Ladies of the Chorus

Marilyn Monroe plays a burlesque dancer who falls in love with a society gentleman. Her mother, a fellow dancer played by Adele Jergens, disapproves.

Through flashbacks, we learn Jergens was once a Burlesque Queen—the star of the show. She became engaged to a gentleman from Boston, only for his parents to ship him to Europe upon discovering she was a dancer. The pregnant Jergens never saw him again. She had the baby, Monroe’s character, then returned to burlesque, not as the Queen, but as a mere chorus line dancer. Now, Monroe’s ascended to Queen status, and Jergens worries her daughter will suffer the same fate.

Nothing revolutionary, but a well-executed sixty-one-minute confection. The burlesque numbers lead by Jergens and Monroe shine. Dave Barry’s brief, uncredited turn as Ripple the Decorator provides effective comic relief. And I appreciated the refreshing lack of melodramatic cruft. For example, Monroe’s suitor proves amiable, with no trite scheming ex-girlfriend to pad the running time. More films could learn from this one’s example.