Busby Berkeley — Musical Choreographer
by mariojacobs | created - 14 Jul 2022 | updated - 5 months ago | PublicBusby Berkeley (1895 – 1976) was an American film director and groundbreaking musical choreographer.
Berkeley devised elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns.
Berkeley's works used large numbers of showgirls and props as fantasy elements in kaleidoscopic on-screen performances.
Which is your favorite Busby Berkeley movie?
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1. Whoopee! (1930)
Passed | 93 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Western sheriff Bob Wells is preparing to marry Sally Morgan; she loves part-Indian Wanenis, whose race is an obstacle. Sally flees the wedding with hypochondriac Henry Williams, who thinks... See full summary »
Director: Thornton Freeland | Stars: Eddie Cantor, Ethel Shutta, Paul Gregory, Eleanor Hunt
Votes: 1,190
2. Kiki (1931)
87 min | Musical
Kiki, a French chorus girl is desperate to get into and be someone in show business, come what may.
Director: Sam Taylor | Stars: Mary Pickford, Reginald Denny, Joseph Cawthorn, Margaret Livingston
Votes: 350 | Gross: $0.43M
3. Palmy Days (1931)
Approved | 77 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
The assistant of a phony psychic leaves the fraudulent business and becomes an efficiency expert.
Director: A. Edward Sutherland | Stars: Eddie Cantor, Charlotte Greenwood, Barbara Weeks, Spencer Charters
Votes: 647 | Gross: $3.49M
4. Flying High (1931)
Passed | 80 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
An eccentric inventor and his new flying machine are the focus of this musical comedy.
Director: Charles Reisner | Stars: Bert Lahr, Charlotte Greenwood, Pat O'Brien, Kathryn Crawford
Votes: 301
5. Sky Devils (1932)
Passed | 90 min | Action, Comedy, Romance
Trying to desert their draft into the army, Wilkie and Mitchell stow away on a ship that takes them into the war zone. While AWOL, the rivals for Mary's affections accidentally destroy an ammunition dump.
Director: A. Edward Sutherland | Stars: Spencer Tracy, William 'Stage' Boyd, George Cooper, Ann Dvorak
Votes: 142
6. The Kid from Spain (1932)
Passed | 96 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
An innocent man accused of robbing banks masquerades as a bullfighter to escape the police.
Director: Leo McCarey | Stars: Eddie Cantor, Lyda Roberti, Robert Young, Ruth Hall
Votes: 601
7. Night World (1932)
58 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Story of the goings-on at a Prohibition-era nightclub.
Director: Hobart Henley | Stars: Lew Ayres, Mae Clarke, Boris Karloff, Dorothy Revier
Votes: 468
8. Bird of Paradise (1932)
Passed | 80 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
A native girl falls for a visitor to her island, but she's chosen to be sacrificed to the volcano god.
Director: King Vidor | Stars: Dolores Del Río, Joel McCrea, John Halliday, Richard 'Skeets' Gallagher
Votes: 1,575
9. 42nd Street (1933)
Passed | 89 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
When the leading lady of a Broadway musical breaks her ankle, she is replaced by a young unknown actress, who becomes the star of the show.
Director: Lloyd Bacon | Stars: Warner Baxter, Bebe Daniels, George Brent, Ruby Keeler
Votes: 13,040 | Gross: $2.30M
10. Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)
Passed | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
A wealthy composer rescues unemployed Broadway performers with a new play, but insists on remaining anonymous.
Director: Mervyn LeRoy | Stars: Warren William, Joan Blondell, Aline MacMahon, Ruby Keeler
Votes: 9,147 | Gross: $4.80M
11. Footlight Parade (1933)
Passed | 104 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Chester Kent struggles against time, romance, and a rival's spy to produce spectacular live "prologues" for movie houses.
Director: Lloyd Bacon | Stars: James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell
Votes: 6,096 | Gross: $3.49M
12. Roman Scandals (1933)
Passed | 92 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Musical
A kind-hearted young man is thrown out of his corrupt home town of West Rome, Oklahoma. He falls asleep and dreams that he is back in the days of olden Rome, where he gets mixed up with court intrigue and a murder plot against the Emperor.
Director: Frank Tuttle | Stars: Eddie Cantor, Ruth Etting, Gloria Stuart, Edward Arnold
Votes: 804 | Gross: $5.33M
13. Fashions of 1934 (1934)
Approved | 78 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
When the Manhattan investment firm of Sherwood Nash goes broke, he joins forces with his partner Snap and fashion designer Lynn Mason to provide discount shops with cheap copies of Paris couture dresses.
Director: William Dieterle | Stars: William Powell, Bette Davis, Frank McHugh, Hugh Herbert
Votes: 2,016 | Gross: $0.86M
14. Wonder Bar (1934)
Passed | 84 min | Crime, Drama, Musical
Harry and Inez are a dance team at the Wonder Bar. Inez loves Harry, but he is in love with Liane, the wife of a wealthy business man. Al Wonder and the conductor/singer Tommy are in love ... See full summary »
Director: Lloyd Bacon | Stars: Al Jolson, Kay Francis, Dolores Del Río, Ricardo Cortez
Votes: 737
15. Dames (1934)
Passed | 91 min | Comedy, Music, Musical
A multimillionaire decides to boycott "filthy" forms of entertainment such as Broadway shows.
Directors: Ray Enright, Busby Berkeley | Stars: Joan Blondell, Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Zasu Pitts
Votes: 2,430
16. Gold Diggers of 1935 (1935)
Approved | 95 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Romantic antics abound among the guests at a luxury hotel, including a stage director, an eccentric millionaire, and the daughter of a financial backer.
Director: Busby Berkeley | Stars: Dick Powell, Adolphe Menjou, Gloria Stuart, Alice Brady
Votes: 2,963
17. In Caliente (1935)
Passed | 84 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Hard-drinking Larry MacArthur, editor of a sophisticated magazine, is taken to the Agua Caliente resort by his publisher, Harold Brandon, in order to dry out and sober up. Larry becomes ... See full summary »
Director: Lloyd Bacon | Stars: Dolores Del Río, Pat O'Brien, Leo Carrillo, Edward Everett Horton
Votes: 392
18. I Live for Love (1935)
Passed | 64 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Donna (Del Rio) is a diva of the stage and wants her lover Rico (Alvarado) as her leading man. To keep this from happening, the producers (Churchill, Cavanaugh) grab Roger Kerry (Marshall) off the street and say he has a contract.
Director: Busby Berkeley | Stars: Dolores Del Río, Everett Marshall, Guy Kibbee, Allen Jenkins
Votes: 178
19. Gold Diggers of 1935 (1935)
Approved | 95 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Romantic antics abound among the guests at a luxury hotel, including a stage director, an eccentric millionaire, and the daughter of a financial backer.
Director: Busby Berkeley | Stars: Dick Powell, Adolphe Menjou, Gloria Stuart, Alice Brady
Votes: 2,963
20. Stage Struck (1936)
Passed | 91 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Broadway dance director George Randall (Dick Powell) is stuck with staging a Broadway show starring Peggy Revere (Joan Blondell), a wealthy but untalented performer who is starring only ... See full summary »
Director: Busby Berkeley | Stars: Dick Powell, Joan Blondell, Warren William, Frank McHugh
Votes: 366
21. The Singing Marine (1937)
Passed | 105 min | Comedy, Music, Mystery
Bob Brent (Dick Powell) recruit from Arkansas is a marine who is shy, reserved and modest. Despite these handicaps, he is a big help to his corps buddies. On moonlit nights and sun-kissed ... See full summary »
Director: Ray Enright | Stars: Dick Powell, Doris Weston, Lee Dixon, Hugh Herbert
Votes: 301
22. Varsity Show (1937)
Approved | 120 min | Musical, Romance
A former student who is now a big Broadway show producer with three flops to his reputation, is invited back to direct the College's annual student stage show.
Director: William Keighley | Stars: Dick Powell, Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians, Ted Healy, Rosemary Lane
Votes: 501
23. Gold Diggers in Paris (1938)
Approved | 97 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Owners and show girls of the bankrupt Club Ballé are mistaken for the Academy Ballet of America and are off to Paris to compete in an International Dance Exposition.
Director: Ray Enright | Stars: Rudy Vallee, Rosemary Lane, Hugh Herbert, Allen Jenkins
Votes: 491
24. Comet Over Broadway (1938)
Approved | 70 min | Drama, Romance
Story of a rising stage star and the trouble she causes by her ambition.
Directors: Busby Berkeley, John Farrow | Stars: Kay Francis, Ian Hunter, John Litel, Donald Crisp
Votes: 437
25. Ziegfeld Girl (1941)
Passed | 132 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
In the 1920s, three women become performers in the renowned Broadway show the Ziegfeld Follies, where they find fame, love, and tragedy.
Directors: Busby Berkeley, Robert Z. Leonard | Stars: James Stewart, Judy Garland, Hedy Lamarr, Lana Turner
Votes: 3,454
26. Lady Be Good (1941)
Passed | 112 min | Comedy, Music, Musical
A composer and his songwriter wife clash as they succeed in working together, writing hit Broadway shows, but fail in their marriage to the point of getting divorced twice.
Directors: Norman Z. McLeod, Busby Berkeley | Stars: Eleanor Powell, Ann Sothern, Robert Young, Lionel Barrymore
Votes: 1,175
27. Romance on the High Seas (1948)
Approved | 99 min | Comedy, Musical, Mystery
Romantic misunderstandings abound when spouses suspect each other of being unfaithful, and a nightclub singer takes a cruise under a false identity.
Directors: Michael Curtiz, Busby Berkeley | Stars: Jack Carson, Janis Paige, Doris Day, Don DeFore
Votes: 2,739
28. Two Weeks with Love (1950)
Passed | 90 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
The Robinson girls vacation at a Catskills resort where older sister Patti pursues Demi Armendez despite parental disapproval. Patti's singing and dancing lead to a happy ending with Armendez.
Director: Roy Rowland | Stars: Jane Powell, Ricardo Montalban, Louis Calhern, Ann Harding
Votes: 1,026
29. Call Me Mister (1951)
Approved | 96 min | Musical, Romance
A G.I. in occupied Japan tries to re-woo his old love, who's putting on a show for the troops.
Director: Lloyd Bacon | Stars: Betty Grable, Dan Dailey, Danny Thomas, Dale Robertson
Votes: 279 | Gross: $2.70M
30. Two Tickets to Broadway (1951)
Approved | 106 min | Musical, Romance
Nancy Peterson and her friends want to get a spot on Bob Crosby's TV show, but their agent has linked them.
Director: James V. Kern | Stars: Tony Martin, Janet Leigh, Gloria DeHaven, Eddie Bracken
Votes: 614
31. Million Dollar Mermaid (1952)
Approved | 115 min | Biography, Drama, Musical
Biopic of Australian swimming champ and entertainer Annette Kellerman. After overcoming polio, Kellerman achieves fame and creates a scandal when her one-piece bathing suit is considered indecent.
Director: Mervyn LeRoy | Stars: Esther Williams, Victor Mature, Walter Pidgeon, David Brian
Votes: 1,792
32. Small Town Girl (1953)
Passed | 92 min | Musical, Romance
A judge's daughter keeps an eye on a playboy who gets 30 days in jail for speeding.
Director: László Kardos | Stars: Jane Powell, Farley Granger, Ann Miller, S.Z. Sakall
Votes: 931
33. Easy to Love (1953)
Approved | 96 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
An aquatic performer tries to attract the man she loves.
Director: Charles Walters | Stars: Esther Williams, Van Johnson, Tony Martin, John Bromfield
Votes: 807
34. Rose Marie (1954)
G | 104 min | Musical, Romance, Western
Wilderness girl Rose Marie has adventures in life and love when Mountie Mike Malone takes her out of the wild.
Director: Mervyn LeRoy | Stars: Ann Blyth, Howard Keel, Fernando Lamas, Bert Lahr
Votes: 522
35. Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962)
Approved | 123 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A debt-ridden circus is saved by a well-meaning but inept publicity man.
Director: Charles Walters | Stars: Doris Day, Jimmy Durante, Stephen Boyd, Martha Raye
Votes: 1,728
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