Dance, Fools, Dance

Dance, Fools, Dance
Directed by Harry Beaumont
Written by Story & Dialogue:
Aurania Rouverol
Continuity:
Richard Schayer
Starring Joan Crawford
Lester Vail
Clark Gable
Cinematography Charles Rosher
Edited by George Hively
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • February 21, 1931 (1931-02-21)
Running time
 80 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $234,000[1]
Box office $1,268,000[1]

Dance, Fools, Dance (1931) is a pre-Code Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer feature film starring Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, and Lester Vail in a story about a reporter investigating the murder of a colleague. Story and dialogue were created by Aurania Rouverol, and the film was directed by Harry Beaumont. Dance, Fools, Dance was the first of eight cinematic collaborations between Crawford and Gable.

Plot summary

Former socialite, Bonnie Jordan (Joan Crawford) is a cub reporter whose brother Rodney (William Bakewell) is involved with a beer-running gang. On one caper, he drives the car that guns down a rival gang. Bonnie's journalist colleague Bert Scranton (Cliff Edwards) is murdered when he finds out too much. Gang chief Jake Luva (Clark Gable) is suspected of plotting Scranton's murder and Bonnie investigates, barely escaping with her life after learning the details of the gang's operations. The criminals are brought to justice.

Cast

Reception

Photoplay commented, "Again Joan Crawford proves herself a great dramatic actress. The story...is hokum, but it's good hokum and Joan breathes life into her characterization." Andre Sennwald noted in the New York Times, Miss Crawford's acting is still self-conscious, but her admirers will find her performance well up to her standard."[2]

Box office

According to MGM records the film earned $848,000 in the US and Canada and $420,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $524,000.[1]

Historical note

The film is loosely based on real-life events of the production's period which occurred in Chicago, such as reporter Jake Lingle's murder by underworld hoodlums and the St. Valentine's Day massacre.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
  2. ↑ Quirk, Lawrence J.. The Films of Joan Crawford. The Citadel Press, 1968.
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