Babes in Arms (1939)

Director:

Busby Berkeley

Writers:

Jack McGowan (writer) and
Kay Van Riper (writer) ...

Release Date:

31 October 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical

Tagline:

The big musical fun show!

Plot:

The struggle of two talented young artists, to make their own way in the show business.

Plot Keywords:

Singer | Rehearsal | Show Business | Jealousy | Composition

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

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

Runtime:

93 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

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

MGM Studio's biggest money grosser of 1939, surpassing The Wizard of Oz (1939) for that production year.

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.

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...

Movie Connections:

Features The Hollywood Revue of 1929 (1929)

Soundtrack:

Daddy Was a Minstrel Man

Good, but not Great

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.