ornamental line

Gaming the Gaze

"these innocent victims of a man's avarice"
Dorothy Arzner's Dance, Girl, Dance (1940)


Points for Reflection

Dorothy Arzner's Dance, Girl, Dance (1940)

  1. Why might Dorothy Arzner open the film with a pan-tilt shot that descends at a diagonal from a fluorescent advertisement for a tire store to the Palais Royale entrance?
  2. The film’s monochromatic schema doesn’t allow us to recognize that Maureen O’Hara (Judy) has red hair—though Jimmy guesses that she’s Irish (6:10).  Why might it be important to establish her ethnicity early on?
  3. What do we learn about the sociohistorical trappings of this film’s chosen period in the first few minutes?
  4. Why might law enforcement swiftly change its apparent intentions in a matter of moments?
  5. How would you characterize the dancing troupe’s costuming, choreography, and song lyrics at the Palais Royale--as concerns style and intent?
  6. What type of audience—in terms of class, race, and gender—has chosen to attend this performance?
  7. What differences emerge during this opening dance routine which help distinguish Judy O’Brien and “Bubbles”?
  8. Why does Jimmy intervene in the nightclub?
  9. Why might Jimmy refrain from labeling folks’ contributions either “kindness” or “altruism,” instead calling it, vaguely, “something or other” (4:59)?
  10. To what music does Jimmy dance?
  11. What about Judy catches her dance partner’s eye towards the end of the opening scene?
  12. Which forms of touch initiated by men do women validate, and which do they repulse?
  13. When Jimmy stepped into the midst of things at the nightclub, he refers to the dancing troupe as “‘innocent victims of a man’s avarice’” (4:41). Does the rest of the film support this observation?  Do each of the women strike you as “innocent victims”?
  14. As she explains to Sally, what is it that allows Judy to brush off recent relational disappointment so easily?
  15. Bubbles observes that she doesn’t need to “‘crack [her] joints to get where [she’s] going. [She’s] got brains” (9:25).  Does Bubbles use her body and brain equally to achieve her goals, or rely on one over the other?
  16. Why introduce New York with an establishing shot of the New York Times?
  17. What do Elinor’s and Jimmy’s interactions reveal about the nature of their relationship, past and present?
  18. Why fade to black instead of using a dissolve at the end of the first scene set in the Harrison’s home?
  19. How wide is the divide between what does Madame Lydia Basilova wishes to do with the women she trains, and what she has recently been doing?
  20. Though Hula has a long history in Hawai’i, Basilova says “‘A hula is not dancing,’” referring to Americanized versions of the style.  What does she mean?
  21. Though Mr. Kajoolian does not clearly define what he wants in a dance act, it’s clear that he’s seeking what?
  22. Does Dorothy Arzner’s use of back projection in the street scenes outside Stephen Adam’s ballet make it difficult for a twenty-first century audience to buy into what they’re watching?
  23. What type of dance material interests Stephen Adams most, and is the stated preference (revealed in a conversation with Miss Olmstead) reflected in the dance routine we see on the stage he oversees?
  24. Would you call the dance number we see on this theater’s stage progressive?
  25. Why does Judy not gracefully accept Steve’s offer of assistance in the rain?
  26. When Bubbles reappears with a new outfit, and new name, does her success appear to have altered her character?
  27. What language does Bailey Brothers use to entice customers?
  28. What particular ideas underpin the choreography and lyrics of Tiger Lily’s Act?
  29. Describe the composition of Tiger Lily White’s audience.
  30. What is the intended purpose of Judy’s dance?
  31. Can you identify anything ironic about the audience’s response to Judy?
  32. Is anyone in the theater, to speak colloquially, in Judy's corner during her first performance following Tiger Lily White?
  33. What distinguishes Tiger Lily’s dance from Judy’s first act?
  34. Why might Tiger Lily’s second act follow the first, instead of reversing the order?
  35. Was Tiger Lily’s offer to Judy a kindness?
  36. What does Mr. Fitch jokingly accuse Steve of hiding?
  37. Is Jimmy in full control of his faculties when he shows up at the performance?
  38. What benefits does the cab driver attach to Tiger Lily’s performance?
  39. Does Jimmy refer to Judy as a woman or a girl?
  40. What does Jimmy tell Judy, and himself, in an effort to alter their trajectory?
  41. Having completed the film, would you class it as a love story? Why or why not?


a painting of a desert scape with blue sky and clouds in the top half and tan and red rocks on the bottom half. there is an abandoned old car in the bottom right overgrown with moss and plants.
Untitled (1937)
Salvador Dalí



Dr. Paul Marchbanks
pmarchba@calpoly.edu