42nd Street

Starring: Ruby Keeler, Warner Baxter, Bebe Daniels, et al.

Product Description

Meet a dewy-eyed ingenue, a gee-whiz tenor, stuck-up stars, hard-up producers, brassy blondes and "shady ladies from the '80s." They're all denizens of 42nd Street, belting out ageless Harry Warren/Al Dubin songs and tapping out Busby Berkeley's sensational Depression-lifting production numbers. The put-on-a-show plot spins merrily, full of snappy banter and new faces Ruby Keeler (her movie debut), Dick Powell and Ginger Rogers. The showstopping numbers ("Shuffle Off to Buffalo," "You're Getting to Be a Habit with Me" and the title tune) still dazzle. 42nd Street shows that good times never go out of style.

• Format: DVD
• Language: English
• UPC: 012569500129
• Release Date: May 2003
• Rating: Unrated (Not Rated)
• Publisher: Warner Home Video
• Director: Lloyd Bacon
• Starring: Ruby Keeler, Warner Baxter, Bebe Daniels, George Brent, Dick Powell, Guy Kibbee, Una Merkel, Ginger Rogers, Ned Sparks, George E. Stone
• Runtime: 1 hour, 30 minutes
• Number of Disks: 1
• Other Video Info: full_screen
• Weight: 0.20 lbs.

Customer Reviews

You are going out as a youngster…

But you’ve got to come back as a star! “42nd Street” is one of those formula rival substitutes for the overbearing star formula chorus line movies that you see over and over. However, it is old enough that this could have been the prototype for such movies as “Down to Earth” (1947). This must have been made shortly after talkies appeared, and they advertise it as one of the best movies since Warner Brothers made talkies. The story was adapted from a novel by Bradford Ropes. It is interesting to see all the references to the “Great Depression” in the script and even the music. A cute chorus girl, Dorothy Brock (Bebe Daniels) smarms an old rich coot into financing a musical comedy and making her the star. The producer Julian Marsh (Warner Baxter) is economically poor due to the depression and has a nervous condition that makes this his last and imperatively good production. Others in the production range from old troopers to first-timers. Most of the film is constantly practicing during the day and deceitful in the evening. This film is good enough to place names next to the pictures of the actors, and you will recognize many personalities from the period, for example: Warner Baxter Bebe Daniels George Brent Ruby Keeler Guy Kibbee Una Merkel Ginger Rogers Ned Sparks Dick Powell Allen Jenkins Edward J. Nugent Robert McWade George E. Stone There are many good songs peppered throughout the film, such as: "It Must Be June" "Shuffle Off to Buffalo" "Young and Healthy" "42nd Street" If you cotton to Harry Warren songs, you may want to find the album “The Song Is Harry Warren.” We can all sit back with our popcorn and become part of 42nd Street.