Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)

Directed by Mervyn LeRoy & Busby Berkeley. Starring Joan Blondell, Aline MacMahon, Ruby Keeler, Warren William, Ned Sparks, Dick Powell, Guy Kibbee, Ginger Rogers.

A trio of gold-digging aspiring actresses climb aboard Sparks’ “sure-thing” Broadway show and target rich saps. Trite Tin Pan Alley hijinks enlivened by the elaborate musical numbers; songs include “Pettin’ in the Park”, with a bizarre appearance from a young Billy Barty as a baby, and “We’re in the Money”, the only memorable bit supplied by Ginger Rogers (replete with a Pig Latin verse). Not bad, but unless you’re a Busby Berkeley die-hard, the spectacular moments are too hard to come by. One of those great pieces: a solo from an uncredited Etta Moten during “Remember My Forgotten Man”. Among several Gold Diggers productions, the first to not be at least partially lost.

59/100