Barbara Stanwyck can be yours for "Ten Cents a Dance"

Ten Cents a Dance (1931) is an American pre-Code romantic drama directed by Lionel Barrymore and starring Barbara Stanwyck, Ricardo Cortez, Monroe Owsley, and Sally Blane.

Barbara O'Neill (Stanwyck) is a taxi dancer at the Palais de Dance, a dance hall in New York City. Bradley Carlton, a wealthy patron gives Barbara $100 because he enjoys her company.

When Barbara discovers that Eddie Miller, a tenant at the same boarding house in which she lives is about to skip town because he is behind on his rent, she gives him the $100. Barbara asks Bradley to provide Eddie with a job, which he agrees to do. It isn't too long before Eddie and Barbara fall in love and Barbara quits the dance hall at Eddie's insistence.

Eddie grows dissatisfied with his life and starts to gamble and embezzle money from Bradley's company. Everything comes crumbling down and Eddie and Barbara's marriage is in trouble.

Will Eddie and Barbara work out their financial and marital problems? And what about Bradley? Where does he fit in?

Lionel Barrymore (1878 - 1954) was an American stage, screen, and radio actor. He was also a film director in the era of silent and early talking pictures. He is the older brother of Ethel and John Barrymore. Barrymore won a Best Actor Academy Award for his work in A Free Soul (1931). He is probably most famous for his screen portrayal of Mr. Potter in Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life (1946).  Other films he starred in include Dinner at Eight (1933), The Little Colonel (1935) with Shirley Temple, Duel in the Sun (1946), and Key Largo (1948).

Barbara Stanwyck (1907 – 1990) was an American film star who got her acting start with a supporting role on Broadway in a play called The Noose (1926). The next year she had the lead in another Broadway production, Burlesque which was a huge hit. She eventually made it to Hollywood where her success was not immediate. Director Frank Capra saw something in Stanwyck and he educated her in filmmaking and film acting and the rest is history. Stanwyck was nominated four times for the Best Actress Oscar—Stella Dallas (1937), Ball of Fire (1941), Double Indemnity (1945), Sorry, Wrong Number (1948)—and remains one of the most beloved movie stars from Hollywood’s Golden Age.

Ricardo Cortez (1900 - 1977) was an American actor and film director. He was born Jacob Kranze or Krantz to Jewish parents in New York City. Because of his Latin-like features, he benefited from the popularity of top silent film stars Rudolph Valentino and Ramon Novarro. He was the first actor to play Sam Spade in the original pre-Code version of The Maltese Falcon (1931). Besides his acting career, Cortez directed several B-movies for 20th Century Fox. After retiring from films, he worked as a stockbroker for Solomon Brothers on Wall Street.

Monroe Owsley (1900 - 1937) was an American stage and film actor. Owsley got his start on the stage and made his film debut in 1928. He was in the original film version of Holiday (1930) in the role played by Lew Ayres in the 1938 version. In the early 1930s, he was cast opposite Clara Bow, Bette Davis, Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Crawford, and Kay Francis. On June 7, 1937, Owsley died of a heart attack. He was 36 years old.

Sally Blane (1910 - 1997) was an American actress who acted in silent films as a child. She acted in silent films as an adult and continued acting in film through most of the 1930s. Her last film credit was in A Bullet for Joey (1955) starring Edward G. Robinson and George Raft. She was married to actor Norman Foster.

Ten Cents a Dance trivia

• The first and the last talking picture directed by Lionel Barrymore.
• Sally Blane who plays Molly is the sister of Loretta Young. Blane was married to actor/director Norman Foster from 1935 until he died in 1976.
• The film was inspired by the song "Ten Cents a Dance" by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart.

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Click HERE to watch the movie on YouTube.

Discussion questions

1. What did you think of 25-year-old Stanwyck's performance? Did she seem convincing as a taxi dancer?
2. Were you surprised to learn that Lionel Barrymore was the film's director?
3. What did you think of Monroe Owsley as Stanwyck's husband Eddie?
4. Ricardo Cortez was promoted as a "Latin lover" early in his career. Did you like him as the rich businessman in this film? Was he convincing in his scenes with Stanwyck?
5. Did this film surprise you in any way?
6. Was the ending believable? Was it satisfying?

Ricardo Cortez and Barbara Stanwyck