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42nd Street (1933)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
11 March 1933 (USA)
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Plot:
A producer puts on what may be his last Broadway show, and at the last moment a chorus girl has to replace the star... full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Nominated for 2 Oscars.
Another 1 win
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User Comments:
the musical that changed musicals
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Cast
(Complete credited cast)| Warner Baxter | ... | Julian Marsh | |
| Bebe Daniels | ... | Dorothy Brock | |
| George Brent | ... | Pat Denning | |
| Ruby Keeler | ... | Peggy Sawyer | |
| Guy Kibbee | ... | Abner Dillon | |
| Una Merkel | ... | Lorraine Fleming | |
| Ginger Rogers | ... | Ann | |
| Ned Sparks | ... | Barry | |
| Dick Powell | ... | Billy Lawler | |
| Allen Jenkins | ... | Mac Elroy | |
| Edward J. Nugent | ... | Terry | |
| Robert McWade | ... | Jones | |
| George E. Stone | ... | Andy Lee |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Forty-Second Street (USA) (alternative spelling)
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Parents Guide:
Runtime:
89 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Iceland:L |
Argentina:Atp |
Sweden:15 |
USA:Approved (PCA #2718-R: 26 September 1936 for re-release) |
USA:TV-G (TV rating) |
UK:U |
Australia:G
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Lyle Talbot is listed in a modern source for the role of "Geoffrey Waring," but he did not appear.
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Goofs:
Continuity: The opening credits say "COPYRIGHT MCMXXXIII [1933]," but the closing credits say "COPYRIGHT MCMXXXII [1932]".
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Quotes:
Ann Lowell:
[singing] Matrimony is baloney
Loraine: She'll be wanting alimony in a year or so;
Ann Lowell, Loraine: Still they go and shuffle, shuffle off to Buffalo.
Ann Lowell: When she knows as much as we know, she'll be on her way to Reno,
Loraine: While he still has dough; she'll give him the shuffle
Ann Lowell, Loraine: When they're back from Buffalo.
Ann Lowell: I'll bet that she's the farmer's daughter
Loraine: And he's that well-known traveling man;
Ann Lowell: He once stopped down at the farm house,
Loraine: That's how the whole affair began!
[...]
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Loraine: She'll be wanting alimony in a year or so;
Ann Lowell, Loraine: Still they go and shuffle, shuffle off to Buffalo.
Ann Lowell: When she knows as much as we know, she'll be on her way to Reno,
Loraine: While he still has dough; she'll give him the shuffle
Ann Lowell, Loraine: When they're back from Buffalo.
Ann Lowell: I'll bet that she's the farmer's daughter
Loraine: And he's that well-known traveling man;
Ann Lowell: He once stopped down at the farm house,
Loraine: That's how the whole affair began!
[...]
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Movie Connections:
Featured in Warner at War (2008) (TV)
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Soundtrack:
Young and Healthy
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (82 total)
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I seem to recall reading/hearing somewhere that movie musicals were becoming less popular in the 1930s. They were, for the most part, creaky messes with poor sound quality. Then came this movie, which you can credit (or blame, depending on whether you like musicals or not) for popularizing them.
The story has been done before now (2004) and was probably done before in 1933. Prima donna gets injured, the ingenue must take her place. All the clichés come out in full force, but with enough enthusiasm that you may find yourself sucked in, depending on how jaded a viewer you are.
The performances are good. Daniels is stunning, and a good actress, and she can sing. We don't get to see her dance too much though. Powell makes a good juvenile lead and sings well. Keeler gets a bit annoying, but that's probably just the character she is playing. She cannot really sing, and I never thought her dancing was that great. I'm a fan of Ginger Rogers though, so I am biased when I wonder how this movie could have catapulted Keeler and Powell to stardom while Rogers had to wait until she was paired with Astaire for her career to take off. After seeing movies starring the likes of Astaire, Rogers, Eleanor Powell, Ann Miller, Gene Kelly, etc. I find Keeler's dancing to be a bit heavy-footed. Not that it is terrible, she does pull the part off well enough. The Busby Berkeley choreography is fabulous--no one did it like he did it. Just never you mind that if the show were actually on a stage the way it is supposed to be in the movie, you wouldn't actually notice the aerial geometric patterns. Still, it is nice to look at. So leave your sense of reality in the other room, pop this movie in your VCR/DVD player, and enjoy!