King of Burlesque

US (1936): Musical/Comedy/Dance

This is a routine backstage story: Warner Baxter is a producer of burlesque shows on NYC's 14th St. -- he is known as the King of Burlesque -- but his sights are set higher. He wants to conquer Broadway with legit shows and marry a classy dame. Well, he achieves it all, including a marriage to cold Mona Barrie (who uses him to provide her with the luxury her dead spouse took with him while seeing her current boyfriend). Long-suffering "pal" Alice Faye must look on while Baxter indulges himself in this nonsense, then she heads for London and a successful career, only to return at the eleventh hour to save the now divorced and bankrupt Baxter with the bucks to stage a new show.

The fun is all in the three final production numbers, two of which ("Lovely Lady" and "Too Good to Be True") were nominated for a Choreography Oscar^®, although the former consists of girls in swings high above the audience doing nothing but swinging. Tiny Dixie Dunbar sings and dances the latter number with Fats Waller on piano and a male dancing chorus -- the best sequence in the film. The hit song, "Shooting High" by Ted Koehler and Jimmy McHugh, was not nominated for an Award. (Arne Andersen, IMDb)

 View a clip of Fats Waller and Dixie Dunbar performing "Too Good to Be True" (published as "I've Got My Fingers Crossed") in this film on YouTube.com.

1 nomination