Lady of Burlesque (1943)

Barbara Stanwyck, a theatre, a diva, a princess and a double-murder. This packs quite a lot into an amiable and lively ninety minutes. The local opera house has long since lost it’s lustre as a venue for Verdi and Puccini, much to the chagrin of “Lolita” (Victoria Faust) who is less than impressed that “Dixie” (Stanwyck) is now topping the bill with her altogether bawdier style of dancing. When the princess “Nirvena” (Stephanie Bachelor) also makes her presence felt, and “Lolita” makes up to the boss to get the top billing, these three women are soon at loggerheads. Not for long, though, as pretty soon there are a couple of corpses that require the detective services of “Harrigan” (Charles Dingle) and with the old mantra of the “show must go on” keeping the stage full whilst these machinations go on behind the curtain - though not always out of earshot of the audience, it becomes as dangerous here as it ever was in the famed Paris Opéra! Though she leads very much from the front, this isn’t only the Barbara Stanwyck show. The ensemble cast all deliver quite well as the mystery deepens, and there are quite a few songs with rhymes like “E-string with G-string” to keep the thing remarkably naughty for it’s time. I think I still preferred Barbara Stanwyck astride an horse in leathers toting a revolver, but films like this make you appreciate just what a versatile star she was.