''Golden Girl'' is a 1951 American

Musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by

Lloyd Bacon Lloyd Francis Bacon (December 4, 1889 – November 15, 1955) was an American screen, stage and vaudeville actor and film director. As a director he made films in virtually all genres, including westerns, musicals, comedies, gangster films, an ...

and starring

Mitzi Gaynor Mitzi Gaynor (born Francesca Marlene de Czanyi von Gerber; September 4, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Her notable films include '' We're Not Married!'' (1952), '' There's No Business Like Show Business'' (1954), '' The Birds ...

Dale Robertson Dayle Lymoine Robertson (July 14, 1923February 27, 2013) was an American actor best known for his starring roles on television. He played the roving investigator Jim Hardie in the television series ''Tales of Wells Fargo'' and railroad owner Ben ...

, Dennis Day and James Barton. The original song, "Never," written by Lionel Newman and

Eliot Daniel Eliot Daniel (January 7, 1908 – December 6, 1997) was an American songwriter and lyricist who worked primarily in motion pictures. His most well-known composition is the theme from the television sitcom '' I Love Lucy''. Daniel was born in Boston ...

, and sung by Dennis Day in the film, earned the film its only

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nomination Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to a public office, or the bestowing of an honor or award. A collection of nominees narrowed from the full list of candidates is a short list. Political office In the ...

. The picture is loosely based on the life of famed entertainer Lotta Crabtree, who was known as "The Golden Girl" (1847–1924).

Plot

In her hometown of Grass Valley, vivacious teenager Lotta Crabtree (

) is thrilled when the famed performer

Lola Montez Eliza Rosanna Gilbert, Countess of Landsfeld (17 February 1821 – 17 January 1861), better known by the stage name Lola Montez (), was an Irish dancer and actress who became famous as a Spanish dancer, courtesan, and mistress of King Ludwig I ...

comes to town in 1863. She wants to become a singer like Lola herself someday, although parents Mary Ann (

Una Merkel Una Merkel (December 10, 1903 – January 2, 1986) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress. Merkel was born in Kentucky and acted on stage in New York in the 1920s. She went to Hollywood in 1930 and became a popular film ...

) and John Crabtree ( James Barton), who run a boarding house, don't necessarily approve. Lotta has a couple of admirers, the local boy Mart Taylor ( Dennis Day) and a mature newcomer to town, Tom Richmond (

), who is informed that Lotta is only 16. A boarder named Cornelius (

Raymond Walburn Raymond Walburn (September 9, 1887 – July 26, 1969) was an American character actor of stage and screen who appeared in dozens of Hollywood movie comedies and an occasional dramatic role during the 1930s and 1940s. Life and career Born i ...

) with a surefire way to win at roulette lures Lotta's dad into a game, where he loses all of his money plus the boarding house. Aware of the way Lola Montez made a fortune singing in mining camps for men who can't get to a theater, Lotta sets out on the road to do likewise. The miners like her, but don't throw gold pieces her way until she strips off part of her costume and gives them quite a show. Lotta's father wins a

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

theater in a card game. Lotta becomes a star there, then travels East to perform in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Older and wiser in two years, she learns that Tom has been committing robberies to raise money for the

Confederate army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighti ...

in the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

. The war ends, but she sings "

Dixie Dixie, also known as Dixieland or Dixie's Land, is a nickname for all or part of the Southern United States. While there is no official definition of this region (and the included areas shift over the years), or the extent of the area it cove ...

" on stage in New York, to catcalls from the audience. Dennis Day appeases them by saying the victors should be generous to those who have lost. When Lotta became too emotional to sing, Dennis took over. The audience starts to join in until everyone is singing. Tom has been reported near death from an injury, but, at that very minute, he enters the theater to Lotta's delight.

Cast

as Lotta Crabtree *

as Tom Richmond * Dennis Day as Mart Taylor * James Barton as John Crabtree *

as Mary Ann Crabtree *

as Cornelius *

Gene Sheldon Gene Sheldon (born Eugene Hume; February 1, 1908 – May 1, 1982) was an American actor, mime artist, and musician. He is remembered as the mute servant Bernardo in Walt Disney's live-action Spanish Western series ''Zorro'' (1957-1959). Biograp ...

as Sam Jordan * Carmen D'Antonio as Lola Montez

References

External links

* * * * {{Lloyd Bacon 1951 films 1950s biographical films 1951 musical films 1951 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) musical films Films directed by Lloyd Bacon Films scored by Lionel Newman 1950s Western (genre) musical films American biographical films 20th Century Fox films Films set in 1863 Cultural depictions of Lola Montez 1950s English-language films 1950s American films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links