One of the highlights of the Broadway musical version of the 1933 movie musical classic "42nd Street" is when the character of Maggie breaks into this song to encourage newcomer Peggy Sawyer on how to get a job in a Broadway chorus. It is performed quite differently here, sung as a solo at a key moment near the dramatic conclusion as Ruby Keeler, the original Peggy, is lying injured in her dressing room. "Go Into Your Dance" is a near brilliant musical drama which was the only time that Al Jolson and Keeler (then husband and wife) worked together on film other than a cameo as part of a movie premiere in "Show Girl in Hollywood" (1930), made before Keeler went onto fame as a movie musical hoofer. The story focuses on Jolson, a troubled Broadway star, whose drunken antics have gotten him blacklisted and resorting to breaking into the act in nightclubs in Mexico. In fact, when first seen, he's nearly attacked by a jealous Mexican nightclub owner (Akim Tamiroff) for insulting the star player, but his drunken good humor gets him out of this mess like it has any other. When his big hearted younger sister (Glenda Farrell) finds him, she drags him back to New York, and thanks to Keeler and former hoofer co-star Patsy Kelly, gets a chance for a comeback at a swank nightclub where Keeler works on sobering him up for good.
This is chalk full of musical goodies, whether it be Keeler's cocktail number, Jolson singing along to "About a Quarter to Nine" while Keeler dances, and later another production number, "She's a Latin From Manhattan" and finally the title song. The legendary Helen Morgan seems to be playing a character not unlike herself, singing a "Bill" like torch song ("The Little Things You Used to Do"), playing the mistress of mobster Barton MacLane whom Farrell is suddenly accused of killing, setting the mob onto Jolson. There's more plot than normal here than the typical movie musical, and while the cast and studio would indicate that it was Busby Berkeley who choreographed the musical numbers, it was Warner Brothers' other major dance director (for which he got an Oscar Nomination), Bobby Connelly who took on that responsibility. Jolson gets sole top billing over the title, even though Keeler was already being top billed in her movie musicals opposite Dick Powell, giving an indication to one reason why their marriage was on the rocks. In spite of any personal issues, that doesn't show on screen however, and they are simply dynamite together.
This is chalk full of musical goodies, whether it be Keeler's cocktail number, Jolson singing along to "About a Quarter to Nine" while Keeler dances, and later another production number, "She's a Latin From Manhattan" and finally the title song. The legendary Helen Morgan seems to be playing a character not unlike herself, singing a "Bill" like torch song ("The Little Things You Used to Do"), playing the mistress of mobster Barton MacLane whom Farrell is suddenly accused of killing, setting the mob onto Jolson. There's more plot than normal here than the typical movie musical, and while the cast and studio would indicate that it was Busby Berkeley who choreographed the musical numbers, it was Warner Brothers' other major dance director (for which he got an Oscar Nomination), Bobby Connelly who took on that responsibility. Jolson gets sole top billing over the title, even though Keeler was already being top billed in her movie musicals opposite Dick Powell, giving an indication to one reason why their marriage was on the rocks. In spite of any personal issues, that doesn't show on screen however, and they are simply dynamite together.