Lady of Burlesque

Lady of Burlesque

DVD cover
Directed by William A. Wellman
Produced by Hunt Stromberg
Written by James Gunn
Based on The G-String Murders
by Gypsy Rose Lee
Starring Barbara Stanwyck
Michael O'Shea
Iris Adrian
Music by Arthur Lange
Cinematography Robert De Grasse
Distributed by United Artists
Release dates
  • May 1, 1943 (1943-05-01)
Running time
 91 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Box office $1,850,000 gross ($650,000 profit after theatre circuits deducted their ticket sales share)[1][2]

Lady of Burlesque (also known as The G-String Murders and in the UK, Striptease Lady) is a 1943 American musical comedy-mystery film starring Barbara Stanwyck and Michael O'Shea, based on the novel The G-String Murders written by strip tease queen Gypsy Rose Lee (with ghost-writing assistance from mystery writer Craig Rice). Directed by William A. Wellman, produced by Hunt Stromberg, costumes by Edith Head, and filmed on a 21-day shooting schedule on (rented) sound stages at RKO's Encino movie ranch, this feature grossed a respectable 1.85 million dollars upon its initial release.

The backstage plot concerns the murder of two strippers of a New York City burlesque theatre and the detection of the killer. A faithful, if sanitized due to the censorship of the time, adaptation of the original novel, although Gypsy Rose Lee, who appears as a character in her own book, is here renamed "Dixie Daisy" (Stanwyck). Michael O'Shea plays her romantic interest, comedian Biff Brannigan, and Iris Adrian portrays a worldly showgirl. Pinky Lee, a burlesque comic in real life, is another notable supporting player, as is Gerald Mohr as villain Louie Grindero. The film depicted as much as censors would allow with respect to precise nature of "bumps & grinds", and slapdash nature of burlesque shows. Songs include "Take it off the E string, play it on the G string", rendered by Stanwyck.

Reception

The film made $2 million[3] and earned a hefty profit of $650,000.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Balio, Tino (2009). United Artists: The Company Built by the Stars. University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 978-0-299-23004-3. p203
  2. ↑ "Top Grossers of the Season", Variety, 5 January 1944 p 54
  3. ↑ https://archive.org/stream/variety165-1947-01#page/n480/mode/1up
  4. ↑ Scott Eyman, Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer, Robson, 2005 p 339

Media related to Lady of Burlesque at Wikimedia Commons



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