Babes in Arms

Mickey and Judy are cute, so cute they almost make up for 1) the plot ("gee,let's put on a show in the barn" plus "save us kids from the orphanage") and 2) the pseudo-operatic vocal stylings of cloying Preisser and wooden McPhail, who manage to ruin one of the only two good songs ("Where or When") the movie has. If you've got the patience, though, watch it for the bizarre "Babes in Arms" production number in which our kids march toward stardom by torchlight like an army of Hitler Youth.

Clark Gable, who is referenced unusually often in this film, was just a movie extra when the film takes place in 1929.

When the blackface is the best part ... well, that's not quite fair, as the impersonations were OK. There's a whole lot of singing (mostly mediocre songs) and not nearly enough dancing that you'd expect from a picture directed by Berkeley. And that's sort of how the whole thing went: even the things that I could have enjoyed seemed to overstay their welcome.

These overly perky and feelgood musicals are a pest of their era. Rooney's talent comes through in some instances and the dancing numbers in the end are decent, but the shallowness can't be overlooked.

Holy blackface, Batman! Despite some amusement from Rooney and the voice of Garland, this film--limp narratively and formally--is better served going back in the vault.

The big hit of '39! Babes in Arms (1939)! And it rides high on the electric Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland dynamic. And to be honest, not much else. Thankfully the pair is the movie. My favorite bit was Rooney doing Gable & old Barrymore!