Lady Be Good (1941)
September 18, 1941Release Date
Lady Be Good (1941)
September 18, 1941Release Date
Plot.
Where to Watch.
Currently Lady Be Good is available for streaming online, rent, buy or watch for free on: Amazon Video, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming in:🇺🇸 United States
Cast & Crew.
Eleanor Powell
Marilyn Marsh
Ann Sothern
Dixie Donegan
Robert Young
Eddie Crane
Lionel Barrymore
Judge Murdock
John Carroll
Buddy Crawford
Red Skelton
Joe 'Red' Willet
Virginia O'Brien
Lull
Tom Conway
Mr. Blanton
Dan Dailey
Bill Pattison
Rose Hobart
Mrs. Carter Wardley
Reginald Owen
Max Milton
Phil Silvers
Master of Ceremonies
Norman Z. McLeod
Director
Busby Berkeley
Director
Bess Flowers
Banquet Guest at Max's Table (uncredited)
Jack McGowan
Writer
James Berry
James Berry
Jack McGowan
Writer
Warren Berry
Warren Berry
Kay Van Riper
Writer
John McClain
Writer
Ananias Berry
Nyas Berry (as Nyas Berry)
Arthur Freed
Producer
Connie Russell
The Singer
Media.
Details.
Release DateSeptember 18, 1941
StatusReleased
Running Time1h 52m
Content RatingNR
Genres
Last updated:
This Movie Is About.
Wiki.
Lady Be Good is an MGM musical film released in 1941.
The film stars dancer Eleanor Powell, along with Ann Sothern, Robert Young, Lionel Barrymore, and Red Skelton. It was directed by Norman Z. McLeod and produced by Arthur Freed. This was the first of several films Powell made with Skelton. Powell received top billing, but Sothern and Young are the main stars. They play, respectively, Dixie Donegan, a would-be lyricist, and Eddie Crane, a struggling composer.
The film takes its title and theme song ("Oh, Lady be Good!") from the 1924 George and Ira Gershwin Broadway musical, Lady Be Good, but otherwise has no connection to the play. According to film historian Robert Osborne in his introduction to a broadcast of the film on Turner Classic Movies in August 2006, MGM devised the film as a vehicle to launch Sothern as a musical star. Since she and Young were known primarily as light comic stars, the studio brought in Powell for a supporting role, but gave her top billing to attract audiences.
This film's most notable sequence involves an epic tap dance routine by Powell, to the melody of Gershwin's "Fascinating Rhythm" (another song taken from the play). This musical number later featured in two films in the That's Entertainment! documentary series. In one of the films (That's Entertainment! III), behind-the-scenes footage reveals how this scene was accomplished. So Powell could dance between a series of pianos without interruption, stage hands quietly removed pieces of the set off-camera as she worked her way across the stage. This musical sequence was directed by Busby Berkeley. Another sequence features Powell doing a dance routine with a dog that she trained for the number. There are also phenomenal dance routines by the Berry Brothers. The film won an Academy Award for Best Song for "The Last Time I Saw Paris," composed by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II.