Divorce en musique

I found Lady Be Good to be a refreshing, surprisingly intelligent and upbeat musical with great songs and dances. The story is about a married song writing team who divorces. The story starts with Ann Southern explaining the story and follows on from there. The script is incredibly witty, and there is some great physical comedy. Some of the of the best music of all time written for this movie, including "Lady Be Good" which always gets in my head and the more famous "The Last time I saw Paris". The Gershwin's are incredible. So a combination of a witty script, great acting, great music and great dancing makes this a wonderful musical - a stand out from the rest! A truly lighthearted and entertaining musical.

Robert Young, Ann Sothern, Eleanor Parker, Red Skelton, and Lionel Barrymore star in "Lady Be Good," a 1941 film about two married and then unmarried songwriters.

He (Young) writes the music, she (Sothern) writes the words, but once Dixie and Eddie Crane become successes, Eddie becomes a little taken with the Park Avenue set and Dixie, bored by the whole thing, suggests that they divorce. They do, but they soon find themselves working together again, and Eddie wants to re-marry Dixie.

Sothern sings beautifully, and Young has a pleasant voice as they croon their way through various songs. Sothern sings "You'll Never Know," and "The Last Time I Saw Paris," and Young duets with her in "Your Words and My Music" and "Lady Be Good." The film's real energy comes from Eleanor Parker, who is beautiful and does two terrific numbers, "Lady Be Good" with Buttons the dog, and "Fascinatin' Rhythm," choreographed by Busby Berkeley. Had this movie been better, you'd be seeing both her numbers in movie musical documentaries and film compilations today. They're terrific. The Berry Brothers are outstanding, and in the same section, do a phenomenal number.

Sothern is lovely and delightful as always, and Young is an affable leading man. I wish there had been more of a script for all this talent.

Everyone in this movie is terrific, and the story is one of the better ones among musicals of the period. The songs and dances are great, too, with two of the high points being beautiful Ann Sothern's "The Last Time I Saw Paris" and Eleanor Powell's dancing finale. But most amazing of all is Powell's duet with her dog. This number should be rated along with Fred Astaire's dance on the ceiling in "Royal Wedding" and Donald O'Connor's "Make 'Em Laugh" as one of the best of all time. If you're looking for social commentary, turn on NPR. If you want something deep, find a stable and pick up a shovel. This movie was meant to be fun and entertaining, and it succeeds perfectly on both counts.

I have to give this film an eight simply because The Berry Brothers appeared in it (I love them - what incredible talent) which was pretty unusual for a 1940's "white" film, AND also because of the incredible, breathtaking, amazingly choreographed and executed dance sequences at the end of the film.

The film also has sublime bits throughout, such as the tap dances that includes Eleanor Powell tap-dancing with "Blackie," a captivating black and white terrier-mix dog, "Miss Deadpan" (Virginia O'Brien) who delivers her own style of comedic twists to the songs she sings in the film and, of course, Robert Young and Ann Sothern contribute their own charm to enrich the film.

TIVO the film and fast-forward to the song and dance numbers - they are worth the wait!

I found this musical with not many (or any) big production numbers until the end rather dull, despite the involvement of the great Busby Berkeley. It was a little odd to see Eleanor Powell shuffled off to a second-banana, gal-pal role, though she does eventually get her big dance number. MGM could load on the "more stars than there are in Heaven", couldn't they? Lionel Barrymore and Red Skelton have relatively minor roles in this one. I had to roll my eyes when Ann Sothern and Powell have just gotten back to their place straight from divorce court, and Robert Young calls, and they're like giddy teenagers. I mean, you just got divorced ten minutes ago and you're already trying to figure out how to win him back? Only in the movies ...