User reviews

... I wouldn't give you a plugged nickel for that heel husband of hers.

When we first meet Barbara O'Neill (Barbara Stanwyck) she's hustling dances at a dime a piece in a cheap Depression era dance hall. She seems to have a good enough head on her shoulders, one good enough to prevent her from descending down into prostitution or believing the lies of the customers that might want things to go further. This is not the tough hardened Stanwyck of Baby Face. However she genuinely likes Bradley Carlton (Ricardo Cortez), a wealthy businessman who just enjoys talking to her. She asks him for one favor, and that not for herself - to hire an out of work and soon to be homeless young guy who lives at the same boarding house she does, Eddie Miller (Monroe Owsley). She gets her favor.

For some reason the common sense Barbara has with men in the dance hall seems to elude her when it comes to Eddie. Beggars can't be choosers, but unfortunately so many are and Eddie is no exception. When he learns Barbara is working in a dance hall, not a dance school as she told him, he busts in and insists she quits and manages to fit a proposal somewhere in there too. The two hastily marry, and Eddie, once so grateful for a forty dollar a week job that would keep him fed and a roof over his head soon wants more than he has - more of a job, a higher class lifestyle, maybe even a higher class woman. I'll let you watch and see where all of this goes.

It was fun to see Ricardo Cortez playing a good guy for a change - not a doormat - just a good guy. I also really liked the playing of the title song in its entirety after the movie ends - it was a nice Depression era touch.

This relic from before the days of the Production Code and the Hays Office is good fun, not great but entertaining.

Based on a song by Rogers & Hart that was an enormous hit at the time, the story revolves around dance hall girl Barbara Stanwyck who is romanced by wealthy businessman Ricardo Cortez (who was indecently handsome), but whose heart belongs to her bookish neighbor Monroe Owsley. She and Owsley marry, but keep it a secret, while she dismisses Cortez, who still holds out hope. She helps hubby get a job in Cortez's company, but married bliss quickly turns sour as Owsley develops a taste for the high life and steps out with a college sweetheart and gambles in high-stakes bridge (Yup! I know, it's pretty funny....). Finally he embezzles $5,000 from Cortez, and is about to go on the lam, when his devoted wife goes to Cortez....and I won't reveal anything else, although the ending was certainly a surprise.

Stanwyck is the best thing about this movie; in one of her earliest roles she's quite accomplished. Owsley is the weak point; he's unattractive and sniveling, while Cortez is amazingly suave and sexy, while his performance is earnest but unremarkable.

While ostensibly a drama, it's filled with laughs, many inadvertant as some elements of this movie have aged very poorly. But there are a lot of good witty lines; at one point Stanwyck says to Cortez, "My brains are in my feet, while yours are in...." That's pretty darn suggestive for 1931! There's a lot of bawdy and suggestive stuff in this flick, in the last days before the Code clamped down and whitewashed everything. An amusing antique, a good reminder of how far we haven't come in 70 years....this story could very easily be changed to fit 2003 but could keep the basic plot, with the original ending, in place.

Ten Cents a Dance (1931)

*** (out of 4)

Criminally underrated drama about a woman (Barbara Stanwyck) working at a dance hall who agrees to marry a poor man (Monroe Owsley) even though she could have had a rich man (Ricardo Cortez) who was in love with her. Soon after the marriage the woman learns that her husband is a womanizer and a thief but she's forced to ask the rich man for money when her husband falls into some major trouble. I had read so many negative reviews about this thing (including one in Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide) that it really took me by surprised and I'd probably go as far as to call it one of the most underrated and un-appreciated films from this era. I'm not going to say this is a lost masterpiece or some important piece of film history but it's certainly a highly entertaining gem that deserves to be re-discovered. What really caught me off guard was the performance of Stanwyck who is quite remarkable. She made a career out of playing tough women who wouldn't take any crap from anyone but here she's the complete opposite as her character is so weak and fragile that it really shocked me at how terrific the actress played it. Just take a look at the first ten minutes when she's forced to be tough inside the dance hall but then the next scene she's falling for the sad story being told to her by Owsley. The compassion Stanwyck expresses in this scene is something I've never seen from her and the eventual weakness of her character is something else I've never seen her do. She handles all of this extremely well and it really made me wish we had gotten to see more roles like this. Sure, she's a legend playing the tough girl but she really was remarkable here and sold every inch of her character. Owsley is also terrific as he too has different sides of his character and he does both of them with ease. I thought he was terrific as the sweet, friendly guy that Stanwyck marries and that sleazy side comes across without any issues. Cortez is another major plus getting to play a soft-hearted guy. Barrymore's direction is pretty straight-forward as he doesn't go for much style but instead lets the performance lead the film. I thought he did a very good job at keeping the drama going and it's a shame this turned out to be his last directorial job. The film is based on a popular song of the day and when I saw this on the credits I thought we were going to be in for a long and boring film but it was the complete opposite. This Columbia film has pretty much been forgotten, which is a real shame but hopefully more people will give it a shot. Film buffs will also notice a line that would become legendary in CASABLANCA but here it is over a decade earlier.

Columbia programmer "inspired by the song by Rodgers and Hart," and in fact it's sung over the credits, including the "pansy" line, which got censored in future film renditions. But all it really inspires is the setting, a dime-a-dance hall, where Stanwyck, in an early, prototypical role, is pursued by a rich (Cortez) and poor (Owsley) guy, and in a clever reversal, the nice-seeming poor guy turns out to be a cad and the rich guy is genuine and caring. Stanwyck's facial expressions alone are touching and assured, and she even cries convincingly, unlike many more actressy actresses of the period. Owsley is callow and unlikable, but then that's what he's playing, and Cortez underplays well, with liquid eyes that are indeed the mirrors to this character's soul. It's indifferently directed by Lionel Barrymore and has little in production value, but Jo Swerling's screenplay isn't bad, and the pre-Code candor is a treat.

Back in the day when couples actually held each other while dancing the kind of place Barbara Stanwyck works in Ten Cents A Dance was fairly popular. Ten cents went a lot farther in those days. Today even given inflation you would pay a whole lot more and the dance would be on your lap.

One of Barbara's special customers is Ricardo Cortez, a man who's kept his business during the Depression and successfully, no easy task. She asks him to give one of her fellow boarders at her rooming house, Monroe Owsley a job in the firm. It seems to work out all around and she and Owsley get married.

But Owsley is a weak character and a poor gambler, losing money in penny ante card games and of all things playing the market in 1931, not a very sound idea. He embezzles $5000.00 from Cortez's firm. This is where Barbara has to make some critical choices, separate the men from the boys so to speak.

Lionel Barrymore who did some directing before the Oscar he won for A Free Soul brought him a contract with MGM to exclusively act directed this pre-Code potboiler. He does get good performances out of the three principal players. Another you won't forget is Sally Blane as the underage dime a dance girl and Blanche Frederici as the morals custodian of the dime a dance girls in her establishment.

Owsley who made a specialty of playing bad or weak characters died much too young. As for Barbara the role was definitely a boost for her young career at the time.

This movie begins in a night club called the "Palais de Dance" with a woman named "Barbara O'Neill" (Barbara Stanwyck) getting paid to dance with customers. As it turns out, her mind isn't in her work lately because she has just developed a crush on a man named "Eddie Miller" (Monroe Owsley) who resides in the same apartment complex as her. Unfortunately, Eddie is rather down on his luck and without steady employment plans to skip town soon. As luck would have it, however, a rich young man named "Bradley Carlton" (Ricardo Cortez) becomes quite inebriated and proceeds to give Barbara a large tip of $100--which she then passes along to Eddie to pay his bills. Not only that, but a day or two later she also convinces Bradley to hire Eddie at his firm as an accountant. In any case, one thing leads to another and eventually Eddie and Barbara get married which prompts Barbara to quit her job. Unfortunately, although they love each other Eddie gets discouraged about his work and tends to squander money in the stock market and cards. Unable to pay the bills, Barbara returns to the night club in secret to make a few bucks to make ends meet but it isn't nearly enough to pay off the substantial debts Eddie owes. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a surprisingly pleasant film which still retains its charm after more than 85 years. I especially liked the acting of Barbara Stanwyck who really seemed well suited for this particular role. Admittedly, being an older film, this picture might not appeal to all viewers but regardless of that fact I enjoyed it and have rated it accordingly. Above average.

I was so impressed and enchanted by this flick. Barabara the dime-per-dance girl is such a beautiful person inside and out, self-sarificing and sweet. The older gent who loves her is a gentleman through and through. The integrity of these characters really shines forth, like they are two angels. The young husband does not seem to be a bad sort at first, but it turns out he is a lousy scoundrel. I think the writing that went into the screeenplay of this flick is very fine, with many wonderful lines which actually restore your faith in mankind. As it turns out, the nice people attract the nice people and they end up living with each other and the scoundrels go wherever scoundrels belong.

Fans of pre-Code films will forgive this 1931 Columbia Pictures feature directed by Lionel Barrymore (his last directorial effort) if only because it stars Barbara Stanwyck in an early role. As is the case with all stars, she is even then true in every moment, entirely believable, and far surpasses the wooden script and the rest of the cast. Most embarrassing is Monroe Owsley as her no-good husband; he is particularly bad, totally false, overacting. Ricardo Cortez has a thankless role and does his best. This is a perfect example of how a star can make something out of nothing by the sheer power of her personality.

Soon after this effort, Lionel Barrymore went back to acting full-time. I wouldn't blame him. Although Stanwyck is excellent as usual, this is a slight tale, typical of the time, that she alone makes worth watching—one time only. There's something frustrating, moreover, about how her character remains faithfully committed to the lout played by Monroe Owsley for so long. I suppose we have to accept that behavior which in our day would seem masochistic was the cultural norm in 1931 for most women. On the Pre-Code front, there's a gum-chewing scene stealer, foxy Sally Blane as Molly, a newbie who can't wait to dive into the sleazy dance hall world, although Stanwyck tries to advise her (and immediately says she knows that Molly is underage).

What brings everything down is the low budget. Columbia could mount a good-looking feature from time to time, but in 1931, I suppose they weren't doing it very much. The art director does suggest the opulence of Ricardo Cortez's apartment effectively without showing its interior; we get the idea from the lobby, hallway leading up to his door and vestibule, with its snazzy Spanish California motif. But the rest of the picture is pretty threadbare, and Barrymore's direction seems perfunctory and hurried, as if pressured by budget and schedule constraints (I hasten to add that budget is not necessarily everything; take a look at the excellent, absorbing Five Star Final, which basically takes place in two newspaper offices and an apartment living room, to see how resourcefully such conditions can be handled).

As for the story itself, it looks like it was dreamed up by somebody and sketched out on the back of an envelope all in the space of one afternoon. If Barrymore felt dispirited, he sure showed 'em, going into "A Free Soul" this very year, where his performance blew everybody's minds and won him a lifetime MGM contract. The song of the title is pretty good; we hear but do not see it performed by a torchy vocalist.

After nearly twenty reviews appearing here, the roster is not begging for another, but I don't mind acknowledging one more time the hold that this film can exert on the viewer. Atmosphere abounds, what with some of the popular tunes of the day played in vernacular dance band style, not in the polished string-section renditions that are made today. From the concern and drudgery of life for those folks precariously hanging onto the rungs of the lower and middle social strata to those still holding onto the opulence and prestige derived from providing jobs to working America, Mr. Barrymore and his crew of thespians offer a sparkling but yet gritty glimpse into America's social scene and concerns in the time just after the Great Depression's curtain descended. See what living in America looked like in 1931! The acting is so natural, convincing, and consistent throughout the film that I was totally melded into the lives of the characters portrayed. And what a role for Miss Stanwyck... is there an emotion or state of mind that she doesn't have to portray here? I mean desperation, anticipation, deception, excitement, boredom, realization of hatred, sweetness, disgust, indignity, anxiety, resignation, humiliation, and much more! Her character has a lot of power... she only has to learn how to know it and use it. And she is so beautiful... with a sleek figure like a cut diamond. As men might have said in the day, "What a dish!" "Ten Cents a Dance" may be 80 or more years old now, but both women and men can take lessons from this film on how to relate to the opposite sex, how not to relate, and what it means to be the sex they are. There are no 3, 24, or 56 genders represented here. And while so many films from just five years or less into the "talkie" era seem today to be stilted and old, this one seems young and vibrant. It is a remarkably enjoyable film, so please, by all means settle in and enjoy it!

Between the tacky title and the pre-Code year (1931), I was expecting a carload of cheap thrills. Happily, the first ten minutes does deliver. There's the tawdry lineup of taxi dancers waiting to get mauled; the over-loud bouncy band; and the tacky guys eager for ten cents of hard-boiled maybe's. Then there's the dressing room where the girls get to trade war stories and smooth out their nylons. No, it's not exactly the uptown social register, but it is colorful as heck. Plus, the slinky, gum-popping Stanwyck couldn't be more at home.

But then the story goes all soap-opera, as Barbara (Stanwyck) tries to hang onto her philandering husband, a very un-charismatic Eddie (Owsley), who also happens to steal from his employer (Cortez) who also happens to be an uptown socialite who also happens to have a yen for Barbara, of all people. Yes, it does get a little confusing. But hang on anyway, since our suddenly very faithful ex-taxi dancer has to suffer big time in order to deserve her eventual reward. I expect there wasn't a dry eye in the house.

No, I didn't get the cheap thrill carload I was hoping for. But Stanwyck does compensate for a lot. Plus I really liked the camaraderie amongst the girls, sort of like what you find among men in combat. But then I guess that fits. Anyhow, if you have a preference for weepies and gum-popping dames, this stone age talky fills the bill.

Barbara Stanwyck's character isn't that usual confident and sexually charged young woman she had perfected back in the early 30s. In this she is more fragile but as you'd expect from her, she pulls this role off perfectly. In this life her job is being a brassy dance hall hostess selling herself to sex hungry men but trying hard not to let this seedy occupation encroach on her actual life. In that life she is an optimist, an innocent girl waiting for Mr Right to sweep her off her feet - but she's a realist too and when she's given the option of a young handsome millionaire who seems too good to be true or a guy, down on his luck from her own apartment block she picks whom she considers the sensible choice. Wrong!

Unlike in most pictures, this millionaire is actually as good as he seems (if not better). Barbara's guy from the apartment turns out to be a monster. Not an over the top movie monster but a believable vulnerable young man with his own issues. His insidious nastiness fuelled by his own insecurities and self loathing quickly bubbles up to the surface making him a cruel bully coercively controlling his doting vulnerable wife. We the audience can see this happening long before his devoted , loyal wife and we're shouting at her to wake up and see the truth but she muddles on in her own rose coloured fantasy world towards disaster. You can see similar stories being played out today both on tv and in sadly in the real world. This isn't the best portrayal of such 'toxic relationships' but it's interesting to see a 1931 take on this.

Despite the naturalistic acting, a bit part for Loretta Young's sister, the wonderful way this brilliantly captures the feel of 1931 (as a piece of time travel, this picture's fabulous) it's not "a great film." Lionel Barrymore, for a change is not acting but directing and he does a reasonable job (although I can't see anything which particularly demonstrating any individuality or style). It does however succeed absolutely in the goal of any motion picture - it affects you emotionally. The Barbara character is a bit wet but you definitely empathise with her. You will also definitely hate that pig she ends up with.

One of the last films DIRECTED by Lionel Barrymore, "Ten Cents a Dance" stars Barbara Stanwyck as the dance-hall girl "Barbara" in her sixth role. Stanwyck looks quite "plain-jane" in this one, and opens with her getting chewed out by the dance hall manager. Then along comes rich guy Bradley Carlton (Ricardo Cortez) who wants to sweep her off her feet. (Cortez and Stanwyck had made three films together in the 1930s.) Then she meets Eddie, who's very different from the dashing Carlton. The writer, Jo Swerling, had worked on some biggies (Its a Wonderful Life, Guys and Dolls, and Gone with the Wind) so I was surprised that the characters and script in this were so ordinary. The story starts getting more interesting about halfway thru, and is VERY similar to "The Bride Walks Out" from 1936, ALSO starring Stanwyck.... T.B.W.O. is much more clever, but also more tame, due to on-slaught of the Hays code...

It's interesting how two movies can look so alike, yet be different because of some small disparities between the two. "Ten Cents a Dance" gave me flashbacks of "The Easiest Way" (1931) starring Constance Bennett. In that movie Constance Bennett played a woman between two men, one rich and one poor. The rich man was the cause of her losing her love (the poor man) because she needed money.

In "Ten Cents a Dance" Barbara O'Neill (Barbara Stanwyck) found herself somewhat caught between two men. She was a dance girl at a night spot where a guy could pay ten cents to dance with the many girls who stood on the railing on the outskirts of the dance floor. Barbara's first suitor was a wealthy man named Bradley Carlton (Ricardo Cortez), a very suave pencil mustached man who loved to give Barbara lavish gifts. But the guy who captured Barbara's heart was Eddie Miller (Monroe Owsley), a guy down on his luck, but simply sweet. That is until they got married.

Money would be a problem in their relationship, solely because of Eddie, which would bring Bradley back into the picture.

"Ten Cents a Dance" featured one of the most solid, upstanding rich men on film. Bradley took his loss of Barbara very well and didn't interfere in her marriage. Later, when she needed help, he again was above reproach with his dealings with her. I like this movie because of that. It's not that I don't want to see rich people maligned (I couldn't care an iota less about that), I just wanted to see a less lascivious, less shady rich man in love.

Free on YouTube.

Lackluster Directing by Lionel Barrymore and the Slightest of Production Values Hampers this Little Pre-Coder. It Fails to be Much of a Movie but does have Some Interesting Artifacts of the Time.

The Razor Thin Difference Between Dancing for a Dime and Taking Money for Sex (Prostitution) is On Display Here with Some Double-Speak Dialog. There are a Few Intriguing Peaks at Behind the Scenes at the Dance Hall.

Barbara Stanwyck is Fine and Her Acting Talent is On Display in Many a Scenes as She Carries the Film Vacillating Between "Dancing" for a Living and Fulfilling Her Wifely Duties in the Home. Ricardo Cortez is Good as a "Decent" Rich Guy (for a change in the 1930's) and is Warm and Approachable.

The Film is No Great Shakes but is Worth a Watch for the World of Depression Era Girls at Work and Play, and a Good Soap Opera Plot. After the Code, the Divorce Angle, So Integral to the Story would have made This One a No-No.

Barbara O'Neil (Barbra Stanwyck) is a taxi dancer with little time for most men she meets until she bails out near do well Eddie Miller (Monroe Owsley). She also manages to get him employment with the kind, respectful customer (Ricardo Cortez) who who also has designs on her, though with the noblest of intentions. She marries Eddie who turns out to be a first rate weasal as he cheats on Barbra and embezzles from Bradley.

One of Stanwyck's finer early performances as she endures degrading by Miller, principle with with Bradley. Hard as nails on the job or romantically naïve with the craven Miller, she carries both off convincingly like she had and would throughout the 30s in similar roles.

Monroe Owsley is a superb snake in more than one scene, an effective vile coward in others. Cortez is both charming and convincingly composed, his scenes with Stanwyck graceful in direct contrast to the rambunctious dance hall. Blanche Fedirici as the dancers supervisor Mrs. Blanchard is a wonderful foil andpitch perfect while Sally Blane as Molly in a fascinating low key sub plot slowly deteriorates from wide eye kid to cynical burned out dancer over the films short period.

Under the steady direction of Lionel Barrymore who stages and gets fine performances from his cast delivering Jo Swerlings very civil script Ten Cents a Dance is a bargain of a film.

Although it may be easy to be put off by the somewhat cheesy title that misleads you as to what 'Ten Cents a Dance' is about, not quite what you expect, one cannot go wrong with the choice of leads. Stanwyck made anything better and always rose above her material (even when it was not very good, which did happen numerous times early on before she peaked). It was interesting to see Ricardo Cortez as a good guy as was seeing how Lionel Barrymore fares as a director.

Stanwyck and Cortez do come off very well and are much better than the material that they are given to work with here. Owsley is not well served and always did much prefer Barrymore as an actor, where he often stole scenes in supporting roles (although never a "subtle" actor, very theatrical like his brother John late-career, he was always fun to watch), than as a director. Interesting for curiosity value but a long way from being an essential.

Elaborating on what was said above, Stanwyck is tough and moving as always, not showing signs of overdoing it or any indifference. Cortez really surprised me, he is against type and he shows that he was as good at playing sympathetic roles as with playing sinister villains.

The other good performance came from the breath of fresh air Sally Blane. The song is great and so is the quite captivatingly shot opening sequence, the standout of the mostly quite good photography. The first portion is colourful and there are amusing and touching moments.

It is a shame that 'Two Cents a Dance' falls apart in some of the second half, where it starts to drag and can be soapy and a bit muddled. Photography aside, the production values are rather threadbare, especially the sparse sets. To me it was clear that the film was made on a low budget and hurriedly.

Barrymore's direction is rather too ordinary and can be static, still stand by my opinion of preferring him as an actor than as a director. Owsley disappoints badly, he has a very insufferably weak character and he never looks comfortable.

Concluding, see it for Stanwyck and Cortez but for good production values, direction and story it's best finding another film. 5/10

1931 also presented "an American tragedy", the original tale of "who will he take up with, poor girl or rich girl". this was a truly entertaining film. Babs stanwyck was a pretty as she could be, ditto sally blane. Monroe owsley, unmemorably played Babs's husband. i had never heard of him, but i thought he bore a good physical resemblance to bing Crosby of "the big broadcast" ('32), even a receding hairline and wingy ears. Ricardo cortez, the rich playboy with a heart of gold. a true movie pioneer going wayyy back. the dilemma is resolved at the end, to the strains of the title and i believe Annette hanshaw had the hit recording, although the off-screen voice did very well. i also enjoyed the dance hall scenes. i'm sure they were authentic; the band, a leading one of the time was superb. good job, Lionel Barrymore!!!!

"Barbara" (Barbara Stanwyck) works in one of those dance halls where the managers charge 10 cents to dance with her - unless they are at table drinking (she's partial to milk!). It's not really a marriage of true love, but she ends up marrying the petty waster "Eddie" (Monroe Owsley) - a man who steals left, right and centre from his boss to stay one step ahead of his gambling debts. When she realises the size of the hole he's in, she borrows $5,000 from a wealthy client to bail him out. His reaction is the final straw for her patience with this relationship and she turns to a more practical solution with her loved-up benefactor "Carlton" (Ricardo Cortez). Thing is, that doesn't really make anyone very happy either... Lionel Barrymore directs this and he keeps it engaging enough as the plot itself regurgitates a fairly well trammelled triangular romantic drama. It's really Stanwyck who stands out as a star - she steals each scene simply by being on screen. There is a degree of chemistry between all three of the characters, but the ones with the pretty odious "Eddie" worked better as tempers fray. There is also a strong sense of camaraderie depicted between the gals who are trapped in a cycle of paw or be pawed and though the production is basic, it's still a watch hinting at what's to come from this actress.

There are lots of people out there who find it an enjoyable quest to watch every pre-Code movie they can get their hands on. If you belong to that crowd, you can search for the easily accessible Ten Cents a Dance, starring a very young Barbara Stanwyck and directed by Lionel Barrymore. If you're not in that crowd, you might just be drawn in by those two names and then get severely disappointed. This movie isn't that good, and it's painfully dated.

As you can guess by the song, whose title inspired the movie, Barbara is a dance hall girl struggling for money. She has to put up with losers and men who pinch, all for the price of a dime. Of course, there's a love triangle between a poor man and a rich man, but sometimes when movies were made in 1931, the dialogue is a little hard to relate to. The good news is Barbara Stanwyck made tons of pre-Code movies so you can pick a couple and check them out.