Babes on Broadway (1941)

"Babes on Broadway" was a very popular film and was just one of several similar Mickey Rooney films of the day. However, while wildly popular in the day, this sort of movie has not aged well and I found it very tough to finish the picture.Tommy Williams (Rooney) is a member of a young trio that sings and dances. He exudes confidence and knows they'll make it big on Broadway...but for much of the film his plans keep falling short. So, without any other options, he agrees to put on a show with his new pal, Penny (Judy Garland), as well as other young people with loads of talent but not much in the way of work. But, just before this big performance Tommy gets news that he's got a job...but can't do it AND the benefit performance. What's he to do?The biggest problem with this film is that there is hardly any plot and instead it consists of one musical number after another after another. Additionally, with several very, very similar other films starring the same duo and with similar plots, it's hard to take this very seriously or care about the characters. All in all, it's a film that tries too hard. Less singing and dancing and more heart...that would have improved this film tremendously...at least for audiences in the 21st century.

This movie has great singing and dancing by Judy, Mickey, and their friends.Actually, my favorite number is "Waiting For The Robert E. Lee"--one of those bouncy tunes with a rhythm that Judy makes so infectious you're bobbing your head as she sings.But that number is part of the minstrel show at the end, and I had to stop and think about whether it really spoiled the movie, or not.Personally, I think Mickey's blackface routine was somewhat racist and Judy's wasn't. Judy does not seem to engage in a caricature when she does her minstrel numbers. Her eyes are wide open when she sings FDR Jones, sure--but Busby Berkeley made her open her eyes wide all the time; that was one of her complaints about him. And the content/lyrics of "FDR Jones" is good-natured.At any rate, this minstrel show isn't as racist as, say, Fred Astaire's "With a Shine On Your Shoes" number from Easter Parade. Or some of the scenes from "Birth of a Nation," as far as that goes.All in all, it's a great Mickey/Judy musical. I give it an 8.5

Despite the fact the Busby Berkeley finale was a minstrel show, I like Babes on Broadway just fine. If you want to see Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland as a team at their peak, this isn't the film. But I like it fine anywayMickey is a member of a trio which also consists of Ray McDonald and Richard Quine singing for their supper at a one armed spaghetti joint owned by Luis Alberni. One of the three customers in the joint one night is Broadway girl Friday, Fay Bainter who loves the act and Mickey especially. She spends the rest of the film trying to get ulcer ridden producer James Gleason to hear him and the rest of the talent Rooney collects for that inevitable show he wants to put on.Of course one of those talents is Judy Garland, another eager young hopeful and the musical highlight of the film is their singing the famous Vernon Duke song, How About You. It's not one of Berkeley's big production numbers, it's done with Mickey and Judy at a piano in her place, but their infectious enthusiasm will grab you immediately. How About You was later done in the fifties with a really fine arrangement by Rosemary Clooney and Bing Crosby in one of their joint albums. The other highlight for me is the surreal number done when Judy and Mickey arrive at a long closed theater for their show and are transformed by the spirits of the performers of long ago who headlined in the place. What has to be remembered is that several of these people were actually still alive when Mickey and Judy are imitating them, people like George M. Cohan, Harry Lauder, Blanche Ring. Faye Templeton, Sarah Bernhardt, and Richard Mansfield were long dead or retired by then. Still people in the audience remembered them and Mickey and Judy's reverential treatment to these stage stars of long ago must have struck a chord in movie audiences we can't appreciate today.The minstrel show finale of course isn't good, yet even that is salvaged somewhat by Judy's singing of Franklin D. Roosevelt Jones. She also recorded it for Decca and the number still plays well today. When Judy does it even in blackface, somehow instead of degrading, it comes out as a tribute, like Fred Astaire in blackface imitating Bill Robinson in Bojangles of Harlem.My favorite of their joint projects has always been Girl Crazy, still Mickey and Judy are as alive and fresh in Babes on Broadway as ever and it's a great example of matchless chemistry and teamwork.

This film was full of veteran actors who were just starting out in films and many had already had great careers. We all enjoyed the great talents of Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland in this film. However, there was a great scene in this film with three sailors and three gals and most of these stars were uncredited and not listed, namely: Red Skelton and Ben Blue. They all had a dance number and mentioned President FDR and his friendly neighbor policy with South American Countries. This was a film made during the War Years and America had lots of problems within its own boundaries, namely bigotry among religions and nationalities. It is easy to find faults with this film, but lets face it, the Year it was made Was 1941, we had a lot of growing to DO! and Still DO!!!