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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Fred F. Finklehoffe (story)
Fred F. Finklehoffe (screenplay) ...
more
Release Date:
January 1942 (USA) more
Tagline:
Youth Has It's Fling ! more
Plot:
Tommy Williams desperately wants to get to Broadway, but as he is only singing in a spaghetti house for tips he is a long way off... more | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. more
User Comments:
Shock over a minstrel show??? How do you think Al Jolson became famous? more (21 total)
Cast
(Complete credited cast)| Mickey Rooney | ... | Tommy 'Tom' Williams | |
| Judy Garland | ... | Penny Morris | |
| Fay Bainter | ... | Miss 'Jonesy' Jones | |
| Virginia Weidler | ... | Barbara Josephine 'Jo' Conway | |
| Ray McDonald | ... | Ray Lambert | |
| Richard Quine | ... | Morton 'Hammy' Hammond | |
| Donald Meek | ... | Mr. Stone | |
| Alexander Woollcott | ... | Himself - Town Cryer Radio Show | |
| Luis Alberni | ... | Nick | |
| James Gleason | ... | Thornton Reed, Theatrical Producer | |
| Emma Dunn | ... | Mrs. Williams | |
| Frederick Burton | ... | Mr. Theodore Morris | |
| Cliff Clark | ... | Inspector Moriarity | |
| William Post Jr. | ... | Woollcott's Announcer | |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| St. Luke's Episcopal Church Choristers | |||
| The Debutantes | |||
| The Music Maids | |||
| The Notables | |||
| The Peter Brothers | |||
| Stafford Quartet | |||
| Carl Stockdale | ... | Man (scenes deleted) | |
| Stop Look and Listen Trio | |||
| The Uptowners | |||
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
118 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Certification:
Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:Approved (PCA #7803)
Filming Locations:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The role of Barbara Jo was intended for Shirley Temple but after the failure of Kathleen (1941), MGM canceled the rest of her three-picture deal. more
Quotes:
Tommy 'Tom' Williams:
Will ya sing me a song?
Penny Morris:
How do you know I can?
Tommy 'Tom' Williams:
Because you sing when you talk. When you walk. Why your eyes, why their singing right now
Penny Morris:
They are? Well I'll be darned
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in 1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year (2009) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
Alabamy Bound more
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (21 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Babes on Broadway (1941)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
|---|---|
| 'Let's put on a show!' quote | ld-57 |
| lil prodigy | lkpo90 |
| Quotes | grooveyloop2004 |
Recommendations
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Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Comedy section | IMDb USA section |
| Add this title to MyMovies |




This big MGM "let's put on a show" musical is obviously a showcase for the over-sized talents of JUDY GARLAND and MICKEY ROONEY.
But it amuses me to see young commentators expressing "shock" and dismay at the blackface routines shown in the big finale. They never knew how popular minstrel shows were, even into the 1940s? Where have they have been living? They never heard of Al Jolson and how he rode to stardom on his blackface routines?
The film actually rises above its clichéd plot whenever Judy takes the spotlight with a song. Never has she looked so radiantly youthful and vibrant. Rooney, while of course obviously talented, tends to ham it up a bit too much whenever he's given the spotlight, which is a little too often for my taste. Fay Bainter does nicely as a patron of the arts while James Gleason gets on the nerves with his frustrated bit as a producer.
Amusing to see gangly RICHARD QUINE hoofing it up (before he became a film director). The standout dancer is Ray MacDonald, the fresh faced kid who lights up the screen whenever he dances, resembling, in style and acting technique, Donald O'Connor. Tragically he, like others in the cast, ended his life much too soon.
Judy and Mickey do a fabulous version of "How About You?" and Buby Berkeley's genius at staging intricate dance routines is nowhere more evident than in the "Hoe Down" number, probably one of the catchiest of all the musical routines.
There are slow spots and the film could easily have omitted footage to pare it down to a running time of, say, an hour and forty minutes. As it is, you have to be willing to stick with it for the full two hours, something only likely to occur if you're a true fan of Garland and Rooney.
You can catch a brief glimpse of two up and coming stars, Margaret O'Brien and Donna Reed. Reed has a brief moment as a receptionist.
Trivia note: Shirley Temple was originally considered for the Virginia Wiedler role. Might have been OK too, since the part is not that demanding musically and Temple could certainly still do the required amount of hoofing.