Never having seen the stage play by this same name, I can't compare a stage production to the movie. But as a movie, "Du Barry Was a Lady" needs to stand on its own. I remember watching Red Skelton and Lucille Ball on their TV shows. Everyone knows about Lucy. I think Skelton was terrific on TV. His comedy characters, Clem Kadiddlehopper and Freddie the Freeloader especially always got tons of laughs, and skits with his guest stars often had we viewers rolling with laughter. I've seen a couple of Skelton movies that were fairly good, and several in which Lucille Ball was quite good. Unfortunately, this is not a good film for either star, or for Gene Kelly. I read a couple of reviews that seemed to make excuses for MGM having to scrap much of the stage original stuff to satisfy censors. I don't buy it. I think that's letting MGM and the writers, directors and everyone off the hook. All one has to do to verify this is to look at the many good and great comedy romance and musical films that Hollywood was producing at the time. No, this one suffers from a lack of anything very funny, and I think that rests with the writers first. This just isn't a very good screenplay. It isn't funny, and its so choppy that we get poor performances out of the main stars. Still, I give this film six stars for one reason -- the appearance and playing of Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra. Dorsey does several excellent numbers – he looks to have the full size complement of his group at its peak – around 25 to 28 musicians. Anytime a movie features one of the top big bands of the swing era, I will give it six stars to begin with, and then build up from there. Because of the era and the type of music that swing was, and its lasting effect on American music especially, and its longevity in films and on the air, I think movies that feature the most prominent of the big bands have a historical value as well as their entertainment value. So, Tommy Dorsey and his excellent musicians are the only good thing about this movie. And, that's enough of a reason to watch it if one hasn't seen it before.

Supremely awful if you expect anything beyond a collection of skits and musical numbers. This movie reminds me of those dinners we create from rummaging through the fridge and pulling out all the odds and ends that need to be used before they go bad.Or... it's like the end of the fiscal year and everybody's trying to use up the last of the budget so they won't let anything go to waste and lose that amount in the next budget...Or... it's like how porn makes a half-hearted attempt at plot and story line, but we all know it's just a vehicle for... you know.But really - I have this vision of the studio execs in an office with all the contracts where they have to put performers in one more movie, all the bills for expensive costumes that needed to have every penny's worth squeezed out of them, all the scripts and musical numbers that were cut from other movies, and tossed the whole mess into the air. Then they picked everything up in random order and shouted, "Lights! Camera! Action!"

this movie, i won't call it a "film," was basically about nothing and functioned mostly for the popular acts of the time. yeah the war was on full swing (pun intended), and this movie gave the troops and our audiences a treat.but let's have something with a bit more substance.loved seeing a young Buddy Rich on the drums. the music was good throughout.but one cameo after another gets old fast.i didn't even recognize Zero Mostel! so if you're one from the "greatest generation," as they say, you'll definitely enjoy this...movie.

Obviously what was good for Broadway audiences was not always good for film--especially when censorship demanded certain changes. Thus, when MGM decided to make a screen musical out of DU BARRY WAS A LADY, they had to jettison most of the score and keep a few Cole Porter numbers just to satisfy the censors.The result is a bland hodgepodge of a musical looking so prettily Technicolored that it seemed to be the ideal escapism the world needed in 1943. It also had the advantage of giving new exposure to GENE KELLY, MGM's new dancing star first seen with Judy Garland in FOR ME AND MY GAL. Two other talents, LUCILLE BALL and RED SKELTON share top billing with Gene, giving Lucy a big chance to shine in all her Technicolor glory.But the story is a sappy one and gets off to a slow start with some banal musical and comedy moments that take place in the nightclub where Red works as a hatcheck man, Lucy is a singer and Gene an aspiring songwriter, before we get to Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra delivering some solid jazz/swing with Gene Krupa on the drums.The plot starts with Lucy informing Kelly she can't afford to fall in love with a poor guy. Red becomes a wealthy gent when he wins the Irish sweepstakes and Lucy reluctantly agrees to marry him for his money with no objections from Red. When Rags Ragland offers to help Red get rid of his competition by slipping a Mickey into Kelly's drink, the plan misfires and Red falls into a coma, believing he's King Louis XV and Lucy is Du Barry with Gene as odd man out--the Black Arrow.Unfortunately, the 18th Century part of the story has not much more wit than the modern sequences although it's amusing to see all the cast in powdered wigs and period costumes going through some slapstick paces.Lucy and Red make a good pair with the right comic timing and chemistry, but Gene Kelly's role is a pivotal one and probably one of his weakest earlier roles.Summing up: Lots of eye candy with all the Technicolor trimmings MGM usually put into their musicals. And watch for a brief guest star cameo from Lana Turner and an early glimpse of Dick Haymes as a singer in Dorsey's band.