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Film / Lady of Burlesque

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Lady of Burlesque is a 1943 comedy-mystery film directed by William A. Wellman, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Michael O'Shea. It was based on the novel The G-String Murders by Gypsy Rose Lee.

The plot revolves around a Burlesque theatre, of which Stanwyck is the newest dancer Dixie Daisy. O'Shea plays her love interest - comic Biff Brannigan. Two strippers are murdered backstage and the entire theatre falls under suspicion as each of them try to figure out the killer.


Provides examples of:

  • Alliterative Name: Dixie Daisy, Biff Brannigan. They are in show business after all...
  • Asshole Victim: Lolita La Verne.
  • The Cast Show Off: Barbara Stanwyck actually. The court room number allows her to show off Russian squats, splits, cartwheels, dancing and singing.
  • Cat Fight: Lolita and Dolly.
  • Closed Circle: The theatre after the first murder.
  • Developing Doomed Characters: Despite most synopsis describing the film as a murder mystery, the first murder does not actually happen until 40 minutes in.
  • Disneyfication: The film depicts as much about burlesque as the censors would actually allow. So no strip teasing is actually shown.
  • Distracted by the Sexy: Actually invoked by the performers during a show. Lolita is screaming her head off backstage so they immediately play a raunchy musical number to attempt to drown her out.
  • Do Not Call Me "Paul": Subverted. Biff asks Dixie's real name which she is happy to give him, but he still refers to her as Dixie anyway.
  • Dumb Blonde: Alice Angel. Her idea of giving helpful advice is saying nobody was with her at the water cooler (at the time of the murder) therefore anyone could have gone up.
  • Everything's Better with Sparkles
  • Freudian Excuse: Let's just say Dixie has had bad experiences with comics in the past.
  • Gratuitous Princess: The Princess Nirvena. Who knows if she's actually royalty but she's referred to as "the princess" by everyone at the theatre.
  • Halfway Plot Switch: The film initially starts off as a drama revolving around the dancers backstage and Dixie possibly falling in love with Biff. Then bam there's a murder.
  • Huge Girl, Tiny Guy: Alice Angel (played by 5 ft. 6 in. Marion Martin) and Mandy (played by the diminutive Pinky Lee) become a couple.
  • Jade-Coloured Glasses: Dixie, at least towards comics anyway.
  • Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: Lolita and the rest of the dancers are the light, Dixie and the Princess are the dark.
  • Mood Whiplash: A murder investigation is going on yet the comics and dancers still crack jokes.
  • Pretty in Mink: Dixie in her opening number wears three layers of white fur muffs. She starts with a large fox muff, removes it to show a small fox one, and then removes it to show a white ermine one.
    • The Princess carries around a fur wrap backstage.
  • Red Herring: The Princess.
  • Show Some Leg: It's the closest the movie was allowed to show to actual striptease.
  • There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Lolita was both strangled with the G-string and poisoned.
  • Would Hit a Girl: Lolita and Louis have that kind of relationship.

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