LouHomey From my favorite movies..

Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

DipitySkillful an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

Abegail Noëlle While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Lechuguilla It's a good thing Barbara Stanwyck graduated to better scripts. Had she remained in films like this she would never have become a star. Hubbub and chaotic backstage drama in a NYC burlesque theater set the stage, so to speak, for a backstage murder.Stanwyck plays Dixie Daisy, a slightly sleazy performer who sings and dances to an audience composed mostly of salivating old men. Dixie's female backup performers are young, curvaceous, bawdy "dames" who wear over-sized hats. The theater's backstage milieu looks and sounds as mocking and caustic as one would expect for such an ignoble place. And amid this baseness a murderer lurks.The script is talky and the pace seems rushed. Despite the tacky superficiality of the characters, they all seem troubled and hurting at a deeper level. The plot moves along quickly with occasional stage performances interspersed with interpersonal relations, not the least of which is a budding romance between Dixie and comic Biff Brannigan (Michael O'Shea). The film's tone abruptly changes, at the midpoint plot turn, from snappy and light to serious and subdued once the murder occurs. The whodunit mystery is interesting, and the identity of the killer was quite a surprise to me.B&W cinematography is adequate if ever so slightly blurry. Sound quality in the copy I watched was better than most films from that era. Prod design appears cheap and minimal. Casting is acceptable except for Stanwyck, who looks too old for the role of Dixie. Yet there's almost no better actress, regardless of what role she happens to be playing. Those lady's hats, enormous and grandiose, add interest to the visuals."Lady Of Burlesque" presents us with a 1940s theater setting that looks and sounds cheap and tawdry. But the murder mystery element adds depth and interest that ups what would otherwise be my negative opinion of this film. And despite being poorly cast, Barbara Stanwyck slaps on considerable value that only she could have provided in that film era.

SimonJack "Lady of Burlesque" has one thing going for it – the mystery. And that's only fair and late into the film. It has one guessing and wondering who the killer is and if somebody else will be next. It's based on a book by the famous queen of burlesque, Gypsy Rose Lee – "The G-String Murders." Otherwise, this is just a so-so film for comedy and romance. This movie came out on May 1, 1943, and it's apparent that the war had its toll on Hollywood by the dearth of any big name male actors in half a dozen roles. So, it's left mostly to Barbara Stanwyck and the rest of the girls to carry the film. Of course, the plot is a lot about the women, and "Babs" gets some nice support from a couple more of the ladies. But, even she doesn't seem to have much enthusiasm in her role though. The screenplay and direction aren't that good either. We see a lot of film shot of the women going up and down the stairs to and from their dressing room. Michael O'Shea as Biff Brannigan just doesn't seem like much more than a grown up kid. I could see Jimmy Stewart doing that role very well. Charles Dingle was somewhat better as the police inspector Harrigan, but someone like Dana Andrews would have been perfect for the role. Or Eddie Albert would have been a good inspector. Or Lew Ayres or Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Jack Carson would have brought some more life to the Biff character, or Dan Dailey or Jackie Cooper would have been good in the role. For that matter, Glenn Ford could have done either role very well. But all these men were off at war or on war duty. One thing that grated me some was the constant bickering and fighting among the women. As for burlesque, this film doesn't have strip-tease or anything more risqué than innuendo. For its day, it may have seemed much more risqué. I must have watched a different film than the one in which a few reviews found Stanwyck to be a good singer. I agree with those who think this movie was way below Stanwyck's usual fare. I imagine she might have considered this movie best forgotten among her oeuvre.

earlytalkie Barbara Stanwyck managed to elevate nearly every film and television show she ever did. The earliest film I saw her in was "The Miracle Woman" from 1931. I just saw "Baby Face" and I own copies of "The Thorn Birds", "Stella Dallas" and this film. "Lady of Burlesque" is a wonderful, atmospheric depiction of an bygone era, complete with Stanwyck doing some amazing dance moves. Some people have criticized the music score as being second-rate, but that is what it SUPPOSED to be. Burlesque wasn't Ziegfeld. Men went to see the girls in various stages of undress, not hear Cole Porter or Irving Berlin. The music and the corny jokes were incidental to the "action" on stage, and it was not for nothing that Arthur Lange's musical score was nominated for an Acadamy Award. The mystery story is well-told and the atmosphere is added to by an excellent supporting cast, with Iris Adrian being a standout. After seeing this wonderfully entertaining film you will feel like you have been whisked back in time to an era long-gone.

wes-connors Barbara Stanwyck (as "Dixie Daisy") is a striptease dancer, singing "Take it off the E-String (Play it on the G-String)" while shaking her booty. Stand-up comic Michael O'Shea (as Biff Brannigan) is especially turned on by Ms. Stanwyck, but she likes to steer clear of clowns. Stanwyck thinks comics bring bad vibes. She and the admiring Mr. O'Shea are among the New York City stage performers hit by a series of "G-String Murders" (stripper Gypsy Rose Lee's more titillating title). But, don't expect to see women modeling the equivalent of today's "thong" or "string bikini" - except around their pretty necks.You've got to appreciate Stanwyck putting such energy into an inappropriate part; she approaches acting assignments with admirable professionalism. "Lady of Burlesque" seems more suited to Betty Grable or Rita Hayworth, but Stanwyck goes for it without showing distaste or boredom with the role. O'Shea keeps step, with director William A. Wellman guiding the players. Sexy blondes Iris Adrian (as Gee Gee Graham) and Marion Martin (as Alice Angel) are worth catching. J. Edward Bromberg (as S.B. Foss) manages to stand out in the leggy crowd. And, sophomoric comic Pinky Lee (as Mandy) is fresh.***** Lady of Burlesque (5/1/43) William A. Wellman ~ Barbara Stanwyck, Michael O'Shea, Iris Adrian, J. Edward Bromberg