Joan Crawford tap danced her way from burlesque house to Broadway (and Clark Gable) in Dancing Lady, one of her biggest smash-hits, and a record-breaker for MGM. Its backstage story finds its strength in Crawford's performance, under the direction of “women's director” Robert Z. Leonard (who also directed several Garbo films, see Sunday, May 3), and in its lavishly-staged musical spectacle (in which Fred Astaire makes his film debut, in “Rhythm of the Day,” a number written for the film by Rodgers and Hart). Crawford plays a burlesque dancer determined, against all odds, to emerge “decent” - but successful - from the sleaze. Offered a job in the chorus of a Broadway musical by one of the show's backers (Franchot Tone), she accepts the job, but not the man. He sets about sabotaging her performance, while the show's dance director, Clark Gable, humiliates Crawford into proving her prowess before they join forces to make the show roll. Cast includes Sterling Holloway, Nelson Eddy, and Robert Benchley. (JB)