Dance, Fools, Dance
Encyclopedia
Dance, Fools, Dance is a pre-code Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
feature film
starring Joan Crawford
, Clark Gable
, and Lester Vail in a story about a reporter investigating the murder of a colleague. Story and dialogue were created by Aurania Rouverol, and the film was directed by Harry Beaumont
. Dance, Fools, Dance was the first of eight cinematic collaborations between Crawford and Gable.
) is involved with a beer-running gang. On one caper, he drives the car that guns down a rival gang. Bonnie's journalist colleague Bert Scranton (Cliff Edwards
) is murdered when he finds out too much. Gang chief Jake Luva (Gable) is suspected of plotting Scranton's murder and Bonnie investigates, barely escaping with her life after learning the details of the gang's operations. The criminals are brought to justice. A subplot involves Bonnie's successful romance with a millionaire (Vail).
commented, "Again Joan Crawford proves herself a great dramatic actress. The story...is hokum, but it's good hokum and Joan breathes life into her characterization." A.D.S. noted in the New York Times, Miss Crawford's acting is still self-conscious, but her admirers will find her performance well up to her standard."
's murder by underworld hoodlums and the St. Valentine's Day massacre
.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
starring Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
, Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
, and Lester Vail in a story about a reporter investigating the murder of a colleague. Story and dialogue were created by Aurania Rouverol, and the film was directed by Harry Beaumont
Harry Beaumont
Harry Beaumont was an American film director, actor, and screenwriter. He worked for a variety of production companies including Fox, Goldwyn, Metro, Warner Brothers and MGM....
. Dance, Fools, Dance was the first of eight cinematic collaborations between Crawford and Gable.
Plot and cast
Bonnie Jordan (Crawford) is a cub reporter whose brother Rodney (William BakewellWilliam Bakewell
William Bakewell , also known as Billy Bakewell, was an American actor, who achieved his greatest fame as one of the premiere juvenile performers of the late 1920s and early 1930s.-Life and career:...
) is involved with a beer-running gang. On one caper, he drives the car that guns down a rival gang. Bonnie's journalist colleague Bert Scranton (Cliff Edwards
Cliff Edwards
Cliff Edwards , also known as "Ukelele Ike", was an American singer and voice actor who enjoyed considerable popularity in the 1920s and early 1930s, specializing in jazzy renditions of pop standards and novelty tunes. He had a number-one hit with "Singin' in the Rain" in 1929...
) is murdered when he finds out too much. Gang chief Jake Luva (Gable) is suspected of plotting Scranton's murder and Bonnie investigates, barely escaping with her life after learning the details of the gang's operations. The criminals are brought to justice. A subplot involves Bonnie's successful romance with a millionaire (Vail).
Reception
PhotoplayPhotoplay
Photoplay was one of the first American film fan magazines. It was founded in 1911 in Chicago, the same year that J. Stuart Blackton founded a similar magazine entitled Motion Picture Story...
commented, "Again Joan Crawford proves herself a great dramatic actress. The story...is hokum, but it's good hokum and Joan breathes life into her characterization." A.D.S. noted in the New York Times, Miss Crawford's acting is still self-conscious, but her admirers will find her performance well up to her standard."
Historical note
The film is loosely based on Chicago real-life events of the production's period such as reporter Jake LingleJake Lingle
Alfred "Jake" Lingle, Jr. was a reporter for the Chicago Tribune. He was shot dead gangland-style at the Illinois Central commuter train station underpass , during rush hour on June 9, 1930, as dozens of people watched...
's murder by underworld hoodlums and the St. Valentine's Day massacre
St. Valentine's Day massacre
The Saint Valentine's Day massacre is the name given to the 1929 murder of 7 mob associates as part of a prohibition era conflict between two powerful criminal gangs in Chicago: the South Side Italian gang led by Al Capone and the North Side Irish gang led by Bugs Moran. Former members of the...
.