Christmas in Connecticut (1945)
For the life of me, I don’t know how Lady of Burlesque made it through the restrictive Hollywood censors of 1943. It’s one of the nastiest old movies I’ve ever seen! Written by Gypsy Rose Lee, it’s a realistic accounting of the backstage life of burlesque, showing the raw and dirty rather than the glitzy show put on for the audience. And while Barbara Stanwyck isn’t the first actress you’d think of when casting a stripper, she’s exactly what the script requires: coarse, street-smart, tough, and practical.
So often in movies featuring strippers, voluptuous, beautiful women are cast and shown to be enjoying the sensuality of their job, but that’s not how it is! I know men would love to think Striptease is a documentary, but in reality, the women who work in burlesque don’t love their job. They know how demeaning and vulgar it is, but they need the paycheck and high tips. And, beauty or curves are not requirements in the job description, just a willingness to disrobe. So, as Barbara shimmies and shakes, she isn’t doing it to seduce the audience; she’s doing it to get paid and get through the night. In that sense—the realistic sense, not the sensational one—she’s excellent in the part.
Barbara’s trademark song in the film is “Play it on the G String”—how was that allowed in 1943? Just in case you think they were able to get away with it because she was technically talking to the orchestra, other characters repeatedly use the lingerie slang during other scenes in the movie, and it’s even used as a murder weapon! There’s a blackout in the theater, and Barbara shrieks as someone tries to strangle her. “How do you know it wasn’t me?” Michael O’Shea, her suitor, asks. “That’s not where you’d grab me,” she quips. And, in a very tragic scene, one of the girls is getting beaten up by her boyfriend backstage. Her screams and cries are so loud, the orchestra conductor starts up Barbara’s song so the singing will overpower the noise and the audience won’t notice any commotion.
All these code violations are scandalous and powerful, making Lady of Burlesque a fantastic movie even for modern audiences. Any woman who understands the hard work it takes to make it through the day in the cold, cruel world will identify with the women in this film. You don’t have to take your clothes off to feel exposed.
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to violence, I wouldn’t let my kids watch it.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Classic Cinema Central Seleus B" for posting!
More Barbara Stanwyck movies here!
So often in movies featuring strippers, voluptuous, beautiful women are cast and shown to be enjoying the sensuality of their job, but that’s not how it is! I know men would love to think Striptease is a documentary, but in reality, the women who work in burlesque don’t love their job. They know how demeaning and vulgar it is, but they need the paycheck and high tips. And, beauty or curves are not requirements in the job description, just a willingness to disrobe. So, as Barbara shimmies and shakes, she isn’t doing it to seduce the audience; she’s doing it to get paid and get through the night. In that sense—the realistic sense, not the sensational one—she’s excellent in the part.
Barbara’s trademark song in the film is “Play it on the G String”—how was that allowed in 1943? Just in case you think they were able to get away with it because she was technically talking to the orchestra, other characters repeatedly use the lingerie slang during other scenes in the movie, and it’s even used as a murder weapon! There’s a blackout in the theater, and Barbara shrieks as someone tries to strangle her. “How do you know it wasn’t me?” Michael O’Shea, her suitor, asks. “That’s not where you’d grab me,” she quips. And, in a very tragic scene, one of the girls is getting beaten up by her boyfriend backstage. Her screams and cries are so loud, the orchestra conductor starts up Barbara’s song so the singing will overpower the noise and the audience won’t notice any commotion.
All these code violations are scandalous and powerful, making Lady of Burlesque a fantastic movie even for modern audiences. Any woman who understands the hard work it takes to make it through the day in the cold, cruel world will identify with the women in this film. You don’t have to take your clothes off to feel exposed.
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to violence, I wouldn’t let my kids watch it.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Classic Cinema Central Seleus B" for posting!
More Barbara Stanwyck movies here!