Stream it now 42nd Street 1933

 

When I started to watch "42nd Street" I never knew it would turn out so good. It struck me as just a fast paced comedy that one would not relate much to or that wouldn't be rewarding, although I was loving the script. I just kept watching it because the 30's was one of my favourite decades in history; I mean, just look at those ridiculously attractive women!
But then the last half started to interest me and I certainly wasn't expecting that ending. It surely is one of the first landmarks in the musical genre. The movie climaxed at one of the most impressive musical scenes I've watched in a long time. In the last 20 minutes or so, what should have been a play, turned into a mesmerizing display of cinema inventiveness filled with gorgeous camera-work and dancing and singing. It was absolutely stunning!

"Now go out there and be so swell that you'll make me hate you!"

I've always had a problem with the unlikelihood of Peggy Sawyer as the youngster who comes back a star. Then again, I went to see "Jersey Boys" yesterday, and the part of Frankie Valli was not played by either the regular lead or the back-up lead, but rather by a second understudy who usually filled the part of "a swing". He did a fine job, and so I guess these things do really happen.
In the midst of the Great Depression, director Julian Marsh (Warner Baxter) gets one last chance to make a hit show, thanks to a wealthy businessman's love for a certain leading lady, Miss Dorothy Brock (Bebe Daniels). Meanwhile, Peggy Sawyer (Ruby Keeler), a new girl who's as green as they come manages to get a part in the chorus, thanks to help from some seasoned Broadway pros, Lorraine (Una Merkel), "anytime" Annie (Ginger Rogers), and Billy Lawler (Dick Powell). The slave-driving Marsh pushes his cast through five weeks of rehearsals to get the dynamite show he needs. And then just before their opening night in Philadelphia, his star gets drunk, gets jealous about her man, Pat Denning (George Brent), and manages to fall and break her ankle. Mere hours before the show, Peggy is chosen to fill in for the lead. Marsh's hopes are all riding on this inexperienced, young chorus girl, but naturally she'll come through in the end. After all, the show must go on.
I actually saw this film first on the big screen as part of the Chautauqua Classic Film series several years ago. It's much better that way, and I think the film definitely loses some of its spark on DVD. Unfortunately, the biggest let-downs for this film lie in the acting, singing, and dancing. Perhaps we've simply been spoiled by 75 years of Broadway and film musicals since this one was made, but the leads in this film really aren't that good. If "Pretty Lady" opened on Broadway today, it would close within a week. That said, with a few stunning Busby Berkeley dance numbers, some catchy tunes, some fantastically witty lines, and a surprisingly poignant ending, this film eventually overcomes its weaknesses.
Overall, one of the good, old, Broadway, "show must go on" types of films, with mediocre acting by the lead roles, but plenty to enjoy in the background.
*Manhattan moment: the climactic scene recreates the skyline

An interesting film about the making of a stage musical. It has some boring, and poorly acted melodrama splashed in, but if you get past that, there's an entertaining, albiet typical sequence at the end, and a fine performance by Warner Baxter. A sad ending, as well. Much better than I expected. Worth a look.

7/10
Full review coming soon

42nd Street (1933, Bacon) :

This pre-Production Code "backstage" musical is the film that saved the genre and destroyed any hopes of a renaissance of Jolson's "mammy" singing. At times, the plot is very similar to Powell and Pressburger's The Red Shoes, in that its about an aspiring dancer Peggy Sawyer (Ruby Keeler) who is plucked from the crowd and driven to new heights by a tempermental svengali (Warner Baxter). What saves this film from being merely average is the film's extraordinary last fifteen minutes that are choreographed and directed by the legendary Busby Berkley. Here Berkley throws out all the rules in creating a theatre performance that is overtly cinematic in its mathematical overhead shots and sweeping crane movements, which were designed to exploit the maximum potential of the cinematic medium. The film should also be noted for not only the major start for Dick Powell and Ginger Rogers, but also for its cheeky humour that's filled with heavy sexual innuendo. The sweeping low-angle camera shot through the spread legs of a line of dancers to reveal Dick Powell's naughty grin sums up the film's bawdy suggestive style perfectly.

B+ (8/10)

.....

Fun, great musical numbers. Bebe Daniels is terrific. My only complaint was that Ruby Keeler got on my nerves a little bit.

B+:fresh:

Full review to come.

**/****

Pro: The actual performance, while cut down, looks and sounds great. The direction. Marsh. 42nd Street song.

Con: The lead. The corny opening (entire?) plot. The film ends but doesn't feel complete. Dialogue that screams fake. Breaking the ankle. The replacement is never shown to be as great as she supposedly becomes.