Babes on Broadway (1941)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Busby Berkeley

Writers:

Fred F. Finklehoffe (story)
Fred F. Finklehoffe (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

January 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

Youth Has It's Fling !

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...

Plot Keywords:

Broadway | Singer | Orphan | Minstrel Show | Dancer

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

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

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

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:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Margaret O'Brien's film debut.

Quotes:

Penny Morris: I don't think I like you.
Tommy 'Tom' Williams: Thank you.
Penny Morris: Your welcome!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Terror Night (1987)

Soundtrack:

Mary's a Grand Old Name

"I like banana splits, late supper at the Ritz, how about you?"

The third (and arguably least interesting) of the Judy Garland-Mickey Rooney musicals directed by Busby Berkeley, this time featuring Rooney in the more prominent role of a penniless supper-club hoofer in New York City who organizes a benefit for unfortunate children in order to attract Broadway producers; Garland, playing a failed telephone operator and singer, falls for Rooney despite the fact he's a selfish heel (which she calls him on). Fantasy youths in a fantasy New York putting on a fantasy show, but if you're attracted to overeager, ambitious kids who sing and dance tirelessly, it might be enjoyable. Rooney, who constantly has one eye on the camera and never stops playing to the back rows, has one very fine scene where he shows Judy his new watch; otherwise, whether dressed up as a Scottish rogue, a farm yokel, or Carmen Miranda, Rooney is brashly predictable. He's comfortable on-screen, all right--too comfortable. His pandering for praise begins to strike one as inhuman, and when he tries for a quiet moment it isn't too convincing ('show-stopping' performances such as this caused Rooney to fall out of favor in Hollywood for years). Following 1938's "Babes In Arms" (for which Rooney got an Academy Award nomination) and 1940's "Strike Up the Band", Busby Berkeley seems to have fallen into a trap himself; the musical numbers have no lift (just empty cant), and the patriotic slant the story soon takes is a mighty uncomfortable match. One classic song, "How About You?", garnered the picture its only Oscar nod (it didn't win, which is a crime). Margaret O'Brien has a funny bit, as does a little boy pianist who is funnier than all the older kids put together. ** from ****