Review of Dames (1934) by Richard D — 18 Sep 2018

Hugh Herbert is an eccentric millionaire who decides to bequeath his enormous fortune to distant cousin Guy Kibbee because he's a fine, upstanding moral citizen ... unlike his other cousin Dick Powell who's a producer of musicals.

Herbert stays with Kibbee and wife Zasu Pitts, while their daughter Ruby Keeler hides the fact that she's actually dating Powell. Burlesque actress Joan Blondell blackmails Kibbee into bankrolling Powell's new musical, leading to the whole troop of characters descending on a theater for the debut of Powell's new musical.

This pretty decent screwball comedy sets the stage for three increasingly mind-blowing Busby Berkeley musical numbers. The first is a somewhat sedate affair involving Blondell singing to dancing underwear, but the next number is the incredible "I Only Have Eyes for You" where Powell sings to dozens of women all with Ruby Keeler's face while it becomes increasingly abstract, descending into a kaleidoscopic display of female flesh with Ruby Keeler's face.

This all ends with the salacious number "Dames" where Powell celebrates the need for putting half-naked girls on the screen while dancing girls lie in bed, brush their teeth and dance. I really enjoyed this.