Born to Dance (1936)
- Starring:
- Eleanor Powell, James Stewart, (more)
- Director(s):
- Roy Del Ruth
Synopsis of Born to Dance
A never-completed stage musical was the source for the MGM superproduction Born to Dance. The plot is another three-sailors-on-leave affair, with Ted (James Stewart), Mush (Buddy Ebsen) and Gunny (Sid Silvers, who also co-wrote the script) romancing the eminently romanceable Nora (Eleanor Powell), Peppy (Frances Langford) and Jenny (Una Merkel). Nora aspires to become a dancing star, but her career nearly ends before it begins when she inadvertently comes between Broadway luminary Lucy James (Virginia Bruce) and her producer-lover McKay (Alan Dinehart). If anyone watching back in 1936 really cared about the plot, they probably weren't music lovers. The lovely Cole Porter score (his first written directly for the screen) includes "I've Got You Under My Skin", sung by Virginia Bruce to James Stewart, and "Easy to Love", warbled by Stewart to Eleanor Powell. Highlights include Reginald Gardiner's impersonation of a symphony-conducting traffic cop (a routine he'd previously performed on stage) and Eleanor Powell's climactic tap routine on board an art-deco battleship (a sequence later re-deployed for the climax of 1944's I Dood It). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Complete Cast of Born to Dance
- Eleanor Powell - Nora Paige
- Virginia Bruce - Lucy James
- Sid Silvers - Gunny Saks
- Raymond Walburn - Capt. Percival Dinghy
- Buddy Ebsen - Mush Tracy
- Barnett Parker - Floorwalker
- Reginald Gardiner - Policeman
- Franklin Parker - Reporter
- Jean Joyce - Girl
- Wally Maher - Reporter
- Helen Troy - Telephone Operator
- Charles Coleman - Waiter
- Bobby Watson - Costume Designer/Assistant Stage Manager
- Jalna - Herself
- Jonathan Hale - Hector, the Columnist
- George King - Assistant Stage Manager
- James Stewart - Ted Barker
- Una Merkel - Jenny Saks
- Frances Langford - Peppy Turner
- Alan Dinehart - James McKay
- Juanita Quigley - Sally Saks
- John Tyrrell - Reporter
- Charles Trowbridge - Store Demonstrator
- Harry Strang - Sailor
- John Kelly - Recruting Officer
- James Flavin - Submarine Officer
- Fuzzy Knight - Pianist
- Jay Johnson - The Foursome
- Georgi Vasilyev - Himself
- Dennis O'Keefe - Man with Girl on Couch
- Anita Brown - Anita, the Maid
- Mary Dees - Girl
- Director(s):
- Roy Del Ruth
- Writer(s):
- Sid Silvers, Buddy G. DeSylva, Jack McGowan
- Looking for special editions of Born to Dance?
- See All Versions
- Subtitles:
- Check All Versions
- Closed Captioning:
- Check All Versions
