Dancing in the Dark

A film studio hires a washed-up, egotistical actor (William Powell) to recruit the daughter of his former partner, but he picks an unknown (Betsy Drake) instead.

Dancing in the Dark is a casting disaster. First, you’ve got lead William Powell playing against type as a conceited, egotistical film star. While this may have been enjoyable for Powell, and given him a chance to stretch his acting chops, he’s simply not very good. At all. Powell’s strength is in his urbane charm and deadpan wit, none of which is present here.

Compounding the mess is the casting of Betsy Drake as the female lead. Following up her debut in the even more awful Every Girl Should Be Married, she once again lacks anything resembling charisma, and shows no chemistry with her co-stars. It’s a crucial role, one that’s meant to win over the audience and create sympathy for Powell’s character, yet Drake simply isn’t up to it.

And to top it all off, Dancing in the Dark is long. At 92 minutes, it’s an half and hour too long, as it’s padded with musical numbers that are less than inspiring to say the least.

In the end, about the only thing that might make the film worth a look for movie buffs is Jean Hersholt, who plays himself, doing what he became famous for, looking out for others and giving back to the industry he loved. Is that worth enough to endure Drake and an uncharacteristically charmless Powell? No, but Hersholt’s role is quick and towards the film’s beginning, so you can just turn it off after that.