Although it may be easy to be put off by the somewhat cheesy title that misleads you as to what 'Ten Cents a Dance' is about, not quite what you expect, one cannot go wrong with the choice of leads. Stanwyck made anything better and always rose above her material (even when it was not very good, which did happen numerous times early on before she peaked). It was interesting to see Ricardo Cortez as a good guy as was seeing how Lionel Barrymore fares as a director.
Stanwyck and Cortez do come off very well and are much better than the material that they are given to work with here. Owsley is not well served and always did much prefer Barrymore as an actor, where he often stole scenes in supporting roles (although never a "subtle" actor, very theatrical like his brother John late-career, he was always fun to watch), than as a director. Interesting for curiosity value but a long way from being an essential.
Elaborating on what was said above, Stanwyck is tough and moving as always, not showing signs of overdoing it or any indifference. Cortez really surprised me, he is against type and he shows that he was as good at playing sympathetic roles as with playing sinister villains.
The other good performance came from the breath of fresh air Sally Blane. The song is great and so is the quite captivatingly shot opening sequence, the standout of the mostly quite good photography. The first portion is colourful and there are amusing and touching moments.
It is a shame that 'Two Cents a Dance' falls apart in some of the second half, where it starts to drag and can be soapy and a bit muddled. Photography aside, the production values are rather threadbare, especially the sparse sets. To me it was clear that the film was made on a low budget and hurriedly.
Barrymore's direction is rather too ordinary and can be static, still stand by my opinion of preferring him as an actor than as a director. Owsley disappoints badly, he has a very insufferably weak character and he never looks comfortable.
Concluding, see it for Stanwyck and Cortez but for good production values, direction and story it's best finding another film. 5/10
Stanwyck and Cortez do come off very well and are much better than the material that they are given to work with here. Owsley is not well served and always did much prefer Barrymore as an actor, where he often stole scenes in supporting roles (although never a "subtle" actor, very theatrical like his brother John late-career, he was always fun to watch), than as a director. Interesting for curiosity value but a long way from being an essential.
Elaborating on what was said above, Stanwyck is tough and moving as always, not showing signs of overdoing it or any indifference. Cortez really surprised me, he is against type and he shows that he was as good at playing sympathetic roles as with playing sinister villains.
The other good performance came from the breath of fresh air Sally Blane. The song is great and so is the quite captivatingly shot opening sequence, the standout of the mostly quite good photography. The first portion is colourful and there are amusing and touching moments.
It is a shame that 'Two Cents a Dance' falls apart in some of the second half, where it starts to drag and can be soapy and a bit muddled. Photography aside, the production values are rather threadbare, especially the sparse sets. To me it was clear that the film was made on a low budget and hurriedly.
Barrymore's direction is rather too ordinary and can be static, still stand by my opinion of preferring him as an actor than as a director. Owsley disappoints badly, he has a very insufferably weak character and he never looks comfortable.
Concluding, see it for Stanwyck and Cortez but for good production values, direction and story it's best finding another film. 5/10