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sabotai · 06-14-2018, 05:45 PM

42nd Street (1933)

Directed By: Lloyd Bacon, Busby Berkely
Written By: Rian James, James Seymour
Starring: Warner Baxter, Ruby Keeler, Bebe Daniels, Dick Powell, George Brent
Length: 89 min.
Genre: Musical / Backstage Musical
Based On: The Novel "42nd Street" by Bradford Ropes

Oscar Nominee for Best Picture

We start off 1933 with the movie that's credited for starting off the musical craze of the 1930s as well as saving the Warner Bros. studio from bankruptcy.

The production of a new musical called "Pretty Lady" is starting up and Julian Marsh (Warner Baxter) is hired to direct it. Peggy Sawyer (Ruby Keeler) is new in town and dreams of making it in the city. With the help of two actresses, she makes it onto the production. The show's juvenile lead, Billy Lawyer (Dick Powell), takes an interest in Peggy right from the moment she accidentally walked in on him changing.

The show's star, Dorothy Brock (Bebe Danials) spends her time giving the old financial backer of the show some attention, but is secretly involved with Pat Denning (George Brent). When Marsh notices this, he contacts some mobster friends of his to rough up Pat. Following this episode, Pat and Dorothy break off their relationship and Pat leaves for Philadelphia. During this time, however, Pat had also been showing interest in Peggy Sawyer.

Rehearsals for the show go on and on. The show looks and feels like it's going to be a dud. As the show nears opening night, the director drops a bomb on his cast...they're going to open in Philadelphia, which apparently is a fucking terrible thing. And then the night before opening, Dorothy breaks her ankle. Peggy is recruited to fill in. The movie ends on a few musical numbers, and Peggy is an instant star.

It's not something I'd consider "Best Picture", but it was an okay movie. I'm not someone who typically goes for musicals. My biggest complaint is that the musical scenes in musicals tend to go on for way too long (and I usually don't like the music to begin with). But, I'm sure people who are fans of musicals love that, so I'm not exactly the target audience for these. Having said that, I thought it was a decent movie.

This movie does appear on a few of the AFI's lists from the mid 2000s. They ranked it the 13th best musical in 2006, ranked the song "42nd Street" as the 97th best song, and gave the line "Sawyer, you're going out a youngster, but you've got to come back a star!" 87th on its list of 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes.

My Rating: 6/10
IMDB User Rating: 7.6/10 (9k votes)
Rotten Tomatoes: 95% of Critics (21-1), 74% of Audience (3.6 / 5 ; 7k votes)

06-14-2018, 05:45 PM	#259
sabotai General Manager Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The Satellite of Love	42nd Street (1933) Directed By: Lloyd Bacon, Busby Berkely Written By: Rian James, James Seymour Starring: Warner Baxter, Ruby Keeler, Bebe Daniels, Dick Powell, George Brent Length: 89 min. Genre: Musical / Backstage Musical Based On: The Novel "42nd Street" by Bradford Ropes Oscar Nominee for Best Picture We start off 1933 with the movie that's credited for starting off the musical craze of the 1930s as well as saving the Warner Bros. studio from bankruptcy. The production of a new musical called "Pretty Lady" is starting up and Julian Marsh (Warner Baxter) is hired to direct it. Peggy Sawyer (Ruby Keeler) is new in town and dreams of making it in the city. With the help of two actresses, she makes it onto the production. The show's juvenile lead, Billy Lawyer (Dick Powell), takes an interest in Peggy right from the moment she accidentally walked in on him changing. The show's star, Dorothy Brock (Bebe Danials) spends her time giving the old financial backer of the show some attention, but is secretly involved with Pat Denning (George Brent). When Marsh notices this, he contacts some mobster friends of his to rough up Pat. Following this episode, Pat and Dorothy break off their relationship and Pat leaves for Philadelphia. During this time, however, Pat had also been showing interest in Peggy Sawyer. Rehearsals for the show go on and on. The show looks and feels like it's going to be a dud. As the show nears opening night, the director drops a bomb on his cast...they're going to open in Philadelphia, which apparently is a fucking terrible thing. And then the night before opening, Dorothy breaks her ankle. Peggy is recruited to fill in. The movie ends on a few musical numbers, and Peggy is an instant star. It's not something I'd consider "Best Picture", but it was an okay movie. I'm not someone who typically goes for musicals. My biggest complaint is that the musical scenes in musicals tend to go on for way too long (and I usually don't like the music to begin with). But, I'm sure people who are fans of musicals love that, so I'm not exactly the target audience for these. Having said that, I thought it was a decent movie. This movie does appear on a few of the AFI's lists from the mid 2000s. They ranked it the 13th best musical in 2006, ranked the song "42nd Street" as the 97th best song, and gave the line "Sawyer, you're going out a youngster, but you've got to come back a star!" 87th on its list of 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes. My Rating: 6/10 IMDB User Rating: 7.6/10 (9k votes) Rotten Tomatoes: 95% of Critics (21-1), 74% of Audience (3.6 / 5 ; 7k votes)