Babes on Broadway (1941)

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:

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.

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

Movie Connections:

Featured in 1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year (2009) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Alabamy Bound

Shock over a minstrel show??? How do you think Al Jolson became famous?

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.