Listening to Classic American Popular Songs by Allen Forte, Richard Lalli, Gary Chapman (2001).Introducing Bert Williams: Burnt Cork, Broadway, and the Story of America's First Black Star by Camille F.House That George Built, The by Wilfrid Sheed (2008).
American Popular Song: The Great Innovators, 1900-1950 by Alec Wilder (1972).America's Songs: The Stories Behind the Songs…by Philip Furia, Michael L.Always Magic in the Air: The Bomp and Brilliance of the Brill Building Era by Ken Emerson (2006).Alec Wilder Song Collection, The (2007).A Song in the Dark: The Birth of the Musical Film by Richard Barrios (1995).Oh, and it’s a MOVIE, and the night-club names are as ‘made up’ as the rest of it…. “Oh, fireman–save this child…” (and why does every transcription of the lyrics read “conscious” when it is clearly her CONSCIENCE that wants to take a vacation…? I mean, seriously?) The song is very tongue-in-cheek, filled with clever innuendo the staging is highly inventive the gorilla suit is wonderfully convincing Banton’s costumes (diamanté arrows piercing the platinum Afro and all) are witty and quite brilliant, and finally, Dietrich is obviously bemused by the whole thing and seems to be saying ‘I know this is essentially silly, but just watch me turn it into something highly entertaining and deeply memorable… Of course everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but I believe to dissect this wonderfully mad number ‘rationally’ entirely misses the point.
Well, somebody apparently doesn’t much care for ‘Hot Voodoo’ or Miss Marlene Dietrich for that matter, do they… Dietrich to “sing,” which she commences to do. Removal of the gorilla suit not only uncovers the clown outfit underneath, but it enables Ms. Some of the photos above reveal that, unlike the chorus girls, who are barefoot, the star wears a pair of pointed, low-heel pumps. She then removes the rest of the ape outfit to reveal a glittery, heavily sequined and ornamented costume, featuring metallic breast shields and festooned with tufts of ostrich feathers about the shoulders and hips. Unfortunately, following a brief pause in the music (2:19) that elicits applause, Dietrich begins to remove her gorilla costume.Īfter removing the head portion of the gorilla costume, Dietrich dons a blonde Shirley Temple-goes-Afro wig, which has the point and feather ends of two arrows stuck in it, arranged to give the appearance that the arrows have gone completely through the head. A gorilla is being led by them on a chain. They carry spears and painted shields, and wear large Afros (hairstyle) and heavy “tribal” face paint, the latter giving each face a mask-like appearance. The chorus of girls who accompany Dietrich in the number enter from the audience’s left, as the number begins, decked in sequined leotards, feather tutus, and otherwise equipped and adorned in pseudo-primitive-tribal style. IMDb indicates that the club at which the number is performed in the film is known as O’Connor’s.* It is sung by Marlene Dietrich, with dancing provided by a chorus. Lauren adapted from a story by Furthman and von Sternberg. Marlene Dietrich and chorus - in the film Blonde Venus (1932), produced and directed for Paramount Pictures by Josef von Sternberg with a screenplay by Jules Furthman and S. I want to start dancing, just wearing a smile
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