''Du Barry Was a Lady'' is a 1943 American

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

film directed by Roy Del Ruth, starring

Red Skelton Richard Red Skelton (July 18, 1913September 17, 1997) was an American entertainer best known for his national radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program '' The Red Skelton Show''. He has stars ...

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golde ...

, Gene Kelly, and

Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...

. It is based on the 1939 stage musical of the same name. Shot in

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

, the film was produced and distributed by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

Plot

Entertainer May Daly's

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

act includes her portrayal of Madame Du Barry of days of yore. Equally smitten with her are coatroom attendant Louis Blore and master of ceremonies Alec Howe, but unfortunately for both, May persists in holding out for a wealthy husband, her current interest being rich, haughty Willie. A telegram arrives notifying Louis that in the

Irish Sweepstakes The Irish Hospitals' Sweepstake was a lottery established in the Irish Free State in 1930 as the Irish Free State Hospitals' Sweepstake to finance hospitals. It is generally referred to as the Irish Sweepstake or Irish Sweepstakes, frequently ab ...

he is the winner of a prize of $150,000. Louis immediately and publicly declares his love for May, who is teased by Alec that she now has no reason to stay with Willie and avoid Louis, who is a sweeter fellow. After accidentally swallowing a drugged drink, Louis falls into a deep sleep and dreams that he is King

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

, holding court with Madame Du Barry (May) and holding off her colorful suitor, the Black Arrow (Alec), a

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is dep ...

-like character. Tommy Dorsey's orchestra, dressed in formal 18th-century suits, entertains the palace occupants. Louis then escapes Du Barry's palace and slips into a local tavern, in peasant dress, to confront the Black Arrow, who is inciting the tavern-goers to march angrily to the palace to overthrow the greedy king. Louis, confused, unwittingly marches with them. After swordplay and the sentencing of the Black Arrow to the

guillotine A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at t ...

, Louis awakens from his dream. He realizes that May is in love with Alec and generously offers them a wedding gift of $10,000. May declines, saying she has changed her mind about money's importance. Everybody ends up happy until a tax collector arrives to demand that Louis pay him $80,000.

Cast

Songs

Lucille Ball in Best Foot Forward trailer

Musical numbers featured

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...

and His Orchestra (featuring

Buddy Rich Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time. Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, ...

and

Ziggy Elman Harry Aaron Finkelman (May 26, 1914 – June 26, 1968), known professionally as Ziggy Elman, was an American jazz trumpeter associated with Benny Goodman, though he also led his group Ziggy Elman and His Orchestra. Early years Elman was born i ...

Dick Haymes Richard Benjamin Haymes (September 13, 1918 – March 28, 1980) was an Argentinian singer and actor. He was one of the most popular male vocalists of the 1940s and early 1950s. He was the older brother of Bob Haymes, an actor, television host, ...

Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop music singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classi ...

The Pied Pipers The Pied Pipers is an American popular singing group originally formed in the late 1930s. They had several chart hits through the 1940s, both under their own name and in association with Tommy Dorsey and with Frank Sinatra. Origins Originally ...

Six Hits and a Miss Six Hits and a Miss was an American swing-era singing group. The group consisted of six male singers and one female (thus the word "miss" in their name has a double meaning – the converse of the word "hit", and denotation of a young woman). T ...

, and the Music Maids. Lucille Ball's singing voice was dubbed by Martha Mears in most of the picture, but her real voice is heard in "Friendship". Music and lyrics are by Cole Porter, except where noted. * Medley: "Du Barry Was a Lady (Main Title)/Do I Love You?" – MGM Studio Orchestra * "Du Barry Was a Lady" – MGM Studio Chorus * "Nightclub Medley: Give Him to the Oo-La-La/Well, Did You Evah" artial– MGM Studio Orchestra * Oxford Boys Medley: "Thinking of You/A Cigarette, Sweet Music and You" * Medley: "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You (music by George Bassman)/Well, Git It! (Sy Oliver)" – Tommy Dorsey * "When Love Beckoned (On 52nd Street)" – MGM Studio Orchestra * "

Do I Love You? "Do I Love You?" is a 1939 popular song written by Cole Porter, for his musical ''Du Barry Was a Lady'', where it was introduced by Ronald Graham and Ethel Merman. The song was included in the 1943 film adaptation of the musical, where it was ...

" – Gene Kelly * "Do I Love You" – Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra, The Pied Pipers * "Salome" (music by

Roger Edens Roger Edens (November 9, 1905 – July 13, 1970) was a Hollywood composer, arranger and associate producer, and is considered one of the major creative figures in Arthur Freed's musical film production unit at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during the "go ...

, lyrics by E.Y. Harburg) – Virginia O'Brien * "I Love an Esquire Girl" (music by Edens, lyrics by

Lew Brown Lew Brown (born Louis Brownstein; December 10, 1893 – February 5, 1958) was a lyricist for popular songs in the United States. During World War I and the Roaring Twenties, he wrote lyrics for several of the top Tin Pan Alley composers, esp ...

and

Ralph Freed Ralph Freed (1 May 1907, Vancouver - February 13, 1973) was a Canadian born American lyricist and television producer. Early Life Born May 1, 1907 to Max Freed and Rosie (Rosza) Grossman who met in Charleston, SC. Ralph married Grace H. Berchma ...

) – Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra, The Pied Pipers, Red Skelton * Medley: "Friendship/Do I Love You?/But in the Morning, No" – MGM Studio Orchestra * "Ladies of the Bath" (Edens) – Red Skelton and chorus * "Katie Went to Haiti" – Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra, The Pied Pipers * "Madame, I Love Your Crepes Suzette" (music by Burton Lane, lyrics by Ralph Freed) – Red Skelton * "Song of Rebellion" (Edens) – Gene Kelly * "Friendship" – Lucille Ball, Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra, Gene Kelly, Virginia O'Brien, Red Skelton

Production

MGM originally purchased the rights to ''

Du Barry Was a Lady ''Du Barry Was a Lady'' is a Broadway musical, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter, and the book by Herbert Fields and Buddy DeSylva.

'' for $80,000 as a vehicle for

Ann Sothern Ann Sothern (born Harriette Arlene Lake; January 22, 1909 – March 15, 2001) was an American actress who worked on stage, radio, film, and television, in a career that spanned nearly six decades. Sothern began her career in the late 1920 ...

. Publicity posters (as seen above right) and the doll behind screen credits clearly bear Sothern's likeness. When Sothern turned down the revised role, MGM decided to cast Lucille Ball. Sothern reportedly turned down the role because she was pregnant with her daughter,

Tisha Sterling Patricia Ann "Tisha" Sterling (born December 10, 1944) is a retired American actress. She is the only daughter of actor Robert Sterling and actress Ann Sothern. Life and career Sterling was born in Los Angeles, California. Her parents divorced ...

. The film used very little of the original Cole Porter score. According to ''Time Out'', "this adaptation of the Cole Porter musical ditches most of the songs – and the lusty bawdiness that went with them – to fashion a vehicle for Skelton and Ball, in the process interpolating more 'suitable' numbers." According to TCM: "MGM bought the rights to a popular stage property... then proceeded to make so many changes that it’s hardly the same show. Much of the Cole Porter score was scrapped for the film version...it retained only a few of the original songs and substituted new material by studio songwriters. The movie also cut out the racier overtones in the musical’s story."Fristoe, Roger
"Du Barry Was a Lady" (article)

TCM.com Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of Atl ...

. Accessed: October 30, 2015 New characters were added, and many of the original characters' names were changed. The basic outline remained the same, although the relationships of some of the characters were different. In the film, Ginny (another singer) pines away for Louis, who is too infatuated with May Daly to notice, and it is only at the end that he realizes that Ginny loves him. The dream sequence purposely was delayed by 58 minutes, with vaudeville-type acts performed as a floor show before the sequence got underway. The Louis XV/Mme. DuBarry scenes, unlike the play, featured very little singing. Lucille Ball later hired Karl Freund to be the director of photography on her television series ''

I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning six seasons. The show starred Lucille Ball, her husband, Desi Arnaz, along wit ...

''.

Reception

Critical response

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

, in his review for ''The New York Times'', wrote, "they have caught most of the humor of the original, with a lot of Red Skelton's own thrown in. And they have added Rags Ragland and Zero Mostel to be funny when Mr. Skelton is not... particularly they have given the whole show a Technicolor sheen, an eye-filling opulence and splendor, which is fabulous in these rationed times.""Review. 'Du Barry Was a Lady' (1943)"
''New York Times'', August 20, 1943

Box office

According to MGM records, the film earned $2,572,000 in the US and Canada and $924,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $857,000.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dubarry Was A Lady (Film) 1943 films 1943 musical comedy films American musical comedy films Cultural depictions of Louis XV Cultural depictions of Madame du Barry 1940s English-language films Films based on musicals Films directed by Roy Del Ruth Films produced by Arthur Freed Films scored by Cole Porter Films set in France Films with screenplays by Irving Brecher Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Works about Louis XV 1940s American films