Review of Lady of Burlesque

Gypsy Rose Lee wrote several mystery novels. The most famous is "The G-String Murders", from which "Lady of Burlesque" was adapted. The novel is delightful, as many have noted, opening a window onto a lost world of performances and the lives of those who peopled it. Director William Wellman and writer James Gunn combined their talents with Bernard Herbzrun's inspired art direction to produce a wonderfully-mounted B/W classic of images, characters and mystery here. Heading the cast are dynamic Barbara Stanwyck, Marion Martin, Pinky Lee, J. Edward Bromberg as the policeman on the case and Michael O'Shea as the brash but lovable comic who pursues Stanwyck. The storyline involved rivalries, pretensions and tensions among the ladies of a burlesque troupe; the plot is about respect and how the characters plan to obtain it. The entry of a murderer into the performers' insular and fascinating world of performing and being apart from a society which finds them amusing, exotic and unknowable makes this an interesting "island" vehicle, one used for examining and exampling human values, ideas and actions. The rooftop sequences are still stunning; I find that the human values retain their potency to move and to interest. Stanwyck is marvelous, O'Shea and Pinky Lee perfect. Marion Martin and Iris Adrian, as well as Bromberg, get everything out of their parts that is there, and then some. One-of-a-kind because of Miss Lee's authenticity. faithfully reproduced on screen with swift pace and intelligence. Highly recommended for its atmosphere and for much, much more.