Dance, Fools, Dance

src: pre-code.com

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.

Video Dance, Fools, Dance

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.

Maps Dance, Fools, Dance

Cast

Joan Crawford as Bonnie Jordan
Lester Vail as Bob Townsend
Cliff Edwards as Bert Scranton
William Bakewell as Rodney Jordan
William Holden as Stanley Jordan
Clark Gable as Jake Luva
Earle Foxe as Wally Baxter (credited as Earl Foxe)
Purnell B. Pratt as Parker
Hale Hamilton as Selby
Natalie Moorhead as Della
Joan Marsh as Sylvia
Russell Hopton as Whitey

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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."

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.

src: pre-code.com

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.