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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Jack McGowan (writer) and
Kay Van Riper (writer) ...
more
Release Date:
31 October 1939 (USA) more
Tagline:
The big musical fun show!
Plot:
The struggle of two talented young artists, to make their own way in the show business. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for 2 Oscars. more
NewsDesk:
(2 articles)
Lee Mead to Star in Babes In Arms Revival in the West End?
(From BroadwayWorld.com. 12 October 2009, 12:24 PM, PDT)
Babes In Arms To Have Broadway Revival; O'Donnell To Star
(From BroadwayWorld.com. 10 June 2009, 2:32 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
Good, but not Great more (18 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Mickey Rooney | ... | Mickey Moran | |
| Judy Garland | ... | Patsy Barton | |
| Charles Winninger | ... | Joe Moran | |
| Guy Kibbee | ... | Judge John Black | |
| June Preisser | ... | Rosalie Essex | |
| Grace Hayes | ... | Florrie Moran | |
| Betty Jaynes | ... | Molly Moran | |
| Douglas McPhail | ... | Don Brice | |
| Rand Brooks | ... | Jeff Steele | |
| Leni Lynn | ... | Dody Martin | |
| Johnny Sheffield | ... | Bobs (as John Sheffield) | |
| Henry Hull | ... | Maddox | |
| Barnett Parker | ... | William Bartlett | |
| Ann Shoemaker | ... | Mrs. Barton | |
| Margaret Hamilton | ... | Martha Steele |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
93 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Certification:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
MGM Studio's biggest money grosser of 1939, surpassing The Wizard of Oz (1939) for that production year. more
Goofs:
Audio/visual unsynchronized: During the girls' duet, Patsy Barton begins her solo, and Mickey Moran switches from cello plucking to piano thumping. However, the music continues as it was before, and we don't hear any amazing sounds on the piano in spite of Mickey's efforts. more
Quotes:
Michael C. 'Mickey' Moran: No, no, no, judge! You don't understand; she don't understand, either. Oh, she don't mean no harm to us, but... we're not her kind of people - or yours, either. We belong in show business. We gotta start young so we can get some steel in our backbone. Well, gee, we're developing. You couldn't teach us a trade: we've GOT one. And you couldn't do without it... more
Movie Connections:
Features The Hollywood Revue of 1929 (1929) more
Soundtrack:
Daddy Was a Minstrel Man more
FAQ
Impersonations?more
more (18 total)
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Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Comedy section | IMDb USA section |
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This Busby Berkeley musical of the 1930s represents Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland at their best, which in the end really doesn't say "greatness." The film, which involves a recurring reminiscence on the "nostalgia" of the 1910s, is often over-acted, over-sung, and over-choreographed. Judy Garland's portrayal of a girl in love but shunned is reminiscent of almost all of the MGM musical roles in which she partook during her stint that lasted into the late 1940s. The minstrel act is a particularly interesting look at the virulent racism that still plagued American cinema during the Studio Age-Judy Garland in blackface is perhaps one of the most frightening images I have ever encountered.
Though, one cannot approach a film like this with more than a hint of cynicism: Busby Berkeley is arguably the greatest choreographer in the history of film, and though he does not show off the spectacle of his earlier films, like Gold Diggers of 1933 and Gold Diggers of 1935 (which he did not direct), his dance numbers are interesting (for instance, when the town's teenagers partake in a book-burning, throwing into the flames symbols of conformity). The film is sweet, fresh, and bright, and, as the first Arthur Freed musical, serves as one of his better (though certainly not his best).
In all, I give it a 3 out of 4 stars (***).
On a side note, three of the songs that appear in Singing in the Rain appear in this film, predating the Gene Kelly musical by over 15 years: Good Morning, Good Morning, Singing in the Rain (which appears in a montage showing previous MGM musicals), and You Are My Lucky Star.