Lulu Belle

Dorothy Lamour is fabulous in the part of Lulu Belle, a nightclub singer who sings in cheap dives at the turn of the century. Whilst there, she meets and soon marries George, who has given up his career - and his fiancee - to be with her. George, however, is only the first in a long line of male suitors for Lulu Belle, but he's the one that keeps her heart.

A thoroughly enjoyable movie, 10 out of 10.

George Montgomery with hair greyed evokes memories of 'Roxie Hart', but this flashbacking drama obviously owes more to the shooting of Stamford White in 1906 than the Roaring Twenties with Dorothy Lamour a high maintenance showgirl at the turn of the last century over whom a succession of men of varying but usually ascending wealth and influence become infatuated to their cost.

I took note of the fact that the film Lulu Belle was based on a Charles MacArthur play, his first on Broadway. I saw that plot locations and character names and many more characters than there were in this film. Seeing the film I knew a lot had been left out and that probably spoiled it.

The title role in Lulu Belle is played by Dorothy Lamour and we see her go from hard hearted vixen who is trading up in men to gain her success to Broadway star of the Gay Nineties of the century before last to jaded Broadway star who in one night sees a whole lot of her past catch up to her. In fact as the film opens she and her current paramour Otto Kruger have both been shot and the film is told in flashback to police detective Addision Richards.

Lamour went from fledgling lawyer George Montgomery to boxer Greg McClure to club owner Albert Dekker and finally she becomes Kruger's mistress. I suspect that a lot of the character Charles MacArthur created is missing from this film. Thus giving Lamour a rather impossible role except for her musical numbers which she does well.

Lulu Belle was produced by David Belasco and I'm sure the original was a Victorian morality tale which Belasco specialized in. I doubt we'll ever see an original of this tale on screen.

Dorothy Lamour is quite good in this tale of the avaricious young "Lulu". She falls for a local young attorney "George" (George Davis) and marries him, but once she has burned through all of his money she moves on to the wealthy "Randolph" (Otto Kruger) via a job at a dodgy nightclub working for "Brady" (Albert Dekker) where she uses a supposed dalliance with prize fighter "Butch" (Greg McClure) as an excuse to send her husband packing. In a fit of jealousy, though, "George" attacks the boxer and impales his face on some cutlery! He goes to jail and she to Broadway where success beckons on stage and off. Will she marry the millionaire or might there still be a lingering sense of affection for poor, hapless, "George"? The romantic elements here are all a bit old hat, as is the plot, but Lamour does show just why she was a star with a solid performance as well as holding her own with some decent musical numbers and generally holding the whole thing together. McClure also chips in quite engagingly as her boxing paramour and it moves along quite well after a bit of a stodgy start. It's not a film you are likely to recall watching for long, but it passes the time fine.

Lamour plays a saloon singer who goes through men like a seal goes through fish. She meets Montgomery and she decides he'll be her next lover. It's a whirlwind romance and the lawyer and saloon singer are soon married. The ink on the marriage license is barely dry when Lamour is looking to upgrade her position in life.

Lamour first becomes "friends" with a boxer, then moves on to a gambler, presumably because the gambler has more dough. Montgomery gets steamed by his wife's behaviour until she reassures him there is nothing going on. Lamour is a real crumb, but Montgomery is in love and believes what he is told, not what he sees. If it sounds like this is all shaping into a good noir, forget it. It plays out like a period musical, not a gritty crime film. All in all, not a bad way to spend 90 minutes. The performers are good, and the film moves along at a breezy pace. Nothing outstanding, but good fun.