Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Jones and Barry are doing a show, July 2, 2005
42ND STREET has everything I could ask for in a movie. Set in the present day (1933) it's a Depression-era behind-the-scenes story of the making of a Broadway musical. An ensemble piece, it tracks a number of story lines at once - Broadway star `Dot' Brock (the beautiful Bebe Daniels) and her ever-present sugar daddy, the production's angel. wonderfully played by Guy Kibbee. The down-but-not-out director Julian Marsh (Warner Baxter), for whom this play is a lifeline (`You guys ever hear of Wall Street?' Marsh asks when queried about his desire to direct this play, that being `nuff said in those days.) The sweet ingénue Peggy Sawyer and her numerous beaux and faux beaux. Peggy Sawyer is played by Ruby Keeler, who was a wonderful dancer and an acceptable singer, but an enormously untalented actress. There are, as well, various and sundry chorus girls, singers, and hangers-on.
How good is this movie? Baxter and Daniels are incredibly good and more than cancel out Keeler's performance. The last twenty-minutes or so are devoted to Busby Berkeley dance numbers, and they don't rise above the movie. The dialogue is great, ranging from the slightly risqué - said of Anytime Annie (Ginger Rogers as a veteran chorus girl) when she's first introduced, "She only said `No' once, and then she didn't hear the question", to the self-deprecating - when the lead singer played by Dick Powell introduces himself to the Ruby Keeler character, he says "I'm Billy Lawler, one of Broadway's better juveniles", to the surreal - an observation by slightly tipsy co-producer Thomas Barry (Ned Sparks) on Angel Abner Dillon (Kibbee), "He looks like a Bulgarian boll-weevil mourning his first born." And it has some great songs by Harry Warren, not only the title song, but other hits such as `Shuffle Off to Buffalo' and `You're Getting to Be a Habit With Me.'
From its touches of gritty realism to its bubbly song-and-dance routines to its near tragic final shot of an exhausted and spent Warren Baxter `celebrating' his success, I loved every minute of 42ND STREET. My favorite scene was when the best actor in the movie - Baxter - has to coax, shake, or kiss a passable performance out of the worst actor in the movie - Keeler in `the understudy's big chance' scene in act three. It was terribly self-referential, but at least the two kept a straight face throughout.
The transfer print was in very good shape and easy to watch. There's no commentary track but there are plenty of extras - A text only cast and crew listing, with an a open out page on the Career Highlights of Busby Berkeley; a nine-minute, 1933 Vitaphone short entitled `Harry Warner: America's Foremost Composer' with Warner at the piano surround by gowns and tuxedoes, the short features a medley of Warner hits circa 1933, including a '`42nd Street' production number; a ten minute short titled `Trip Through a Hollywood Studio,' standard behind-the-scenes stuff, "Allow us to bring Hollywood to you..."; a 9-minute Hollywood newsreel of the period featuring a lot of Hollywood stars, and plenty of their pets, too; and a theatrical trailer. The highest recommendation for this essential video.
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26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
After All These Years, 42nd Street Still Delivers, March 19, 2001
The breakthrough musical of 1933 is still a light and fun video to watch. Often remembered for being the first musical to incorporate a plot, 42nd Street dazzles with its lavish production numbers, especially the title song plus "Shufffle Off To Buffalo" and "You're Getting To Be A Habit With Me." Though the jokes may be corny and the sexual innuendoes stale by 21st century standards, I found myself laughing at loud and thoroughly enjoying the dazzling camera tricks and kaleidoscopic overhead shots. But one of the best treats of all was watching the greats from a bygone era performing at the peak of their careers. Warner Baxter is superb as the director desperate to produce a hit while Guy Kibbee shines as the lecherous producer. Bebe Daniels is memorable as the leading lady who twists her ankle on opening night and Ruby Keeler, in her movie debut, is the spunky girl plucked from the chorus line to save the show. Others in the all-star cast include Ginger Rogers, George Brent, Dick Powell, Allen Jenkins, and more.42nd Street is definitely a toe-tapping good time that fans of movie musicals will enjoy.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Monumental Musical, October 14, 2000
Maybe in the fast paced world of the 21st Century this old time musical may seem corny and passe, but to fans of early musicals, "42nd Street" is the single musical which would define the genre for decades to come. Most musicals prior to "42nd Street", didn't even have a plot, but after this film movie musicals were elevated to an artform.The print on this DVD copy is absolutely flawless. It is truly hard to believe that the original movie came out in 1933. The movie draws you into the lives of the players, all trying to produce a successful Broadway show. The whole cast is noteworthy and includes some of Hollywood's best like:Dick Powell,Ruby Keeler,Warner Baxter,Ned Sparks,Ginger Rogers, and Una Merkel among others. Throw in the score by Harry Warren and Al Dubin and you certainly have a feast for the eyes as well as the ears. The DVD copy has over 30 minutes of added attractions as well. The one short included is a gem of Harry Warren singing his own tunes. The other short is an interested look from 1934 into what goes on in a Hollywood studio. Also included is the original trailer to "42nd Street". If you are a fan of great musicals, this one should certainly be in your library...
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