Rent Dance, Girl, Dance (1940)
3.5 of 5 from 75 ratings
1h 28min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Dorothy Arzner, the sole woman to work as a director in the Hollywood studio system of the 1930's and early '40's, brings a subversive feminist sensibility to this juicily entertaining backstage melodrama. A behind-the-footlights look at friendship, jealousy, and ambition in the ruthless world of show business, 'Dance, Girl, Dance' follows the intertwining fates of two chorus girls: a starry-eyed dancer (Maureen O'Hara) who dreams of making it as a ballerina, and the brassy gold digger (a scene-stealing Lucille Ball) who becomes her rival both on the stage and in love. The rare Hollywood picture of the era to deal seriously with issues of female artistic struggle and self-actualization, Arzner's film is a rich, fascinating statement from an auteur decades ahead of her time. - Actors:
- Maureen O'Hara, Louis Hayward, Lucille Ball, Virginia Field, Ralph Bellamy, Maria Ouspenskaya, Mary Carlisle, Katharine Alexander, Edward Brophy, Walter Abel, Harold Huber, Ernest Truex, Chester Clute, Lorraine Krueger, Lola Jensen, Emma Dunn, Sidney Blackmer, Vivien Fay, Ludwig Stössel, Ernö Verebes
- Directors:
- Dorothy Arzner, Roy Del Ruth
- Producers:
- Erich Pommer
- Writers:
- Tess Slesinger, Frank Davis, Vicki Baum
- Genres:
- Classics, Comedy, Drama, Music & Musicals, Romance
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 29/06/2020
- Run Time:
- 89 minutes
- Languages:
- English LPCM Mono
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Full Screen 1.37:1
- Colour:
- B & W
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- New introduction by critic B. Ruby Rich
- New interview with filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola
- An essay by critic Sheila O'Malley
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Reviews (1) of Dance, Girl, Dance
Staring Contest with the Audience - Dance, Girl, Dance review by griggs
For something wrapped in 1940 gloss, this is shockingly upfront about men treating women onstage like scenery. It doesn’t just depict the gaze — it calls out the entitlement behind it, and it’s even more striking knowing it’s coming from a woman filmmaker of the era.
Maureen O’Hara’s late-film speech is the detonation: angry, direct, and brave enough to feel contemporary. Lucille Ball is right there with her, weaponising timing and wit when the script gets a bit wobbly.
The weak link is Hayward’s romantic detour, which feels bolted on and far too time-hungry. But whenever the film stays with the women — rivalry, ambition, frustration — it crackles. Uneven, yes. Still, it lands with real force.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.