Lady of Burlesque (1943)

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 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.

Synopsis

Dixie Daisy est l’une des vedettes d’un spectacle burlesque dans un théâtre de Broadway transformé en music-hall. Lolita, une des actrices de la troupe, est retrouvée assassinée. Dixie est très vite soupçonnée à cause de la rivalité qui régnait entre les deux femmes. Mais d’autres crimes inexpliqués sont bientôt commis et Dixie veut mettre en place un piège pour démasquer l’assassin.

Actors