Review of Been Rich All My Life (2006) by Mariana A — 09 Nov 2008

A very charming film about The Silver Belles Dance Troupe, that is comprised of women, who had danced in choruses, at The Cotton Club, and The Apollo Theaters, in Harlem, some of them beginning in the late 1920's.

These women are a humorous, tight-knit group, who have had fascinating lives, having performed with, and known, the likes of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson, Cab Calloway, Jimmy Lunceford, etc.

They talk of traveling in the south, as part of the USO. The scars of humiliation, stemming from the prejudice they experienced on the tour, is still evident in their faces .

Following the war, with the demand for chorus girls dwindling, many of the women tend bar, and even one went on to work in Paris, (Tehran, I think), and even Tokyo as a dancer. She later ended up working on the Alaskan Pipeline.

For a look at lives well-lived, and STILL lived well, this is a good place to start. It's funny, engrossing, sad, and by the end, I was certainly glad I "met" these spirited ladies!