BABES ON BROADWAY (1941) B/W 118m dir: Busby Berkeley

w/Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Fay Bainter, Virginia Weidler, Ray McDonald, Richard Quine, Donald Meek, Alexander Woollcott, Luis Alberni, James Gleason, Emma Dunn, Frederick Burton, Cliff Clark, William Post Jr., Carl Stockdale, Ava Gardner

From The Movie Guide: "This sequel to BABES IN ARMS is slightly superior, serving up Rooney and Garland in everything from soup to nuts. BROADWAY presents Rooney at his enthusiastic peak, especially when he impersonates Carmen Miranda, but he's still eclipsed by Garland when she sings 'F.D.R. Jones.' Minstrel finale and tributes to past theatrical performers are dynamite moments. Trivia fans should watch for Joe Yule, Rooney's father, as Mason, and for the debut of Margaret O'Brien. Burton Lane and Ralph Freed's 'How About You?' earned an Oscar nomination."

From the website The Judy Room (www.thejudyroom.com), this article about the film:

"Babes on Broadway is the third of the four 'Let’s put on a show!' musicals starring Judy and Mickey Rooney. The huge success of the previous two (Babes in Arms in 1939 and Strike Up the Band in 1940) meant that a third similarly-themed musical co-starring the studio’s teen team would also be a hit. This time, instead of putting a show on in a barn or in the backyard, the kids graduated from their high school milieu and have made their way to New York, now representing the young aspiring actors who would flood into NYC every year, trying to make it big on the stage.

"For Judy, Babes on Broadway was a bit of a step backward in regards to her career trajectory. She was beginning to make the usually difficult transition from child/teen star to adult star. Due to her incredible talents, it was obvious that she was on her way to becoming a successful adult actress/film star. Being stuck in yet another 'kids' musical didn’t help matters. In spite of this, in Babes on Broadway Judy comes across as not a kid but a lovely young woman who is actually (by 1941 standards) very independent. Her character of Penny Morris is not just a sidekick to Mickey’s Tommy Williams character. She’s also not pining away over him romantically (most of the time). There’s no song of longing in this film as there were in Babes in Arms and Strike Up the Band. This is the first time in the series that Mickey’s character pursues Judy’s and not the other way around. After Babes on Broadway Judy went into For Me and My Gal which was her first truly adult role --- and it was a hit. No more kid’s roles for Judy Garland!

"Busby Berkeley was again the director and he put his unique stamp on the 'Hoe Down' production number and the big finale sequence (in spite of its racist overtones) to great effect. Both are overflowing with energy and a polish that was lacking in most of the musicals of that era. He handled the more intimate dramatic scenes just as well. This ability to direct dramatic scenes and not just big dance numbers served him well in his and Judy’s next project, For Me and My Gal. Here, there’s no hint of the future incompatibility and animosity between him and Judy that would plague their future work together. In fact, the filming went well with everyone again at their best. Judy is especially charming while displaying a sense of confidence and maturity.

"One could say that Babes on Broadway is a kind of 'transition film' in the 'Let’s put on a show!' series. Some of the musical numbers and dramatics hark back to the previous two films, especially the 'Hoe Down' and 'Finale Sequence' numbers. But it also looks forward to the more adult Girl Crazy (the last in the series) in its mature romance between Judy and Mickey that is definitely more than just puppy love.

“'How About You?' became one of the all-time great standards, covered by a wide variety of singers and bands and popping up in random movies over the years as background scoring or more often than not, being played on a piano in the background of a party scene. As Mickey Rooney noted years later, he and Judy had the pleasure of introducing some of the best songs ever written.

"Babes on Broadway was another huge hit. The duo of Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney had become MGM’s most successful screen team to date. The previously (and mostly) untapped teen market flocked to see their favorite duo sing and dance as only they could. There would be one more in the series, 1943's Girl Crazy, that completed the cycle. By the time Girl Crazy was completed, producer Arthur Freed said, 'No more kids pictures!' His Freed Unit of movie musicals, having cut their teeth on these 'kids musicals' and some adaptations of Broadway musicals, was poised to enter into a golden age of MGM musicals."