Du Barry Was a Lady and Lucy – Favorite Stars in B Movies Blogathon

It’s no secret that Lucille Ball, Gene Kelly, and Red Skelton are huge names in classic movie and TV, but when Du Barry was a Lady came out in 1943, they were all early on in their careers. Du Barry Was a Lady was considered a B movie at the time and Lucy was firmly in her B actress status, so I was excited to join the Favorite Stars in B Movies Blogathon with this one!

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This film is a lot of fun to watch, even though it is a bit silly. You have some great dancing by Gene Kelly (even though he did not choreograph this one), and while he tends to be over-the-top, Red Skelton is enjoyable here too. Lucy and Virginia O’Brien are my favorites to watch though.

It’s fun to see Lucy here in her early career, but with her signature red hair and starting to exhibit some comedy chops! Her duet with Red Skelton is particularly entertaining.

Synopsis:

May (Lucy) is a nightclub singer where she has multiple suitors vying for her attention. Unfortunately, one of them is poor and she’s not into him (Louie – Red Skelton), another is poor and she loves him (Alec) and the third is a rich dude, who she doesn’t love. She’s convinced that a marriage with Alec is no good since they’ll be poor and unhappy, so she explores other avenues.

When Louie wins the sweepstakes, he announces that he’s going to marry May (without asking her!). She goes, well, okay, I guess.. since he’s now rich, but impresses upon him that it’s strictly a business arrangement because she doesn’t love him. Alec finds out about their arrangement and Louie plans on slipping him a Mickey (Rooney.. haha) to get him out of the way for a bit, so he doesn’t change May’s mind, but Louie accidentally gets the dose. He ends up in this vivid dream where he is King Louis XV and May is Du Barry. We get some fun musical numbers and when Louie wakes up, May tells him that she needs to be with the guy she loves afterall.

Lasting Impressions

Lucy’s Red Hair

This was the first time Lucy had red hair, and it would stick with her for the rest of her life. They dyed it specifically for this film, and the rest is history! She became the well-known redhead that we all know and love.

The song Friendship

If you’re familiar with I Love Lucy, you’re probably familiar with the song Friendship, but did you know that the song appeared in this film, first? The cast sings it, including Tommy Dorsey entering in with Virginia O’Brien, which I find particularly interesting. You don’t ever really see him do much except for conduct and play the trombone, so seeing him sing and dance here is a rare treat.

We also get to actually hear Lucy’s singing voice in this clip even though she was dubbed in the title song.

This song became important when Lucy had her show later on, but it was in this film first. Many people will be familiar with the clip below.

Cinematographer Karl Freund.

Lucy was so impressed with him during this film that she later hired him for I Love Lucy.

The Players:

Lucille Ball and Gene Kelly

You really do want to root for these two, but Lucy’s character being obsessed with money is a bit offputting. She does redeem herself at the end, but the filmsy excuse about needing a guy with money doesn’t hold up all that well. I actually like her better as Du Barry.

This was the only film where Gene didn’t create his own choreography. How quickly that changed! In the dream sequence, he also appears as The Black Arrow. It may seem familiar. He may have drawn on some of this character for his portrayal of The Dueling Cavalier in Singin in the Rain. The tone and attitude do strike a similiar chord!

Red Skelton and Virginia O’Brien

I love Virginia O’Brien and want so badly for Red Skelton’s character to pay attention to her advances, but she doesn’t give up, even though he seems set on May. They have some fun banter back and forth though.

Virginia is often underrated, but her deadpan look was already in full-force here and I’m here for it. Unfortunately, O’Brien never really moved up into full-fledged stardom, but she did work alongside many who did, such as Judy Garland in The Harvey Girls, and both Red Skelton and Lucille Ball in other projects.

Background Trivia:

Did you catch this cameo?

At the end of Red’s song, I Love an Esquire Girl, Lana Turner pops in for a cameo! She’s mentioned in the song multiple times and gets to come say hi. This is also her first time appearing in Technicolor!

What about this cameo?

That’s Clara Blandick! If the name doesn’t ring any bells, maybe the name Auntie Em does!

And she’s not the only Oz nod. This guy?

Mitchell Lewis, is also this guy, the Winkie/Witch guard who tells Dorothy, “She’s dead. You killed her.”

*borrowed from here since apparently my kids wrecked my Wizard of Oz DVD..

And that wasn’t the only time he worked with Judy Garland. He is also the bartender she’s pointing a gun at in The Harvey Girls.

A word about producer Arthur Freed

This is also a strange musical for producer Arthur Freed. His films tend to have stronger storylines and really.. this one just doesn’t. It’s fun, but not a lot happens really. It doesn’t exhibit the strong characters and isn’t plot-driven like his usual films. The characters are a bit one-dimensional with low brow comedy, but it is fun for what it is. I love seeing all these actors together and the music is a lot of fun too!

What if…?

Ann Sothern had played May?

She was the original choice, but was booted out when they found out she was pregnant. She would have done her own singing, but because Lucy was cast instead, she was dubbed by Martha Mears for the title song. It may have changed so much had Lucy not been cast. Would she ever had gotten her red hair? Would I Love Lucy have been the same with a different cinematographer? We also would have probably missed out on her and Ethel singing Friendship!

If you like alternative history or biographical/historical fiction, I write that as well under the pen name Dottie Fray.

If you purchase this film, I may earn a commission as an Amazon affiliate: DVD, Bluray, or rent/stream!

Check out the other entries in the Favorite Stars in B Movies Blogathon!