Ages ago, Sarah bugged me about reviewing Du Barry Was a Lady (1943) on the merits of this photo alone:
Because it’s ostentatious and Old Hollywood and, hey, that’s Lucille Ball, what’s she doing in a 18th-century-ish gown anyway? Also, it’s pink and rather drag-queeny, both of which I’m fond of. And yeah, I’d seen the flick, but counted it out since only half (or less) of the movie was historical. Then I learned that the few historical costumes in it were recycled from Marie Antoinette (1938), starring Norma Shearer. Also, Lucille Ball never wears this gown, from Marie Antoinette, in Du Barry Was a Lady, it’s just a promo pic! But I rewatched Du Barry for the umpteenth time, and I really am a sucker for this kind of thing, so what the hell.
This movie is a musical, but only because it’s set in a 1940s nightclub and most of the characters are the club’s performers, thus the film is filled with set pieces. Ball plays the star singer/dancer May Daly, Gene Kelly is dancer/songwriter Alec Howe, and Red Skelton is the coat-check attendant Louis. May and Alec are in love, but she’s fighting it because he’s poor.
Comedic-relief Louis pines for the hot redhead May but has no chance, until he wins a sweepstakes and asks her to marry him. But before the deed is done, he’s knocked unconscious, and the movie goes into a dream sequence where he imagines he’s King Louis XV, and May is actually Madame Du Barry. Cue fanfare…
Of course, the love triangle has to play out in the flashback. Alec shows up as a revolutionary called the Black Arrow, and Du Barry falls in love with him instead of the king.
After a little bit of historically improbable shenanigans, Louis wakes up, his sweepstakes is taken by the tax collector, and May and Alec declare their true feelings. Oh, and there were a bunch of songs in between, before, during, and after the flashback, and all are 1940s numbers, which is the best part of the whole movie to me. And, hey, at least these cool costumes got another airing!
Du Barry Was a Lady, pro or con?
Her lady in waiting is Virginia O’ Brien, who sings “No matter how you slice it, boys, it’s still, Salome.”
Ha!
That bit is my favourite part!
I LOVE old Hollywood. So glamour, so over the top… So bling!
“May Daly’s big stage show as “Du Barry” has her wearing this pannier outfit.”
Outfit? What outfit?
That’s not our old friend the head necklace Lucille is sporting, it’s the head jeweler shop window!
And the satin shorts trumpeters! And that pearl necklace! ROFL!
One thing, though: The great hairpin shortage had not stricken yet, so neat dos and wigs. (out of period, but hey, let’s not be picky!)
This plot reminds me of the plot of the picture-within-a-picture device in Singin’ in the Rain. Except it’s missing Cyd Charisse flashing her crazy-long snaky legs.
I noticed that, too!
That was my first reaction — hey, that’s just like Singing in the Rain! Now I know where they got the idea. The fact that Gene Kelly is in both films is just too much of a coincidence for me.
The woman with the era-crossing hair in the Pied Pipers is Jo Stafford. She became a pretty major music star in her own right, and I can listen to her for hours.
Stafford had perfect pitch—to the point where she could deliberately sharp or flat a pitch by as close as an eighth off. She and her jazz-pianist husband used that talent to create Jonathan and Darlene Edwards, probably the worst entertainers in music. They originally performed as Jonathan and Darlene at friends’ parties, but they eventually made recordings and even won a Comedy Grammy.
Here’s their version of “Stayin’ Alive”:
Dorsey’s version of “Well Get It” in this film is just tops, makes me want to swing the eff out!
I know, the musical sets are the best part of the movie :)
Proof that Lucille Ball could actually handle a heavy headdress, despite the show girl falling down the stairs bit in I Love Lucy.
She was *such* a pro!
Why, why didn’t this time period exist? I want to recreate and wear all of these old movie costumes! All of them!
What’s stopping you? Short of not being friendly with many ostriches, of course!
I actually love that brown velvet Riding Habit.
That Jonathan and Darlene recording hurts my soul.
As it’s meant to do. The deliberate badness of their work is genius personified.
I forgot about Ms Ball in this. I’ll try to see it later. I remember watching her in Stage Door with the incomparable Katherine Hepburn and realized she could snark with the best of them.
I adore Lucille Ball. Yes, she was beautiful, smart as a whip, and absolutely fearless in the pursuit of what was funny.
I must have seen this movie very closely to Singin’ In the Rain because I grew up mixing them together. i was very surprise when I watched Singin In the Rain as an adult and realised it wasn’t set in the 18th century, as I remembered it. And then I spent 15 years wondering where all those extra scenes I remembered came from. it all fell into place when I stumbled over this one…
I’ve seen photos of Lucille glammed up and I was surprised at how smokin’ hot she was. But I think she was smart to focus on comedy which probably resulted in a much longer career.
And these screen shots are pretty hilarious — those wigs! The jewelry! Tommy Dorsey in costume — I might have to watch this just for laughs. But I would pay good money for that fabulous blue hat with the pink and blue ostrich feathers.
Fun article and website. I love the photograph of Lucille Ball in Du Barry Was A Lady in the 18th Century gown. Where did you get it? I’d love to get an 8×10 print of it made, but the image quality is too low. Do you have a higher resolution copy you could share, or refer me to your source? Thanks!