Lady of Burlesque | |
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DVD cover
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Directed by | William A. Wellman |
Produced by | Hunt Stromberg |
Written by | James Gunn |
Based on |
The G-String Murders 1941 novel by Gypsy Rose Lee |
Starring |
Barbara Stanwyck Michael O'Shea Iris Adrian |
Music by | Arthur Lange |
Cinematography | Robert De Grasse |
Edited by | James E. Newcom |
Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date
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Running time
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91 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $1,850,000 gross ($650,000 profit after theatre circuits deducted their ticket sales share) |
Lady of Burlesque (also known as The G-String Murders and in the UK, Striptease Lady) is a 1943 American musical comedy-mystery film starring Barbara Stanwyck and Michael O'Shea, based on the novel The G-String Murders written by strip tease queen Gypsy Rose Lee (with ghost-writing assistance from mystery writer Craig Rice). Directed by William A. Wellman, produced by Hunt Stromberg, costumes by Edith Head, and filmed on a 21-day shooting schedule on (rented) sound stages at RKO's Encino movie ranch, this feature grossed a respectable 1.85 million dollars upon its initial release.
The backstage plot concerns the murder of two strippers of a New York City burlesque theatre and the detection of the killer. A faithful, if sanitized due to the censorship of the time, adaptation of the original novel, although Gypsy Rose Lee, who appears as a character in her own book, is here renamed "Dixie Daisy" (Stanwyck). Michael O'Shea plays her romantic interest, comedian Biff Brannigan, and Iris Adrian portrays a worldly showgirl. Pinky Lee, a burlesque comic in real life, is another notable supporting player, as is Gerald Mohr as villain Louie Grindero. The film depicted as much as censors would allow with respect to precise nature of "bumps & grinds", and slapdash nature of burlesque shows. Songs include "Take it off the E string, play it on the G string", rendered by Stanwyck.
Iris Adrian and Barbara Stanwyck
Marion Martin and Gloria Dickson