Starring Kitty Carlisle, Carl Brisson, Jack Oakie, and Victor McLaglen
Directed by Mitchell Leisen
Music by Arthur Johnson; Lyrics by Sam Coslow
Musical mysteries are rare, but they do exist. Case in point, this true oddity from 1934. Earl Carroll was known in the 20's and 30's as the producer of the raciest revues on Broadway, the Earl Carroll Vanities. His showgirls tended to be less clothed than those of other revues, his comedy rougher-hewn and often taken from burlesque or minstrel shows. Showgirls formed "living curtains" in the scantiest costumes this side of flat-out nudity.
Carroll more rarely did book shows, including the original Murder at the Vanities in 1933. By that point, backstage musicals had begun to make a comeback after the wild success of 42nd Street. Every studio in town wanted to imitate Busby Berkeley's massive kaleidoscopic numbers, and Paramount was no exception. How do the musical numbers manage to fit into the story of murder and mayhem backstage at the Earl Carroll Vanities? Let's start with the show right before opening and find out...
The Story: Producer Jack Ellery (Jack Oakie) is staging the Vanities for his boss Earl Carroll, who can't come to opening night. His absence is the least of Ellery's problems. Someone is trying to kill leading lady Ann Ware (Carlisle) right before she's to marry leading man Eric Lander (Brisson). Ellery brings in police lieutenant Bill Murdock (McLauglen) to find out who has it in for Ann, while Eric hires private detective Sadie Evans (Gail Patrick) to find out who has stolen some of his private things.
They walk into a hotbed of intrigue. Second lead Rita Ross (Gertrude Michael) is angry and jealous that Ann and Eric are engaged and would do anything to get him back. Wardrobe mistress Helene Smith (Jessie Ralph) and nervous lady's maid Norma (Dorothy Stickney) were abused by Rita and don't want her to break up Ann and Eric. Giggly chorus girl Nancy (Toby Wing) knows something, but Ellery won't listen. After someone turns up dead during a number, Murdock becomes determined to find out who is killing members of the Vanities...and who doesn't want the show to go on.
The Song and Dance: Well, you can't say this one isn't unique. If this is what Earl Carroll's revues were really like (minus the blood and mayhem), no wonder they ran from 1923 to 1932. Some of these numbers are simply the strangest and most flamboyant pieces of lunacy I've ever seen in a musical. If you think Berkeley's stuff at Warners got weird, check this out. The ladies in particular are real pieces of work. Michael does well as bitter Rita, and Stickney gets the best performance as poor, besotted Norma. The costumes (what there is of them) are incredible, with everyone clad in acres of beads and feathers...when they're clad at all. I'd love to know how they got away with the scantiest costumes this side of a Vegas show. I also love that we have a female private eye, which remains pretty rare in film even today.
The Numbers: We open with Ann and Eric rehearsing one of the two standards from this film, that charming hymn to the end of Prohibition "Cocktails for Two." It gets one of the simpler numbers later, with Eric merely singing it in front of a group of ladies sipping the aforementioned alcoholic drinks, then dancing with them. Ann starts the show with "Where Do They Come From, and Where Do They Go?" as a revolving stage shows off an ever-changing line of barely-dressed women representing the different walks of life and occupations they may have had before becoming showgirls. She finishes with boys in top hats and canes and girls representing the east (more top hats) and west (cowgirls twirling lariats).
This goes straight into "Pretty One," with a male chorus singing as chorus girls recline on giant perfume bottles and powder cases. "Live and Love Tonight" has Ann appearing among chorus girls waving ostrich-plumed fans to resemble waves as she seduces shipwrecked Eric. The next number can only, in all good faith, be termed a lulu. "Sweet Marijuana," our other standard, gets into Mexican turf as Rita shakes her hips with men in sombreros and sings about the fantasy the drug will bring her. This opens to cacti featuring chorus girls just this side of nude...and if the the violence of the lyrics wasn't enough, the blood dropping on one of the chorus girls from the fresh corpse on the catwalk over her certainly does.
"Ebony Rhapsody" begins as Lizst's "Second Hungarian Rhapsody," with Ann and dancers in fanciful feathered bonnets and Empire-waist gowns as ghosts dancing to the classical music. This becomes the far more cheeky "Ebony Rhapsody," as Rita leads black dancers in aprons and negligees in an uncoordinated but energetic stomp to Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. "Cocktails" is heard again in the big finale, with Ann, Eric, and hordes of chorus dancers waving more ostrich fans.
Trivia: This movie just squeaked out a few weeks before the Production Code was enforced and less than a year before marijuana was made illegal nation-wide. It goes without saying that it would be more than 30 years before it turned up again, especially that infamous "Sweet Marijuana" number. "Marijuana" was discovered by the 60's and 70's drug culture and had several recordings at the time, including from Bette Midler. Even now, the movie is often shown without the "Marijuana" number when it runs on local stations.
Screen debut of Kitty Carlisle.
Look for Lucille Ball, Ann Sheridan, and Alan Ladd among the chorus members.
What I Don't Like: The only people who come off as remotely likable are Carlisle and Brisson, and they're dull blocks of wood when they're not singing. Brisson in particular is such a snore, it's hard to understand why Rita and Norma are willing to kill for him. The numbers are shot as they would be on a real stage, which works with the relatively realistic story for a musical but may be disappointing for those expecting Busby Berkeley fantasies. The mystery plot is pretty cliched and straightforward; many viewers may figure it out long before Bill Murdock does.
The Big Finale: Worth a look for the wild numbers alone if you're a fan of Pre-Code cinema or just want to see how strange a backstage musical could get in the early 30's.
Home Media: Originally released as part of a Universal pre-code set in 2009, it can now also be found on Blu-Ray from Kino Lorber.
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