8mm Forum: Dames

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Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on November 23, 2012, 08:59 PM:

Dames (1933) 2 x 400ft B/W Derann Films

Following the success of 42nd Street and Gold Diggers of 1933, Warners produced Dames, once again starring Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler as the young lovers. Powell is an ambitious songwriter in need of money to put on a show he has written. Ruby is his romantic inspiration, and Joan Blondell is the chorus girl who shakes down the ubiquitous Guy Kibbee for the backing money.
By far the most memorable item in Dames is the song and routine ‘I only Have Eyes For You’. One of the best songs ever written for a film, it is sung by Powell and beautifully staged by Busby Berkeley. Dick and Ruby meet in a movie theater, and then take a long subway ride during which they fall asleep. As Powell dreams, hordes of girls appear, all wearing Benda masks, so that an army of Keeler’s appear on the screen. Each girl, with a board on her back , bends over , creating a giant jigsaw puzzle of Ruby’s face.
The final of Dames is another all-girl array for the title song. Hundreds of girls in white blouses and black tights configurate into abstract designs allowing Berkeley to obtain his famous stunning overhead kaleidoscopic floral mosaics.
(Please note that the box art is my own. My print of Dames came in a plain white box, and I dont think Derann ever generated the same style of box art for this film as they did with the other Berkeley's. I wanted mine to look just like the others in the series, so I used the Derann template to do my own box art)

Print Quality B
Sound B

Posted by Kevin Hassall (Member # 2352) on November 24, 2012, 09:41 AM:

thats brill paul

Posted by Graham Sinden (Member # 431) on November 24, 2012, 02:20 PM:

Excellent review Paul. It is a shame though that the print quality of Dames isnt as good as Goldiggers of 1933. Every copy Ive seen of Dames has a slighty soft look. The title number 'Dames' is also one of my favourites.

Graham S

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on November 24, 2012, 03:08 PM:

Thanks guys.
I agree Graham, the print of Dames is not as good as Gold Diggers of 1933. Neither is the 2 x 400 Footlight Parade. I think Gold Diggers and 42nd Street had the best print quality of the series, and of those two I would rate Gold Diggers the best - it really is a superb 2 x 400 print.

Posted by Joe Balitzki (Member # 438) on November 26, 2012, 12:31 AM:

The original master negative for "Footlight Parade" was lost years ago in a vault fire. All prints are therefore soft. Of course, we do not know how the preprint material was that Derann worked with. But that may explain the drop in quality.

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