Gold Diggers of 1937

Gold Diggers of 1933 was a terrific film with some of Busby Berkeley's best material. Gold Diggers of 1935 was almost as good too, but this was a little disappointing. Apart from the cracking final number All's Fair in Love and War Berkeley's choreography lacks excitement and has a rather toned down feeling to it(censorship no doubt had something to do with it). While it still looks quite nice, it's nicely shot and the costumes are well-tailored, there is also a sense with the less-than-grand sets and how some scenes are staged that there was a lack of budget. Dick Powell sings beautifully and has a charming appearance but can have a tendency to be a little too sappy and wooden here. The songs are very nice and catchy still, Speaking of the Weather is charming and All's Fair in Love and War is catchy and in all respects the highlight of the film. There's plenty of snappy dialogue to savour also, and while with some silly moments the plot is actually pretty decent and paced well. The performances compliment the film nicely, Victor Moore is very funny and wonderfully cranky, Joan Blondell still charms even when in more subdued mode and Glenda Farrell is deliciously sassy, coming this close to stealing the film whenever she appears. All in all, disappointing but still enjoyable. 7/10 Bethany Cox