Babes on Broadway

Babes on Broadway

theatrical release poster
Directed by Busby Berkeley
Vincente Minnelli (uncredited)
Produced by Arthur Freed
Written by Fred F. Finklehoffe
Starring Mickey Rooney
Judy Garland
Music by Score:
Leo Arnaud
George Bassman
George Stoll
(all uncredited)
Songs:
Burton Lane (music)
Roger Edens (music)
E.Y. Harburg (lyrics)
Ralph Freed (lyrics)
et al. (all uncredited)
Cinematography Lester White
Editing by Fredrick Y. Smith
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date(s) 1941 (1941)
Running time 118 minutes
Country United States
Language English

Babes on Broadway is a 1941 musical film starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland and directed by Busby Berkeley, with Vincente Minnelli directing Garland's big solo numbers.[1] The film, which features Fay Bainter and Virginia Weidler, was the third in the "Backyard Musical" series about kids who put on their own show, following Babes in Arms (1939) and Strike Up the Band (1940). Songs in the film include "Babes on Broadway" by Burton Lane (music) and E.Y. "Yip" Harburg (lyrics), and "How About You?" by Lane with lyrics by Ralph Freed, the brother of producer Arthur Freed. The movie ends with a minstrel show performed by the main cast in blackface.

Contents

Cast

Production

This was the third film in the "Backyard Musical" series, which included Babes in Arms (1939), Strike Up the Band (1940) and Girl Crazy (1943). Good News (1947) and Summer Stock (1950) were also originally planned to become part of the series. Judy Garland starred in the latter with Gene Kelly.

The film was stalled in the middle of production when Garland secretly flew to Las Vegas to wed her first husband David Rose. She was 19 years old.

Musical numbers

DVD release

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, Babes in Arms, Girl Crazy, and Strike Up the Band, as well as a fifth disc containing bonus features on Rooney and Garland.[2]

Notes

  1. ^ Higham, Charles; Greenberg, Joel (1968). Hollywood in the Forties. London: A. Zwemmer Limited. p. 172. ISBN 0302004777. 
  2. ^ 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

External links

1930s
1940s
Strike Up The Band (1940) • Little Nellie Kelly (1940) • Lady Be Good (1941) • Babes On Broadway (1941) • Panama Hattie (1942) • For Me & My Gal (1942) • Cabin In The Sky (1943) • Du Barry Was A Lady (1943) • Best Foot Forward (1943) • Girl Crazy (1943) • Meet Me In St. Louis (1944) • Yolanda & The Thief (1945) • The Harvey Girls (1946) • Ziegfeld Follies (1946) • Till The Clouds Roll By (1946) • Good News (1947) • Summer Holiday (1948) • The Pirate (1948) • Easter Parade (1948) • Words & Music (1948) • Take Me Out To The Ball Game (1949) • The Barkleys Of Broadway (1949) • On The Town (1949)
1950s
Annie Get Your Gun (1950) • Pagan Love Song (1950) • Royal Wedding (1951) • Show Boat (1951) • An American In Paris (1951) • The Belle Of New York (1952) • Singin' In The Rain (1952) • The Band Wagon (1953) • Brigadoon (1954) • It's Always Fair Weather (1955) • Kismet (1955) • Invitation To The Dance (1956) • Silk Stockings (1957) • Gigi (1958)
1960s
Uncredited
as producer
Non-musicals
The Clock (1945) • Any Number Can Play (1949) • Crisis (1950) • The Subterraneans (1960) • The Light In The Piazza (1962)
The Rooney & Garland films

Thoroughbreds Don't Cry (1937)  · Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938)  · Babes in Arms (1939)  · Andy Hardy Meets Debutante (1940)  · Strike Up the Band (1940)  · Life Begins for Andy Hardy (1941)  · Babes on Broadway (1941)  · Thousands Cheer (1943)  · Girl Crazy (1943)  · Words and Music (1948)