The Old Opera House is owned by S.B. Foss (J. Edward Bromberg). Foss has turned the opera house into a Burlesque theater featuring comics, dancing girls and striptease acts. The main attraction of the show is Dixie Daisy (Barbara Stanwyck). Comic Biff Brannigan (Michael O’Shea) is in love with Dixie but she is not really interested in starting a relationship with a comedian.
During one of the troupe’s performances, the theater is raided by the police. Everyone scatters. During the commotion someone tries to strangle Dixie. The performers are arrested and taken to jail. Foss bails them out. Tension between the performers starts to increase. A couple nights later one of the headliners, Lolita LaVerne (Victoria Faust), is strangled with a G-String garment used for her act.
Inspector Harrigan (Charles Dingle) is the head detective on the case. He assembles the cast together to interrogate everyone. The primary suspects turn out to be her boyfriend, Louis Grindero (Gerald Mohr), a kitchen worker, (Spencer Chan) that Lolita had a fight with earlier, and Dixie, who happened to be near the body when it was discovered. Several other people were also at odds with Lolita. The coroner reveals that the victim had been poisoned before she was strangled adding another layer to the investigation. Inspector Harrigan wonders if there are two people who wanted Lolita dead.
The show tries to go on, but during a performance another performer, Princess Nirvena (Stephanie Bachelor), is strangled with another G-string. Louis is accused and a shootout ensues. He falls to his death. Others believe that Louie killed both women, but Dixie isn’t so sure. She believes that someone else is responsible for the murders. That puts her in the crosshairs again.
“Lady of Burlesque” AKA “The G-String Murders” AKA “Striptease Lady” was released in 1943 and was directed by William A. Wellman. It is an American musical comedy with a little mystery tossed in. The movie was based on the mystery novel “The G-string Murders” by Gypsy Rose Lee. Lee, whose real name was Rose Louise Hovick, was one of the most famous strippers ever.
There are those that believe the novel was really written by mystery writer Craig Rice, who had been a friend and roommate of Ms. Lee. Then there are those that suggest Miss Lee did write the story with the help of editor and friend, George Davis. Why the assumption that Ms. Lee wasn’t the actual author is unclear. I suppose most people assumed that a stripper was uneducated but Ms. Lee wrote two mysteries, a memoir, and a play.
Most of the movie is musical numbers and comedy skits. Any actual striptease is non-existent, thanks to the Hayes Code. Of course the Code still had some issues with the film in the form of the G-string being the murder weapon but you can only change so much of a story and still have it the same story.
The movie is a little silly and not much of a thriller, but it is kind of fun. Barbara Stanwyck isn’t all that sexy as Dixie Daisy but she does have that raw snarky attitude that many streetwise women adopt. It is a bit chaotic and the suspects are numerous but it is an easy watch despite all the song and dance numbers getting in the way of the mystery.