piece in a cheap Depression era dance hall. She seems to have a good enough head on her shoulders, one good enough to prevent her from descending down into prostitution or believing the lies of the customers that might want things to go further. This is not the tough hardened Stanwyck of Baby Face. However she genuinely likes Bradley Carlton (Ricardo Cortez), a wealthy businessman who just enjoys talking to her. She asks him for one favor, and that not for herself - to hire an out of work and soon to be homeless young guy who lives at the same boarding house she does, Eddie Miller (Monroe Owsley). She gets her favor.

For some reason the common sense Barbara has with men in the dance hall seems to elude her when it comes to Eddie. Beggars can't be choosers, but unfortunately so many are and Eddie is no exception. When he learns Barbara is working in a dance hall, not a dance school as she told him, he busts in and insists she quits and manages to fit a proposal somewhere in there too. The two hastily marry, and Eddie, once so grateful for a forty dollar a week job that would keep him fed and a roof over his head soon wants more than he has - more of a job, a higher class lifestyle, maybe even a higher class woman. I'll let you watch and see where all of this goes.

It was fun to see Ricardo Cortez playing a good guy for a change - not a doormat - just a good guy. I also really liked the playing of the title song in its entirety after the movie ends - it was a nice Depression era touch.

Ten Cents a Dance (1931)

*** (out of 4)

Criminally underrated drama about a woman (Barbara Stanwyck) working at a dance hall who agrees to marry a poor man (Monroe Owsley) even though she could have had a rich man (Ricardo Cortez) who was in love with her. Soon after the marriage the woman learns that her husband is a womanizer and a thief but she's forced to ask the rich man for money when her husband falls into some major trouble. I had read so many negative reviews about this thing (including one in Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide) that it really took me by surprised and I'd probably go as far as to call it one of the most underrated and un-appreciated films from this era. I'm not going to say this is a lost masterpiece or some important piece of film history but it's certainly a highly entertaining gem that deserves to be re-discovered. What really caught me off guard was the performance of Stanwyck who is quite remarkable. She made a career out of playing tough women who wouldn't take any crap from anyone but here she's the complete opposite as her character is so weak and fragile that it really shocked me at how terrific the actress played it. Just take a look at the first ten minutes when she's forced to be tough inside the dance hall but then the next scene she's falling for the sad story being told to her by Owsley. The compassion Stanwyck expresses in this scene is something I've never seen from her and the eventual weakness of her character is something else I've never seen her do. She handles all of this extremely well and it really made me wish we had gotten to see more roles like this. Sure, she's a legend playing the tough girl but she really was remarkable here and sold every inch of her character. Owsley is also terrific as he too has different sides of his character and he does both of them with ease. I thought he was terrific as the sweet, friendly guy that Stanwyck marries and that sleazy side comes across without any issues. Cortez is another major plus getting to play a soft-hearted guy. Barrymore's direction is pretty straight-forward as he doesn't go for much style but instead lets the performance lead the film. I thought he did a very good job at keeping the drama going and it's a shame this turned out to be his last directorial job. The film is based on a popular song of the day and when I saw this on the credits I thought we were going to be in for a long and boring film but it was the complete opposite. This Columbia film has pretty much been forgotten, which is a real shame but hopefully more people will give it a shot. Film buffs will also notice a line that would become legendary in CASABLANCA but here it is over a decade earlier.

Columbia programmer "inspired by the song by Rodgers and Hart," and in fact it's sung over the credits, including the "pansy" line, which got censored in future film renditions. But all it really inspires is the setting, a dime-a-dance hall, where Stanwyck, in an early, prototypical role, is pursued by a rich (Cortez) and poor (Owsley) guy, and in a clever reversal, the nice-seeming poor guy turns out to be a cad and the rich guy is genuine and caring. Stanwyck's facial expressions alone are touching and assured, and she even cries convincingly, unlike many more actressy actresses of the period. Owsley is callow and unlikable, but then that's what he's playing, and Cortez underplays well, with liquid eyes that are indeed the mirrors to this character's soul. It's indifferently directed by Lionel Barrymore and has little in production value, but Jo Swerling's screenplay isn't bad, and the pre-Code candor is a treat.

This movie begins in a night club called the "Palais de Dance" with a woman named "Barbara O'Neill" (Barbara Stanwyck) getting paid to dance with customers. As it turns out, her mind isn't in her work lately because she has just developed a crush on a man named "Eddie Miller" (Monroe Owsley) who resides in the same apartment complex as her. Unfortunately, Eddie is rather down on his luck and without steady employment plans to skip town soon. As luck would have it, however, a rich young man named "Bradley Carlton" (Ricardo Cortez) becomes quite inebriated and proceeds to give Barbara a large tip of $100--which she then passes along to Eddie to pay his bills. Not only that, but a day or two later she also convinces Bradley to hire Eddie at his firm as an accountant. In any case, one thing leads to another and eventually Eddie and Barbara get married which prompts Barbara to quit her job. Unfortunately, although they love each other Eddie gets discouraged about his work and tends to squander money in the stock market and cards. Unable to pay the bills, Barbara returns to the night club in secret to make a few bucks to make ends meet but it isn't nearly enough to pay off the substantial debts Eddie owes. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a surprisingly pleasant film which still retains its charm after more than 85 years. I especially liked the acting of Barbara Stanwyck who really seemed well suited for this particular role. Admittedly, being an older film, this picture might not appeal to all viewers but regardless of that fact I enjoyed it and have rated it accordingly. Above average.

Back in the day when couples actually held each other while dancing the kind of place Barbara Stanwyck works in Ten Cents A Dance was fairly popular. Ten cents went a lot farther in those days. Today even given inflation you would pay a whole lot more and the dance would be on your lap.

One of Barbara's special customers is Ricardo Cortez, a man who's kept his business during the Depression and successfully, no easy task. She asks him to give one of her fellow boarders at her rooming house, Monroe Owsley a job in the firm. It seems to work out all around and she and Owsley get married.

But Owsley is a weak character and a poor gambler, losing money in penny ante card games and of all things playing the market in 1931, not a very sound idea. He embezzles $5000.00 from Cortez's firm. This is where Barbara has to make some critical choices, separate the men from the boys so to speak.

Lionel Barrymore who did some directing before the Oscar he won for A Free Soul brought him a contract with MGM to exclusively act directed this pre-Code potboiler. He does get good performances out of the three principal players. Another you won't forget is Sally Blane as the underage dime a dance girl and Blanche Frederici as the morals custodian of the dime a dance girls in her establishment.

Owsley who made a specialty of playing bad or weak characters died much too young. As for Barbara the role was definitely a boost for her young career at the time.