"Ladies of the Chorus" was a stepping stone in the career of actress Marilym Monroe, one of the few actresses who was so popular in her time and since that she has become part of our pop-culture. In this early film, you can see why she made such an impact on audiences and her male viewers. She has such vitality and a sweet flirtatiousness about her, along with her obvious looks. Here, she is the daughter of a former burlesque queen who is now part of the chorus, played by Adele Jergens, who in her own right was quite a respected and in-demand actress and who was quite a looker. When the star attraction gets into a fight and refuses to go on, the manager tells Adele to go on, as she still has "it." But she tells Marilyn to go out and do her stuff. Well, the rest is history. Despite the fact this is a 60 minute b-picture, the movie is surprisingly very involving and intriguing with plenty of zippy songs to keep your interest and to keep up the momentum. The only place it drags a little is when Adele tells her story of how she came to be a burlesque queen and have Marilyn. Her flashback contains two musical numbers and obviously doesn't have Marilyn. It seems that all this time a good friend of Adele has been in love with her, but she up and married someone else, a young and rich somebody. When Marilyn starts to get attention in that way, a young Rand Brooks (from "Gone with the Wind") falls in love with her. But what about Mother, who's a high member of the upper-crust? Will she approve? Will the upper-crust approve? Will Adele ever find love herself? "Ladies of the Chorus" makes the viewer ponder how a young lady would consider the life of a burlesque queen and what she must endure in that profession, and the film is just a taste of the blossoming Marilyn Monroe on her road to stardom and icon status.
Review of Ladies of the Chorus
