42nd Street. 1933. Directed by Lloyd Bacon.

(5/30/00)

This is probably the classic musical about putting on a Broadway show and it is probably the most famous of the musicals that Busby Berkeley made at Warner Brothers in the 1930s. And I think it deserves to be. It is not a silly comedy, but a film about believable characters and what goes on behind the scenes.

It doesn't have Footlight Parade's relentless energy. Instead it has a series of scenes which genuinely involve the viewer on an emotional level. The scenes are allowed to breathe--we don't have a sense of being bombarded. I felt more relaxed watching 42nd Street--and more interested.

The center of the backstage story is the character played by Warner Baxter. He has done great shows, but doesn't have anything money-wise to show for it. He's not well and is risking his life for this one. It is his last chance. And at the end of the film he sits alone, unacknowledged, after his show has succeeded. Poignacy doesn't hurt a picture like this.

Then there is the intrigue about the leading lady. A wealthy admirer (and she is probably sleeping with him) is bankrolling the show on her behalf. Meanwhile, she is seeing her ex-boyfriend on the sly. It is an arrangement that is making no one happy.

What was interesting for me was the realization that both the wealthy man and the leading lady feel degraded by this arrangement. He certainly knows that people are laughing at him behind his back and she knows that everyone knows that she only has the part because of her relationship with this man. That really came through. And the situation is resolved when, after spraining her ankle, she finally realizes her true values and gives up her dubious career to marry the man she really loves.

Guy Kibbee comes up with another discovery to do the part, but there is a truly touching moment when Joan Blondell admits to Warner Baxter that she can't do it justice, but that she knows someone who can. She does the right thing and points him in the direction of newcomer Peggy Sawyer, played by Ruby Keeler.

Warner Baxter is just right as he gives pep talks to Ruby Keeler. It seems a little too much, but it isn't. The man is desperate; this is his last chance. And it is quite a metamorphosis as Sally changes from an amateur into a star. Those scenes are archetypal, practically.

But 42nd Street is, more than anything else, about its musical numbers. And they are classics. They are, first of all, a first-class group of songs. "You're Getting to Be a Habbit With Me," "Shuffle Off to Buffalo" and "42nd Street" have deservedly become standards that everyone knows.

It's Busby Berkeley's show all the way, but I'm not going to say very much except that the scenes are well worth the wait. It's too bad that "You're Getting to Be a Habit With Me" doesn't get a big production number. I would have liked to see Ruby Keeler paired with Dick Powell for "Shuffle Off to Buffalo," but you can't have everything. "I'm Young and Healthy" is one of the best examples of Busby Berkeley's overhead shots of dancers arranged in moving abstract patterns. It is an art deco fantasia, brilliantly set off by its black background. And "42nd Street" provides an exuberant finish.

Ruby Keeler has her one memorable role as Peggy Sawyer. It was the right woman in the right role at the right time. She has major chemistry with Dick Powell which was not repeated in Footlight Parade. And it is fun to see Ginger Rogers sporting an affected British accent.
Gold Diggers of 1933 and Gold Diggers of 1935 also have some very fine production numbers, but 42nd Street just has a special something.

(6/2/00)

I want to qualify my comments on Ruby Keeler and say that I thought she was quite fetching as "Shanghai Lil." And I very much liked the scene (Footlight Parade) in which Herman Bing goes over the titles of songs in the music library that have something to do with cats.