Shirley Jean Rickert aka Gilda – The A-B-C’s of Love 1953

Shirley Jean Rickert aka Gilda – The A-B-C’s of Love 1953

Original was uploaded on 2022-12-25

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Where then does The A-B-Cs of Love fit into the spectrum? Having now seen it three times (for some damn reason), I feel safe in saying that while it isn’t the worst burlesque film I’ve seen (Duke Goldstone’s Hollywood Burlesque, which seems to have been filmed entirely from the balcony of the theater it’s ostensibly taking place in, is probably my low-water mark for this sort of thing), neither is it much beyond passable, and director Lillian Hunt has done better work, including my current favorite B Girl Rhapsody. When it comes to girl-watching, The A-B-Cs of Love is not really the film upon which to mount that defense – its representation of the ecdysiastic arts is one of the less thrilling ones I’ve seen in this genre, with two dancers (Jill Adams’s tap-dance routine and Helen Lewis’s spirited can-can) removing zero clothing and at least one dancer (May Blondell) whose lack of enthusiasm is palpable. (It doesn’t help Ms. Blondell that the post-dubbed music, in an unusual choice, falls out of sync with her routine at a number of points, nor does it help that print damage has shorn away about a third of her screentime.) Bebe Hughes’s cute-coy spinning jig is the undeniable highlight; further tips of the cap go to whomever decided to play the glockenspiel when Blaza Glory starts vigorously shaking her assets and to the cameraman for setting up a real shock-twist by pulling in to highlight headliner Gilda’s seductive hair flip after holding every shot at a standard medium length for the previous 60 minutes.
Director – Lillian Hunt
Stars – Shirley Jean Rickert – Mae Blondell – Helen Lewis
Comedy/Drama
Country of origin – United States
Language – English
Production company – Billiken Productions

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