On this date in 1933, Warner Bros. released Gold Diggers of 1933. Chock full of singing, dancing, Busby Berkeley choreograpy and social commentary, the musical became one of the biggest hits of the year. (And six decades later, Disney animated features were aping Berkeley's production numbers. Also too, a Disney remake of a Disney animated feature is currently in release aping them.)
Gold Diggers followed close on the heels of another Warner Bros. hit entitled 42nd Street, which had been released in March. Like Gold Diggers, it featured Dick Powell, Ginger Rogers and Ruby Keeler, and its success prompted Warners to add Berkeley dance routines to the newer musical.
Unlike Street, Gold Diggers was an old chestnut from the Broadway stage that had been filmed twice before. The difference this time was the country was in Depression, with a 25% unemployment rate, and the grim national realities found their way into Gold Diggers of 1933. What didn't show up onscreen were the tensions and fights roiling Warner Bros. as the picture was being made. The studio had instituted temporary pay cuts for all studio employees in support of President Franklin Roosevelt's National Recovery Administration policies, and when Harry Warner wouldn't allow production topkick Darryl Zanuck to reinstate old salaries, Zanuck resigned and formed his own production company.
Despite the stresses and strains of the time (or maybe because of them), Gold Diggers struck a responsive chord with the movie-going public. By the time it completed its domestic and international runs, the picture had taken in $3,231,000 against a production budget of $433,000.
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