Babes In Arms
Director:
Busby Berkeley
Cast:
Mickey Rooney….Mickey Moran
Judy Garland…Patsy Barton
Charles Winninger….Joe Moran
Guy Kibbee….Judge John Black
June Preisser….Rosalie Essex
Warner Home Video presents Babes In Arms. Screenplay by Jack McGowan & Kay Van Ripper. Running time: 93 minutes. Unrated. Theatrical release: Oct. 31, 1939.
Strike Up the Band
Director:
Busby Berkeley
Cast:
Mickey Rooney….James “Jimmy” Connors
Judy Garland….Mary Holden
Paul Whiteman & Orchestra….Group Performers
June Presisser….Barbara Frances Morgan
Warner Home Video presents Strike Up the Band. Screenplay by John Monks Jr. & Fred F Finklehoffe. Running time: 72 minutes. Unrated. Theatrical release: Sept. 27, 1940.
Babes on Broadway
Director:
Busby Berkeley
Cast:
Mickey Rooney….Tommy Williams
Judy Garland….Penny Morris
Fay Bainter….Miss Jones
Virginia Weidler….Jo Conway
Warner Home Home Video presents Babes on Broadway. Screenplay by Fred F. Finklehoffe & Elaine Ryan. Running time: 118 minutes. Unrated. Theatrical release: Dec. 31, 1941.
Girl Crazy
Director:
Norman Taurog
Cast:
Mickey Rooney….Danny Churchill, Jr.
Judy Garland….Ginger Gray
Gil Stratton….Bud Livermore
June Allyson….Specialty Singer
Warner Home Home Video presents Girl Crazy. Screenplay by Fred F. Finklehoffe. Running time: 99 minutes. Unrated. Theatrical release: Nov. 26, 1943.
Warner Home Video presents Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland Collection. Four movies on 5 DVDs. DVD release: Sept 25, 2007.
The Movies
These kids truly know how to put on a show. Six decades ago, Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland collaborated on four films that established them as one of the greatest duos in cinema. They personified the “can do” spirit that America needed in the days before World War II. They reminded us that with a vision in our eyes and a song in our heart, nothing that outrageous is impossible.
The basic plots of the movies involve any reason to get these kids singing and dancing as part of their own elaborate shows. They want an audience that’s going to hum instead of think deeply about the plots. These four films also feature a dynamic duo behind the camera in producer Arthur Freed and director Busby Berekley. Busby’s amazing use of angles and camera movements elevates the musical moments. We’re not merely watching Mickey and Judy on the stage. Busby has us soar into the movements of the performers. We are lifted by the lyrics and dazzled by the downbeats.
Babes In Arms launched this successful franchise by mixing MGM’s top young comic talent with their stellar teen songstress. The story has Mickey as the child of a vaudevillian performer. Mickey ends up in trouble and the only way he and other vaudevillian kids can avoid a booking at the work farm is to put on the show of their lives. Instead of putzing together a low level talent show, Mickey and Judy’s gang group together to provide Broadway level performances. Is it enough to save them from life behind bars? Will the finale resemble the musical episode of Oz? Songs performed include “Good Morning,” “You Are My Lucky Star,” “I’m Just Wild About Harry” and “God’s Country.”
Strike Up the Band has Mickey as a jazz drummer stuck in a lame school orchestra. Judy is a singer that wants to be more serious with Mickey. But the music comes first in his heart. He transforms the staid band into a hot dance orchestra. They’re so good they decide to enter a competition sponsored by Paul Whiteman. There’s money and travel issues that make us fear that Mickey and Judy won’t be able to battle the other bands. Don’t fear too much since there’s no way this film ends without a major musical number.
Babes on Broadway brings the kids to Manhattan as they try to establish themselves as legit stage stars. However the road to showbiz bliss is bumpy. Mickey and Judy decide the best way to get noticed outside the cattle calls is to create their own show. When they take their act to the street for a radio concert, Judy sings “Chin Up! Cheerio! Carry On!” to support England in the battle against the Nazis. Even in what could be conceived as a fluffy piece of entertainment, Judy reminds America that war is approaching us. But the film doesn’t get bogged down in the heavy nature of the times. The duo and their friends do get their big break, but there’s an issue. Mickey and Judy have promised to rent a theater and put on a show to help kids with rickets. Instead of booking a theater, they get an offer to be a part of a Broadway bound musical. Mickey wants to take the gig, but Judy can’t. She wants to fulfill their charity duty. Who will win in the battle of show biz dreams versus the soul? How many songs will it take to declare a victor? Be warned that Mickey impersonates Carmen Miranda. “Blackout Over Broadway” features the entire cast in blackface for a massive minstrel show number. You might not want to show this if Al Sharpton drops by for dinner.
Girl Crazy has Mickey playing a rich playboy who becomes a trailblazer for Paris Hilton and Brandon Davis. His family isn’t crazy about him being so crazy about the girls . They feel disgraced by seeing him constantly in the newspapers with his outrageous behavior. Mickey’s father ships him out to an all boy college in the middle of the desert. He imagines Mickey will mature without the influence of tempting women. This plan falls short when on his long trek to the remote college, Mickey stumbles across Judy. He doesn’t want to focus on his studies. He wants to duet. The school is in a bit of financial troubles so Mickey comes up with the solution: Put on a show! And what a show it is with Tommy Dorsey’s orchestra as providing the music for the cast of hundreds.
Even though Busby started the film in the director’s chair on Girl Crazy, Freed fired him early in the production and replaced him with Normal Taurog. Before he was sent packing, Busby shoot the big finale of “I Got Rhythm.” Do not use this information as an excuse to chapter forward to the end since Taurog keeps things going at an excitable pace.
Why doesn’t Taurog get any real respect for his work? He won a Best Director Oscar. He directed Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis’s Jumping Jacks, Elvis Presley’s Blue Hawaii, Andy Griffith’s Onionhead, Spencer Tracy’s Boy’s Town and Vincent Price’s Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine. But do you ever hear film professors drone on about the “Cinematic Magic of Norman Taurog?” When will Robert Osbourne have an evening of Taurog on Turner Classic Movies? There must be a Cult of Taurog.
These films show the duo at their performing prime. Judy before the booze and pills took over her life. Mickey before he became a staple of bad 70s gameshows and Dana Carvey impersonations. In the black and white, these two glowed with pluck. Mickey’s singing voice compliments Judy. Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland Collection is this year’s perfect holiday gift for fans of movie musicals and kids who crave to put on a show. This is the magic that High School Musical emulates.
The DVD
VIDEO:
All four films are in 1.33:1 full screen. The restorations look great for their age.
AUDIO:
The soundtrack is in Dolby Digital Mono. The subtitles are in English. Historian John Fricke provides commentary tracks on Babes in Arms and Girl Crazy. He gives plenty of history about the films and the stars.
EXTRAS:
Babes in Arms
Introduction by Mickey Rooney (3:27) sets up how he and Judy were brought together for the film.
Duel Personalities (9:53) is an Our Gang Comedy. Alfalfa gets screwed up by a hypnotist. The rascal thinks he’s one of the Three Musketeers. He attacks Butch to win Darla’s heart. She’s impressed by the boys dueling. But he snaps out of his spell at the wrong moment.
The Mad Maestro (7:39) is a Hugh Harman cartoon from MGM. A classic case of what happens when animals run a symphony.
Newsreel (4:03) features Judy’s birthday party with Mickey and the Hardy Family cast. Mickey and Judy meet Mayor LaGuardia at the New York World’s Fair in 1939. They’re promoting a rooms for visitors to the Big Apple. Imagine staying in New York City for 60 cents a night. Mickey and Judy explain how to donate to the March of Dimes. There’s a bit of dead space between the segments.
9/24/1939 Gulf Screen Guild Theater Radio Broadcast (28:18) has Judy, Mickey, Ann Southern and Cary Grant doing an audio version of Babes in Arms. How come they didn’t do a radio version of Hostel?
11/9/1941 Gulf Screen Guild Theater Radio Broadcast (27:54) has Judy and Mickey doing a mini-version of the film with a focus on the songs. The sound quality is better on this version.
Good News of 1938 Broadcast (13:40) is a Hollywood based variety show sponsored by Maxwell House Coffee. Robert Young (Father Knows Best) hosts the show. Judy sings “God’s Country.” She then performs a beautiful serenade by Schubert.
Leo Is On the Air (4:43) is MGM’s radio promo pushing Babes In Arms. They feature songs from the film to lure in the crowds.
Theatrical Trailer (3:29) pushes MGM’s association with movie musicals and how Babes In Arms is the next level of singing and dancing entertainment.
Strike Up the Band
Introduction by Mickey Rooney (3:15) has him explain how soon the studio wanted Judy, Mickey and Busby making another musical.
Wedding Bills (9:40) is a Pete Smith Specialty live action comedy short. Pete guides us through the stages of a man after a “Yes” to his wedding proposition. We see how much cash the groom has to dish out to be hitched. While this short wants to be a comedy, it’s filled with the harsh truths of wedding budgets.
Romeo in Rhythm (8:14) is a Rudolf Ising cartoon. A troupe of crows perform Romeo and Juliet with a jazzy beat. A year before Dumbo, MGM gave America outrageous singing crows.
“Do The La Conga” In Stereo (6:01) gives you a chance to hear Judy and Mickey sing that Latin beat with sound separation.
10/28/1940 Lux Radio Theater Broadcast (58:18) has Mickey and Judy performing a live version of their musical.
Leo Is On the Air (14:05) has MGM’s radio promo department pushing the movie with songs from the film. They point out that Mickey always wanted to be a drummer in a jazz orchestra.
7/2/1941 Millions For Defense Radio excerpt (13:56) is a fundraiser for defensive savings bonds. This aired five months before the Pearl Harbor attack. The gag is that they can’t find Judy and Mickey is worried what he’ll do to fill the time. He does his Lionel Barrymore impersonation. Finally Judy calls in from Chicago and does “Strike Up the Band.”
Theatrical Trailer (2:48) lets fans know that they wanted another Babes in Arms and here it is. They sell this show on the youth of their cast. Hollywood’s desire to push old folks off the screen isn’t a recent trend.
Babes On Broadway
Introduction by Mickey Rooney (3:19) deals with how him and Judy were the box office champs.
How to Hold Your Husband – Back (9:17) is a Pete Smith Specialty. An actress plays the various types of wives who ruin their husbands. The needy wife destroys her husband’s career with babytalk over the phone during work hours. The helpful wife destroys a Poker game with kindness and cake. The know it all wife fixes her husband’s body to fail a military physical.
Dance of the Weed (8:38) is a Rudolf Ising cartoon. A weed pulls his leg-like roots from the dirt and explores his world of living vegetation. The short is reminiscent of a Fantasia outtake with the floral dancing.
Chin Up, Cherrio, Carry On” Burton Lane Guide Track (2:30) is a rough version of the song.
Leo Is On the Air Radio Promo (15:00) tempts us with the great songs that await when you see Babes On Broadway at the theater.
Leo Is On the Air Chirstmas Promo (14:00) kicks off with “Jingle Bells” as they remind us this holiday season to spend it with Mickey and Judy. The duo are interviewed while riding in Santa’s sleigh during the Christmas parade on Hollywood Blvd.
11/17/1941 Lux Radio Theater Broadcast of Merton of the Movies (57:51) is hosted by Cecil B. Demille. Mickey and Judy perform in a radio adaptation of a movie they didn’t make.
Theatrical Trailer (2:29) starts off with a bomb exploding. Can a modern movie sell itself by relating to an explosive?
Girl Crazy
Introduction by Mickey Rooney (4:09) covers how this was Mickey and Judy’s fourth and final film produced by Arthur Freed. He considers it the best because all the music was from George and Ira Gershwin.
Hollywood Daredevils (9:20) is a Pete Smith Specialty. This time Pete turns his attention to movie stunt coordinator Harry Wolman. There’s spectacular motorcycle stunts including a jump over two other bikers. They slow-mo the moment to show you how close the tires came to hitting helmets. Nowadays they’d do this all with pingpong balls and CGIs.
The Early Bird Dood It (8:48) is a Tex Avery cartoon. This is a frantic chase between a worm, a bird and a cat. The whistling worm helps the cat go after the bird. The ending is not your normal Disney wrap up.
“I Got Rhythm” Stereo Number (7:30) sounds amazing. As soon as the film’s over, listen to this. Tommy Dorsey’s band is perfect with Judy’s lead vocal.
“Bronco Busters” Audio Outtake (4:24) is just the soundtrack.
Theatrical Trailer (2:11) plays up Mickey being the womanizer. You’ll believe he’s Girl Crazy. That’s until he meets Judy. Then they make music for each other.
Bonus DVD
Private Screenings with Mickey Rooney (40:12) is an interview conducted by Robert Osbourne for Turner Classic Movies. Did you know Mickey served under George Patton in World War II? How come that wasn’t part of Patton?
Judy Garland Songbook (1:26:57) has 22 of her performances from a variety of MGM films. There’s nothing from Wizard of Oz, so you’ll have to buy that DVD.
Mickey Rooney – Judy Garland Trailer Collection (28:45) has the coming attractions to all ten times they shared the silver screen. In Love Finds Andy Hardy, MGM was already promoting them in “A Gallery of Famous Screen Sweethearts.”
Book with stories about the making of the films. There’s also the posters and newspaper advertisements.
Twenty Photos that are the perfect size for decorating the walls of your office. There’s a shot of Mickey in drag with Carmen Miranda.
Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland Collection |
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The Inside Pulse
This is the perfect holiday gift for the movie lover in your life.
