Next out of the Busby Berkeley box has been Dames. Second because I haven’t seen it before. It’s been slow going as I’ve also been watching all of the special features.

And my special hard-to-answer question of the day… will someone please explain exactly what is meant by dubbed versions of cartoons? Two of the ones I saw that today had the copyright notice at the end and I’ve never ever seen that before.

Anyway enough of intermission…. back to the film.

The storyline has shifted from depression-era struggles, to the rich and their money. There’s still blackmail, gold-diggers and suggestive dialogue, but it’s also far tamer. They’re also poking fun at the morally outraged - the rich elder brother is starting up a foundation for moral decency… while his brother in law has been bribed to hand over $25,000 to finance a show called Sweet and Hot.

I loved watching Guy Kibbee squirm. He was uneasy whether he was finding an uninvited showgirl in his bed, his daughter about to perform on a broadway stage or even when having a little conversation with his wife. He was definitely featured more prominently in this musical than others in the past, which was a lot of fun to see.

The “I Only Have Eyes For You” number… well…. I found that a touch creepy. 350 Ruby Keeler faces and girls looking like here was a little too much for me to bear. It was definitely overkill and I was thankful when it was over.

But the tonic…. there is always something funny about watching tee-totalers drinking alcohol for “medicinal purposes”. Especially when they get drunk, incite a riot and just about everybody ends up in jail.
I didn’t like this movie quite as much as other Busby Berkeley musicals. I think that the elimination of reference to the depression (when it was obviously still having an enormous impact on American society in 1934) made it seem a little more ordinary and less escapist.
It is fun to watch, but a film that I’d want to watch over and over again.