The Gold Diggers of 1933 [1933] (Directed by: Mervyn LeRoy)

• Q1:How does the film relate to the chapter in Foner?

First of all, I have a soft spot for Busby Berkeley films, but the film The Gold Diggers of 1933 was a fantastic way to relate the chapter of the Great Depression and the New Deal to a real life film. The opening dance showed society's willingness to put their faith in FDR's "New Deal" of stimulating the economy, and a good way that showed society's way of being very optimistic about what was happening to their economy. The movie related well in that the characters always found a good in their bad situation. The plot of the film related directly to what was happening to society, out of work people searching for work when there was no work to be had yet still having the courage to wake up everyday and look for work. And the way the girls all blindly followed Barney Hopkins, the musical producer, directly correlated to a quote in Foner, "The country...was in such a state of confused desperation that it would have followed almost any leader anywhere he chose to go" (Foner, 762).

• Q2: What can we learn about American culture during the time period by interpreting the film as a primary historical source?

Using this film as a source for seeing the culture, I would say that it was fairly accurate to what Foner put forth in his chapter. There was a lot of emphasis on money in this soecity, but once someone had an upper had, they helped out their close friends and family, like when Fay told Polly, Trixie and Carol about Barney Hopkins' new show and once Carol was deemed the winner and allowed to go audition and find out more about the show, all the girls helped her by getting her a dress and cab fare. Also, this showed that society was able to make do with what they had, for example, when the dress rehearsal for the show used pillows and blankets for their actors. This movie truly showed that the people of the American culture were ready to look on the bright side of things and move on with their best foot forward.

• Q3: What does the film reveal about attitudes toward gender, class, and race?

The film doesn't do much in revealing about gender, as toward the end of the chapter, Foner mentions The Second New Deal in that women were looked down upon for working, and clearly these "showgirls" were looking and needed for work on shows. And all of these girls lived alone, so they were the heads of the household. Race was not an issue in this movie at all, but easily the funniest part in the film is when "Brad"'s (really Robert Treat Bradford) brother J. Lawrence Bradford comes to the house to pay Polly to not marry him, he calls these showgirls parasites and gold diggers, and lets what he thinks is Polly know that these girls are low class. Even though these high class people went to the Broadway shows that featured these "gold diggers", they were still viewed as a lower class of people.

• Q4: What is the most important scene in the film?

I think the most important scene in the film is the opening dance scene. The girls are all dressed up with gold coins, with Fay as the lead singer decked out in millions of shiny gold coins, and they are singing about money and how things are looking up and are going to get better. This says alot about the society during this time, they were very optimistic because they had already hit rock bottom so things could only get better. They were also very optimistic about FDR's New Deal and all that he was doing to help stimulate the economy and offer many opportunities for jobs, so everything was looking up in America at this time. The lyrics to the song are an uplifting ode to getting over the worst and looking forward.

We're in the money, we're in the money;

We've got a lot of what it takes to get along!

We're in the money, that sky is sunny,

Old Man Depression you are through, you done us wrong.

We never see a headline about breadlines today.

And when we see the landlord we can look that guy right in the eye

We're in the money, come on, my honey,

Let's lend it, spend it, send it rolling along!

Songs of the Great Depression

• Reviews

TCM Review
NY Times Review

• My Review

The Gold Diggers of 1933 receives my review of 5 out of 5. In my opinion, this film was a perfect way to depict the culture and society of the Great Depression in America. The plot of the film was exactly what was happening, as well as what the film itself did for the economy. After a minimal amount of research, I found that this movie employed what was then "out of work actors" like Ginger Rodgers and the many extras and chorus girls it took to make this movie a success. Also, this movie, like others, gave audiences a inexpensive way to stimulate the steadily improving American economy. As well as giving what I thought an accurate portrayal of social moral, the plot was easy to follow and extremely funny, especially the plot to confuse J. Lawrence Bradford, and at the end of the movie, everyone ends up getting married. It was funny, cute, and was a happy ending to a movie about the Great Depression. Maybe this is all because I love Busby Berkeley's work in movies, but this movie was great, I loved every minute of it.