42nd Street

What an unexpected delight, this put a huge smile on my face. Giddily entertaining musical comedy, with truly funny (and bawdy) jokes, terrific songs, those magical Busby Berkeley dance numbers, charming performances, and a plot that never gets too fussy. The camerawork is quite impressive, too; despite being entirely about a stage production, Bacon & Berkeley utilize techniques that are purely cinematic.

Dat ending. Mostly enjoyable, kinda hokey at times though. The dance numbers are really fun to watch but the dialogue is often bad, yet the story is actually better than most musicals. Dick Powell was pretty awesome and nice supporting role for Ginger Rogers.

Classic and quintessential. Cosmopolitan and escapist to be sure, but commendably brings the glamor and decadence of show business down to a human level. And then it bursts into rhythmic bliss. The final act is an astonishing feat of song and dance, cinematography and editing. Just an absolutely delightful film, with a few catchy tunes and a bit of pre-code sauciness.

Last half an hour with spectacular dance scenes: score 100. Hour before this: score 50. Very faulty but the Busby Berkeley parts take my breath away and thus definitely worth seeing.

A bit of an up and down film but with more ups than downs and a wonderful finale to make you forget some of the slow parts that precede it. When it hits it's a strong witty musical comedy with likable characters, and while sometimes you just wish it would get on with things it does deliver.

"42nd Street" is a very pleasant musical, a big part of which isn't about musical numbers but plot and character evolution. There are times that it isn't quite clear who the protagonist is, if there is one, and that works to the film's merit: the main roles all get their stories told in turns. From an acting perspective Warner Baxter shines as the sick, shouting but committed director. Lastly, Busby Berkeley's musical numbers during the finale are marvelous and will please all fans of the genre.

This was more a film that happens to have a musical than a backstage musical. The actual 20-minute musical section at the end was incredible, but I would have been far more entertained if the musical numbers were more interspersed. Perhaps it's because I've seen the stage version, but I thought it could have flowed much better.

THE backstage musical. Timeless and beautiful and priceless and awesome

ruby keeler reminds me of anna faris

I really liked the more earthy approach this takes, when compared to some later MGM-era musicals with all their glitz and glamour. This has some of that, but it also has a rough-around-the-edges sensibility that is best embodied by its final shot--Marsh sitting on steps, slumped over and exhausted. This tinge of melancholy permeates every corner of this film (in and around the comedy, dance, music, and romance), which gives it a pretty distinctive quality.

The archetypal backstage musical.

Mostly typical screwball stuff that I'm not really a fan of, but it's a decent one still. It's the actual musical in the third act that will make this memorable for me.

Coasts off the almost surefire success of the backstage musical genre but pretty unremarkable otherwise.

Great show at the end.

Sometimes it seems that the only one's doing anything inventive in 1930s films, especially in the American market, are musicals.

My first Busby Berkeley movie and for a while I was wondering, "What's the big deal?" then we got to last twenty minutes and I thought, "There's the big deal!" Some incredible stuff going on there, for sure.

A charming movie about the production of a musical that happens to have a small musical at the end. A movie about stage musicals and their production can become a little too meta or inside baseball for the uninitiated. However, the interesting cast of characters and simple but sweet plot was entertaining enough as a story before the dessert of the musical numbers. The star of the movie is the final numbers, but the rest of the films has a surprising amount of laughs and enough heart to be a win

# 432

Singing n' dancing. Not my kind of party, but I enjoyed the backstage drama and a couple of the well choreographed acts.

The ending is grand and catchy and spectacular and campy beyond belief and I love it, it's so good in fact it mostly makes up for the mediocre film that precedes it. Pretty much the first great Hollywood Musical. -3 for a brief use of brownface.

Entertaining early musical.

438

Archetypal Hollywood putting-on-a-show musical in which the leading lady is indisposed and a chorus girl is told to get out there and come back a star. The cliches are written and performed with great zest, the atmosphere is convincing, and the numbers when they come are dazzlers.

"How ya feelin'?" Girl in guy's lap: "Like I'm sittin' on a flagpole." (Plus it has the "you'll come back a star..." line.)

85.50

The first half was pretty horrible.

I liked "Gold Diggers of 1933"'s story a little more (although it's tough to distinguish between that, 42nd St, and Footlight Parade, all with pretty similar setups and cast members). But this one, which starts to feel like a too-long sketch comedy, has an impressive finish with that over-the-top NYC sequence.

Busby Berkely is a genius. His choreography is magnificent. Otherworldly, even. That said, this being considered the quintessential backstage-musical, it has disappointingly little song and dance. Most of the movie is below-average screwball/comedy routines. Watch the "I'm Young and Healthy" dance number on YouTube instead.

"This sort of picture could only have been produced in the unbelievable decadence of the 1930s studios. Girls applied to be in the chorus the way they line up to appear on Pop Idol today. The result is an absolute spectacular. Not to be missed."

Rua 42 estreava há 90 anos na Irlanda. Acho que foi mais impressionante na minha primeira visão dele, mas com Busby Berkeley não tem erro, suas sequências são maravilhosas e impressionantes. YTS.

Although this contains quite a few things of interest the Busby Berkely numbers, the appearance of Ginger Rogers, Shuffle off to Buffalo etc overall it seemed quite dated and not the best of its kind.

Some of the kaleidoscopic camera work is quite remarkable, but the plot is really flimsy and rather fucked up.

Lots of Ruby Keeler being super cute at least, but otherwise pretty dull. Not even the Berkeley numbers felt all that inspired (relatively speaking), and i'm not sure how much this was even trying to be funny.

Gams 0_0

466

Fun enough musical about a musical production. The actual musical at the end, especially the Young and Healthy and 42nd Street numbers, are innovatively and impressively shot. Before that, though, things are a lot more uneven. The health of Marsh never particularly becomes important, Ruby Keeler is kind of middling in her role, and it's all just kind of middling despite the sometimes sharp script. The ending definitely elevates it, though, and makes it worth seeing.

Veteran stars such as Warner Baxter and Bebe Daniels give strong performances in the main roles as the story starts, but it's the young and fresh cast of Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler that ends up taking this one home, and starts off a successful succession of musicals for the two. This one had a impressive cast regardless as nearly everyone that had a part here was, is or became a star at one point or another. Ginger Rogers, Una Merkel, Guy Kibbee and George E. Stone was excellent in their parts.

There may be better more profound works of art in the world of cinema, but few are as enjoyable as 42nd Street. There is too much eye candy in this film, Berkeley's kaleidoscopetic choreography and the creation small set transforming into of a life size replica of Manhattan'S 42nd Street along with some of Dubin & Warren's best songs. If you can't handle early musical 30's film acting (it's an acquired taste), watch at least the last act online to see the spectacle.

#510

The last 15 minutes are such an all time great musical delight that you kind of forget the first 75 are little more than a pleasant distraction that really isn't all that funny. However it's one of those pre-Code movies that plays so fast and loose with implicit and explicit sexuality that you really wonder what the next 30 years of American cinema would have looked like if not for Hays.

another backstage story. final show and Busby Berkeley's choreography are amazing.