Capital Celluloid 2026 — Day 184: Fri Jul 3

Ladies of the Chorus (Karlson, 1948): BFI Southbank, NFT2, 8.45pm

This 35mm presentation is part of the Marilyn Monroe season at BFI Southbank. The movie also screens on July 12th with an introduction by season curator Kimberley Sheehan.

BFI introduction:
Peggy and her overprotective mother Mae work as chorus girls in a burlesque troupe. When the star of their show quits, Mae hatches a plan for Peggy to take the top spot. In her first major screen role, Monroe elevates a low-budget, uneven b-movie musical. It’s fascinating to see the then 22-year-old performing with her natural voice and building the foundations of her future star persona. It showcases both her gift for comedy and her musicality, culminating in the catchy, if somewhat questionable, sugar-baby anthem Every Baby Needs a Da-Da-Daddy.

Here (and above) is an extract.

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