Gutsycurene Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

poetcomic1 There is really only one reason to watch this. The Lullaby of Broadway number and most particularly from the moment, about midway through, when the massed dancers come on until the 'beyond shocking' murder/suicide.Wini Shaw loses herself to the erotically pounding and relentlessly advancing crowd of young chorines and handsome young dancers "COME AND GET ME!" she shouts and the movie becomes a kind of 'tap dance horror movie'.'Come and get me' has a most sinister sound - it is the invocation to demonic possession, Dionysian surrender and can only end in death. In the beginning and end of the number we have the face of Wini Shaw turn into a skull-like Manhattan, creepy in itself.Here we have Busby Berkeley turn his flawless 'beauty machine' of monstrously huge chorus lines into a kind of 'death machine'. What was he thinking! Did he even understand himself how great this was?

TheLittleSongbird The story is silly and is thin to the extent that you're searching for whether there is one, and for this viewer Gold Diggers of 1933 was the better film. Nonetheless, Gold Diggers of 1935 is still great, even when set in a Depression setting it's still a lot of fun. It is visually wonderful, cleverly photographed and with sumptuous costumes and sets. The songs are melodious and catchy as well as beautiful, The Words Are In My Heart and particularly Lullaby of Broadway were the two standouts. The dialogue is snappy and genuinely funny, the film is warm-hearted and charming all the way through and Berkeley in one of his earliest directing efforts does a fine job directing. The performances serve the film nicely, Dick Powell- in excellent voice- and the astonishingly beautiful Gloria Stuart are good leads(and no Ruby Keeler is not missed), but Gold Diggers of 1935 was one case where the supporting cast were more colourful. Alice Brady is an absolute riot, while Glenda Farrell and Hugh Herbert bring to the table some great wisecracks. But you cannot not mention Bekeley's choreography, it's always a pleasure to watch but here in Gold Diggers of 1935 it's amazing. Lullaby of Broadway contains some of his absolute best choreography(on par with the finale of Footlight Parade and perhaps even better) and is also a number that tells a story, a depressing but very moving one. All in all, a great film and one where Busby Berkeley will not be disappointed, if anything it'd be hard not to be enthralled. 9/10 Bethany Cox

runamokprods As in Berkeley's earlier (and weaker) 'Dames', a pretty silly one-note plot is balanced by some amazing camera work and visual story telling in the musical numbers. At least the story we have to put up with to get to the dancing is a bit less annoying, and the acting a bit better. Adolph Monjou is fun as a con-man, Dick Powell is a bit toned down and less annoyingly 'gee-whiz' as our hero and Hugh Herbert is a bit more fun as 'the rich buffoon' than Guy Kibbie in the earlier film.And I will admit to sitting there, mouth open, saying 'how did he get those huge old cameras to do that?!?' And the huge, complex, dance number 'Lullaby of Broadway', often considered Berkley's greatest, is oddly, wonderfully dark in its implications. A whole story told in dance unto itself.

Neil Doyle Shot in crisp B&W with some lavishly designed sets and brilliant lighting techniques, the musical numbers in this film shine because of the sheer genius of Busby Berkeley's fantastic routines.The story is thin and silly, but from start to finish it's an entertaining show with Dick Powell and Gloria Stuart in the romantic leads supported by such stalwarts among character actors as Alice Brady, Frank McHugh, Hugh Herbert and Adolphe Menjou. Dorothy Dare and Wini Shaw are added delights.It's the typical boy meets girl story with Powell assigned to be a protective escort (as a business proposition posed by wealthy Alice Brady) whose daughter wants some excitement in her life before promising to marry stuffy Hugh Herbert.But once the songs start spinning and the clever camera work gets going, the viewer will appreciate all the effort that went into this undertaking. Especially striking is the final musical sequence built around "Lullaby of Broadway," first the segment with the white pianos and then the actual dance routine choreographed brilliantly by both Busby and the Warner cameras.Striking talent on display here, worth a peek if you're a fan of the old Warner Brothers musicals. Alice Brady is a riot as the world's stingiest wealthy woman always devising ways to do things on the cheap.