''Gold Diggers in Paris'' is a 1938 Warner Bros.

movie musical Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serv ...

directed by

Ray Enright Ray Enright (March 25, 1896 – April 3, 1965) was an American film director. He directed 73 films between 1927–53, many of them for Warner Bros. He oversaw comedy films like Joe E. Brown vehicles, five of the six informal pairings of ...

with musical numbers created and directed by Busby Berkeley, starring

Rudy Vallee Rudy or Rudi is a masculine given name, sometimes short for Rudolf, Rudolph, Rawad, Rudra, Ruairidh, or variations thereof, a nickname and a surname which may refer to: People Given name or nickname *Rudolf Rudy Andeweg (born 1952), Dutch poli ...

, Rosemary Lane, Hugh Herbert, and

Allen Jenkins Allen Curtis Jenkins (born Alfred McGonegal; April 9, 1900 – July 20, 1974) was an American character actor and singer who worked on stage, film, and television. Life and career Jenkins was born on Staten Island, New York, on April 9, 1900. ...

Plot

Maurice Giraud (Herbert) is sent to New York to arrange for the Academy Ballet of America to come to Paris to compete for cash prizes at an international dance festival, but a cabbie takes him by mistake to the Club Ballé, a nightclub about to go under. The desperate owners of the club, Terry Moore (Vallee) and Duke Dennis (Jenkins), know that an error has occurred, but see the invitation as a way out of their financial problems. To get some ballet into their nightclub act, they hire ballet teacher Luis Leoni ( Fritz Feld) and his star (and only) pupil Kay Morrow (Rosemary Lane) to teach their girls ballet on the boat crossing the Atlantic. Terry finds Kay very attractive, but things are complicated when his ex-wife, Mona ( Gloria Dickson), invites herself along, rooming with Kay. Meanwhile, the head of the ''real'' ballet company, Padrinsky ( Curt Bois), finds out what has happened and cables Giraud aboard ship, then heads to Paris with his patron, a ballet-loving gangster named Mike Coogan (

Edward Brophy Edward Santree Brophy (February 27, 1895 – May 27, 1960) was an American character actor and comedian, as well as an assistant director and second unit director during the 1920s. Small of build, balding, and raucous-voiced, he frequently ...

), who intends to rub out Terry and Duke. Giraud is upset about being hoaxed, but is mollified when a "talking dog" (a ventriloquist hired by Terry and Duke) convinces him that ''Padrinsky'' is the liar. After they arrive in Paris, a representative of the exposition, Pierre Le Brec (

Melville Cooper George Melville Cooper (15 October 1896 – 13 March 1973) was an English actor. His many notable screen roles include the High Sheriff of Nottingham in ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938), Mr. Collins in ''Pride and Prejudice'' (1940) and ...

), wants to watch the group's rehearsals, and Duke tells his new friend Coogan, the gangster, that Le Brec is causing him trouble. Coogan goes to "take care" of the problem, but by mistake knocks out Leoni instead of Le Brec. Padrinsky shows up and arranges for the imposters to be deported on the day of the contest, but Mona manages to change the order so that Coogan and Padrinsky are shipped out, instead, which allows the company to perform and win the grand prize.

Cast

as ''Terry Moore'' * Rosemary Lane as ''Kay Morrow'' * Hugh Herbert as ''Maurice Giraud'' *

as ''Duke 'Dukie' Dennis'' * Gloria Dickson as ''Mona'' *

as ''Pierre LeBrec'' *

Mabel Todd (actress) Mabel Todd (August 13, 1907 – June 2, 1977) was an American actress. Early years Todd was from Glendale and attended the University of Southern California. Career Todd performed in vaudeville as a singer, dancer, and comedienne. Todd appea ...

as ''Leticia'' * Fritz Feld as ''Luis Leoni'' * Curt Bois as ''Padrinsky'' *

as ''Mike Coogan'' * Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson as ''Doorman'' * The Schnickelfritz Band as ''themselves'' Cast notes: *

Carole Landis Carole Landis (born Frances Lillian Mary Ridste; January 1, 1919 – July 5, 1948) was an American actress and singer. She worked as a contract player for Twentieth Century-Fox in the 1940s. Her breakout role was as the female lead in the 1940 ...

, Peggy Moran, and Diana Lewis appear as Gold Diggers.

Production

''Gold Diggers in Paris'' was the fifth and last in Warner Bros.' series of "Gold Digger" films, following ''

Gold Diggers of Broadway ''Gold Diggers of Broadway'' is a 1929 American pre-Code musical comedy film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Winnie Lightner and Nick Lucas. Distributed by Warner Bros., the film is the second all-talking, all-Technicolor feature-lengt ...

'' (1929), which is now lost; '' Gold Diggers of 1933'', which was a remake of the earlier film, and the first to feature Busby Berkeley's extravagant production numbers; '' Gold Diggers of 1935''; and '' Gold Diggers of 1937''.

Majestic Pictures Majestic Pictures was an American film production and distribution company active during the 1930s. Under the control of Larry Darmour the company specialized in low-budget production, and was one of the more stable Poverty Row outfits during the p ...

attempted to cash in on the "Gold Diggers" concept by naming a feature ''Gold Diggers of Paris'', but Warner Bros. prevented this through legal action, and the filming and release of ''Gold Diggers in Paris'' may have been a part of the effort to protect what Warners considered to be their trademark. The film was in production at the Warner Bros. studios in Burbank from January to March 1938. It premiered in New York City on June 1, 1938, and went into general release on June 11. The film was known as ''The Gay Impostors'' in the U.K.

Songs and music

As usual for a Warner Bros. musical of this period, the extravagant musical numbers were created, designed, staged, choreographed, and directed by Berkeley. The majority of the songs in ''Gold Diggers in Paris'' were written by the team of

Harry Warren Harry Warren (born Salvatore Antonio Guaragna; December 24, 1893 – September 22, 1981) was an American composer and the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song ...

(music) and

Al Dubin Alexander Dubin (June 10, 1891 – February 11, 1945) was an American lyricist. He is best known for his collaborations with the composer Harry Warren. Life Al Dubin came from a Russian Jewish family that emigrated to the United States from Swit ...

(lyrics), who contributed many of the songs in the ''Gold Diggers'' series and other Warner Bros. musicals. "I Wanna Go Back to Bali", "Latin Quarter" (a song which was later used frequently in Warner Bros. cartoons featuring

Pepé Le Pew Pepé Le Pew is an animated character from the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons, introduced in 1945. Depicted as a French striped skunk, Pepé is constantly on the quest for love. However, his offensive ...

), "Let's Drink to a Dream", "Put That Down in Writing", "Stranger in Paree", and "Waltz of the Flowers" were their creations in this film. In addition, Harry Warren wrote two other songs, "My Adventure" and "Daydreaming All Night Long", but with lyrics by

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallic ...

.TC
Music
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The Schnickelfritz Band

The Schnickelfritz Band, (" Schnickelfritz" supposedly being German slang for "silly fellow"), a comedy musical group somewhat reminiscent of Spike Jones (who came later), performs novelty songs in the film. Led by Freddie Fisher, who played woodwinds, sang, and also composed the song "Colonel Corn" for the band, the band consisted of Stanley Fritts (trombone, drums, jug, washboard), Nels Laakso (cornet, trumpet), Paul Cooper (piano, arrangements), Kenneth Trisko (drums), and Charles Koenig (string bass, tuba). Original trumpeter Nels Laakso left to join The Korn Kobblers and was replaced by trumpet player

George Rock George Rock (October 11, 1919 – April 12, 1988) was a trumpet player and singer with various bands before starring with Spike Jones and His City Slickers. A man of large physical stature, Rock attended Illinois Wesleyan University in Blo ...

, who later became a key member of Spike Jones's City Slickers. The group, which was billed as "America's Most Unsophisticated Band!", recorded for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president. ...

, and was brought to Hollywood by Rudy Vallee after his agent saw the group in

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center o ...

. According to one source, ''Gold Diggers in Paris'' was almost complete at the time the band arrived in Hollywood, so the band's segments were inserted into the film with short intros and reaction shots used to connect them to the rest of the action. The band broke up shortly after doing the film, with Fritts taking some of the members east to become the "Korn Kobblers", and Fisher staying in Hollywood to open a nightclub, where he appeared billed as "The Original Colonel of Corn". Although the Schnickelfritz Band never appeared in another film, Fisher appeared in several others as a band leader.IMD
Freddie Fisher
/ref>

Home Entertainment

On September 16, 2008, Warner Bros. released the picture as a Region 1 DVD as part of a four-film box set titled "The Busby Berkeley Collection, Vol. 2."

References

External links

* * * {{Busby Berkeley 1938 films 1938 musical films American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films Films about musical theatre Films directed by Busby Berkeley Films directed by Ray Enright Films produced by Samuel Bischoff Films scored by Ray Heindorf Films scored by Heinz Roemheld Warner Bros. films American musical films 1930s American films