''Babes on Broadway'' is a 1941 American

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

starring

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...

and

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

and directed by

Busby Berkeley Busby Berkeley (born Berkeley William Enos; November 29, 1895 – March 14, 1976) was an American film director and musical choreographer. Berkeley devised elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns. Berke ...

, with

Vincente Minnelli Vincente Minnelli (born Lester Anthony Minnelli; February 28, 1903 – July 25, 1986) was an American stage director and film director. He directed the classic movie musicals ''Meet Me in St. Louis'' (1944), ''An American in Paris'' (1951), ''Th ...

directing Garland's big solo numbers. The film, which features

Fay Bainter Fay Okell Bainter (December 7, 1893 – April 16, 1968) was an American film and stage actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for ''Jezebel'' (1938) and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Early life Bainter wa ...

and

Virginia Weidler Virginia Anna Adeleid Weidler (March 21, 1927 – July 1, 1968) was an American child actress, popular in Hollywood films during the 1930s and 1940s. Early life and career Weidler was born on March 21, 1927, in Eagle Rock, Los Angeles County, ...

, was the third in the "Backyard Musical" series about kids who put on their own show, following ''

Babes in Arms ''Babes in Arms'' is a 1937 coming-of-age musical comedy with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Rodgers and Hart. It concerns a group of small-town Long Island teenagers who put on a show to avoid being sent to a wor ...

'' (1939) and '' Strike Up the Band'' (1940). Songs in the film include "Babes on Broadway" by

Burton Lane Burton Lane ( Levy; February 2, 1912 – January 5, 1997) was an American composer and lyricist primarily known for his theatre and film scores. His most popular and successful works include '' Finian's Rainbow'' in 1947 and ''On a Clear Day You ...

(music) and E.Y. "Yip" Harburg (lyrics), and "

How About You? "How About You?" is a popular song composed by Burton Lane, with lyrics by Ralph Freed. (1941 in music) It was introduced in the 1941 film ''Babes on Broadway'' by Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney. The lyrics of the song are often changed dependi ...

" by Lane with lyrics by Ralph Freed, the brother of producer

Arthur Freed Arthur Freed (September 9, 1894 – April 12, 1973) was an American lyricist and Hollywood film producer. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture twice, in 1951 for ''An American in Paris'' and in 1958 for '' Gigi''. Both films were musicals. ...

. The movie ends with a

minstrel show The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of racist theatrical entertainment developed in the early 19th century. Each show consisted of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music performances that depicted people spe ...

performed by the main cast in

blackface Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-Black people to portray a caricature of a Black person. In the United States, the practice became common during the 19th century and contributed to the spread of racial stereo ...

Plot

Cast

Production

''Babes on Broadway'' was the third film in the "Backyard Musical" series, which included ''

'' (1939), '' Strike Up the Band'' (1940) and ''

Girl Crazy ''Girl Crazy'' is a 1930 musical by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and book by Guy Bolton and John McGowan. Ethel Merman made her stage debut in the first production and co-lead Ginger Rogers became an overnight star. Rich in song, ...

'' (1943). The film was stalled in the middle of production when Garland secretly flew to

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

to wed her first husband David Rose. She was 19 years old.

Musical numbers

*"Babes on Broadway" (Main Title) (MGM Studio Chorus) *"Anything Can Happen in New York" (Mickey Rooney, Ray McDonald, and Richard Quine) *"

" (Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney) *"Hoe Down" (Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney,

Six Hits and a Miss Six Hits and a Miss was an American swing-era singing group. The group consisted of six male singers and one female (thus the word "miss" in their name has a double meaning – the converse of the word "hit", and denotation of a young woman). T ...

, The Five Musical Maids, and MGM Studio Chorus) *"Chin Up! Cheerio! Carry On!" (Judy Garland, St. Luke's Episcopal Church Choristers, and MGM Studio Chorus) *Ghost Theater Sequence: **"

Cyrano de Bergerac Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th cen ...

" (Mickey Rooney as

Richard Mansfield Richard Mansfield (24 May 1857 – 30 August 1907) was an English actor-manager best known for his performances in Shakespeare plays, Gilbert and Sullivan operas, and the play '' Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde''. Life and career Mansfield was born ...

) **"Mary's a Grand Old Name" (Judy Garland as

Fay Templeton Fay Templeton (December 25, 1865 – October 3, 1939) was an American actress, singer, songwriter, and comedian. Her parents were actors/vaudevillians and she followed in their footsteps, making her Broadway debut in 1900. Templeton excelled ...

) **"She's Ma Daisy" (Mickey Rooney as

Harry Lauder Sir Henry Lauder (; 4 August 1870 – 26 February 1950)Russell, Dave"Lauder, Sir Henry (1870–1950)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online edition, January 2011, accessed 27 April 2014 was a S ...

) **"

I've Got Rings On My Fingers I've Got Rings On My Fingers is a popular song written in 1909, words by Weston and Barnes, and music by Maurice Scott. It concerns an Irishman named Jim O'Shea, a castaway who finds himself on an island somewhere in the East Indies, whereupon he i ...

" (Judy Garland as

Blanche Ring Blanche Ring (April 24, 1871 – January 13, 1961) was an American singer and actress in Broadway theatre productions, musicals, and Hollywood motion pictures. She was best known for her rendition of "In the Good Old Summer Time." Early l ...

) **"

La Marseillaise "La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. The song was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by France against Austria, and was originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du R ...

" (Judy Garland as

Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 or 23 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including '' La Dame Aux Camel ...

) **"

The Yankee Doodle Boy "The Yankee Doodle Boy", also well known as "(I'm a) Yankee Doodle Dandy" is a patriotic song from the Broadway musical ''Little Johnny Jones'' written by George M. Cohan. The play opened at the Liberty Theater on November 7, 1904. The play conc ...

" (Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland) *"Bombshell from Brazil" (Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Richard Quine, Ray McDonald, Virginia Weidler, Anne Rooney, Robert Bradford, and MGM Studio Chorus) *"Mama Yo Quiero" (Mickey Rooney) *Minstrel Show Sequence: **"Blackout Over Broadway" (Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Ray McDonald, Virginia Weidler, Richard Quine, Anne Rooney and MGM Studio Chorus) **" By the Light of the Silvery Moon" (Ray McDonald) **"Franklin D. Roosevelt Jones" (Judy Garland and MGM Studio Chorus) **"

Old Folks at Home "Old Folks at Home" (also known as " Swanee River") is a minstrel song written by Stephen Foster in 1851. Since 1935, it has been the official state song of Florida, although in 2008 the original lyrics were revised. It is Roud Folk Song Inde ...

" (Eddie Peabody on banjo, dubbing for Mickey Rooney) **"

Alabamy Bound "Alabamy Bound" is a Tin Pan Alley tune written in 1924, with music by Ray Henderson and words by Buddy DeSylva and Bud Green. It was popularized by Al Jolson and included in the musical ''Kid Boots'', where it was sung by Eddie Cantor. Successful ...

" (Eddie Peabody on banjo, dubbing for Mickey Rooney) **"Waiting for the Robert E. Lee" (Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Virginia Weidler, Anne Rooney, Richard Quine, and MGM Studio Chorus) *"Babes on Broadway" (Finale) (Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Virginia Weidler, Ray McDonald, Richard Quine, and MGM Studio Chorus)

Box office

According to MGM records, the film earned $2,363,000 in the US and Canada and $1,496,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $1,720,000.

Home media

''Babes on Broadway'' was released on DVD for the first time as part of a 5-disc DVD set The Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland Collection on September 25, 2007. The set contains ''Babes on Broadway'', ''

'', ''

'', and '' Strike Up the Band'', as well as a fifth disc containing bonus features on Rooney and Garland.Amazon.com: The Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland Collection (Babes in Arms / Babes on Broadway / Girl Crazy / Strike Up the Band): Movies & TV: Mickey Rooney,Judy Garland
/ref>

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Babes On Broadway 1941 films 1941 musical films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films directed by Busby Berkeley Films produced by Arthur Freed Films scored by Georgie Stoll American musical films Blackface minstrel shows and films 1940s American films