Babes in Arms

Director: Busby Berkeley Busby Berkeley

Overview

This fun-filled spin-off of the Rodgers & Hart Broadway musical by the same name, features Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney as two young children of vaudevillian parents who aren't included in their parents travels, so they set out to produce a show of their own. Rooney's the driver here and he's up against the administrators of a fogy state-run trade school, who think the whole show idea is nonsense. A listening judge gives them 30 days to put on the show and prove they don't belong in the jail-like school. The rest of the action involves the highly talented kids successful efforts to not only stage the show, but to bring the whole troupe to Broadway.

Product Details

Release Date:	10/02/2018
UPC:	0888574721787
Original Release:	1939
Source:	Warner Archives
Language:	English
Time:	1:31:00
Sales rank:	28,330

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Mickey Rooney	Mickey Moran
Judy Garland	Patsy Barton
Charles Winninger	Joe Moran
June Preisser	Rosalie Essex
Guy Kibbee	Judge Black
Grace Hayes	Florrie Moran
Betty Jaynes	Molly Moran
Douglas McPhail	Don Brice
Rand Brooks	Jeff Steele
Leni Lynn	Dody Martini
John Sheffield	Bobs,Bobs
Henry Hull	Maddox
Barnett Parker	William,William
Ann Shoemaker	Mrs. Barton
Margaret Hamilton	Martha Steele
Joseph Crehan	Mr. Essex
George McKay	Brice
Henry Roquemore	Shaw
Lelah Taylor	Mrs. Brice
Joe Caits	Actor
Lon McCallister	Boy
George Stoll	Composer

Technical Credits

Busby Berkeley	Director
Arthur Freed	Producer

Editorial Reviews

Babes in Arms is a prime example of the "let's put on a show" musical popular in the 1930s and 1940s. The nominal plot is little more than a means of connecting the elaborate production numbers; the supporting cast are little more than props for stars Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland. Busby Berkeley's direction is able and functional: like the audience, he's just eager to get to the next dance set. MGM had other priorities at the time of Babes' production -- most notably Garland's classic The Wizard of Oz, on which the studio lost money, and the expensive, lucrative Gone With the Wind -- so the budget for the Berkeley musical was surprisingly low. What Babes in Arms lacks in production grandeur, however, it amply compensates with the captivating star turns from Rooney and Garland.

All Movie Guide - Richard Gilliam