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Lady Be Good

Screening on Film
Directed by Norman Z. McLeod.
With Eleanor Powell, Ann Sothern, Robert Young.
US, 1941, 35mm, black & white, 110 min.
Print source: British Film Institute

Told through a series of flashbacks at a divorce trial, Lady Be Good takes Berkeley’s ever-popular backstage structure and applies it to songwriting. As a successful composing duo, played by Ann Sothern and Robert Young, somersault through a medley of marital oscillations with comic assistance from characters like Red Skelton and Virginia O’Brien, their catchy tunes fill the air and receive a thorough treatment—the soundtrack features many different versions of only a few songs by a variety of performers. Though less sweeping and grandiose in this film, Berkeley’s dance numbers add just the right amount of zing and wow. Accompanied by the fast-stepping acrobatics of the three Berry Brothers, tap queen Eleanor Powell takes center stage, first in a charming living room dance with her dog and then in the beguiling “Fascinating Rhythm,” where, in a suit and top hat, she glides around pianos and dozens of tuxedoed male dancers courtesy Berkeley’s moving platforms and magically transforming spaces.

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