"Lady of Burlesque" has one thing going for it – the mystery. And that's only fair and late into the film. It has one guessing and wondering who the killer is and if somebody else will be next. It's based on a book by the famous queen of burlesque, Gypsy Rose Lee – "The G-String Murders." Otherwise, this is just a so-so film for comedy and romance. This movie came out on May 1, 1943, and it's apparent that the war had its toll on Hollywood by the dearth of any big name male actors in half a dozen roles. So, it's left mostly to Barbara Stanwyck and the rest of the girls to carry the film. Of course, the plot is a lot about the women, and "Babs" gets some nice support from a couple more of the ladies. But, even she doesn't seem to have much enthusiasm in her role though. The screenplay and direction aren't that good either. We see a lot of film shot of the women going up and down the stairs to and from their dressing room.
Michael O'Shea as Biff Brannigan just doesn't seem like much more than a grown up kid. I could see Jimmy Stewart doing that role very well. Charles Dingle was somewhat better as the police inspector Harrigan, but someone like Dana Andrews would have been perfect for the role. Or Eddie Albert would have been a good inspector. Or Lew Ayres or Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Jack Carson would have brought some more life to the Biff character, or Dan Dailey or Jackie Cooper would have been good in the role. For that matter, Glenn Ford could have done either role very well. But all these men were off at war or on war duty.
One thing that grated me some was the constant bickering and fighting among the women. As for burlesque, this film doesn't have strip-tease or anything more risqué than innuendo. For its day, it may have seemed much more risqué. I must have watched a different film than the one in which a few reviews found Stanwyck to be a good singer. I agree with those who think this movie was way below Stanwyck's usual fare. I imagine she might have considered this movie best forgotten among her oeuvre.
Michael O'Shea as Biff Brannigan just doesn't seem like much more than a grown up kid. I could see Jimmy Stewart doing that role very well. Charles Dingle was somewhat better as the police inspector Harrigan, but someone like Dana Andrews would have been perfect for the role. Or Eddie Albert would have been a good inspector. Or Lew Ayres or Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Jack Carson would have brought some more life to the Biff character, or Dan Dailey or Jackie Cooper would have been good in the role. For that matter, Glenn Ford could have done either role very well. But all these men were off at war or on war duty.
One thing that grated me some was the constant bickering and fighting among the women. As for burlesque, this film doesn't have strip-tease or anything more risqué than innuendo. For its day, it may have seemed much more risqué. I must have watched a different film than the one in which a few reviews found Stanwyck to be a good singer. I agree with those who think this movie was way below Stanwyck's usual fare. I imagine she might have considered this movie best forgotten among her oeuvre.