In Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933), Ginger Rogers plays Fay Fortune, a chorus girl who, with her friends, tries to put on a show during the Great Depression while also looking for wealthy husbands. Directed by Mervyn LeRoy, with choreography by Busby Berkeley, the musical is famous for its spectacular numbers, including We’re in the Money, sung by Rogers in pig Latin.
Rogers brings a sharp, funny edge to Fay, and her performance in the film’s opening number, in which the chorus girls sing in giant coins, is iconic. Gold Diggers of 1933 remains a dazzling example of the early 1930s musical, and it helped to establish Rogers as a star.
