Lady of Burlesque (1943)

Director:

William A. Wellman

Writers:

James Gunn (writer)
Gypsy Rose Lee (novel)

Release Date:

1 May 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror | Music | Mystery | Romance

Tagline:

GIRLS and GAGS! MUSIC and MIRTH!

Plot:

Sassy Dixie Daisy is the hot new attraction at a former opera house that's been turned into a burlesque theater...

Plot Keywords:

Theater | Burlesque | Grandfather Granddaughter Relationship | New York City | Rivalry

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Barbara Stanwyck	...	Deborah Hoople, aka Dixie Daisy
Michael O'Shea	...	Biff Brannigan
Iris Adrian	...	Gee Gee Graham
Charles Dingle	...	Inspector Harrigan
J. Edward Bromberg	...	S.B. Foss
Frank Conroy	...	'Stacchi' Stacciaro
Victoria Faust	...	Lolita La Verne
Gloria Dickson	...	Dolly Baxter
Marion Martin	...	Alice Angel
Frank Fenton	...	Russell Rogers
Stephanie Bachelor	...	The Princess Nirvena
Pinky Lee	...	Mandy
Eddie Gordon	...	Officer Pat Kelly
Janis Carter	...	Janine
Lou Lubin	...	Moey, the Candy Butcher

Also Known As:

Striptease Lady (UK)
The G-String Murders

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Sweden:15

Company:

Hunt Stromberg Productions

Trivia:

Craig Rice, mystery writer from the 1940s and roommate of Gypsy Rose Lee, ghost-wrote "The G-String Murders" for her.

Quotes:

Biff: What's the matter with comics?
Dixie: I went into show business when I was seven years old. Two days later the first comic I ever met stole my piggy bank in a railroad station in Portland. When I was 11 the comics were looking at my ankles. When I was 14 they were...just looking. When I was 20 I'd been stuck with enough lunch checks to pay for a three-story house. Naw, they're shiftless, dame-chasing, ambitionless...

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Lady in Question Is Charles Busch (2005)

Soundtrack:

So This Is You

Excellent and underrated.

I did once read the book "The G-String Murders" and want to make

a few things clear: in the book the character name of Dixie Daisy is

"Gypsy Rose Lee". If I recall correctly, the book was amusing but

thin and the movie is a considerable improvement on it.

Also, if I recall correctly, Gypsy was an "intellectual" stripper who

showed a minimum of skin and so the movie was not inaccurate

in that respect.

Stanwyck showed, not only versatility, but a considerable amount

of warmth in the part of Dixie, qualities which the original Gypsy

also had. (I had a friend, now deceased, who worked with Gypsy

for a time and he spoke about her a great deal and with much

admiration.)

I thought Michael O'Shea was excellent as the comic Biff and Pinky

Lee fit into the backstage ambiance beautifully. The "mystery" was

of almost no interest but this is besides the point. The

photography was also very interesting and added to the sleazy

backstage atmosphere.