Rating: 
Summary: Shuffle Off to 42nd Street!
Review: It took awhile for me to locate this movie, but it was well worth it. How can you not miss with Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler and the ensemble cast? When the director (Warner Baxter) loses his show's leading lady (played by silent film star Bebe Daniels), because she breaks her ankle on the evening of opening night, a wide-eyed chorus girl (Keeler) is thrust into the role. This is a soaring spectacle of sights, sounds, and songs, including the famous "42nd Street". It is the definitive backstage musical - and the film that introduced it to the world. The Busby Berkeley choreography is elaborate and kaleidoscopic. A marvelous addition to any video library!!
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Summary: 1933 the Original "42nd Street" Musical Classic now on DVD!
Review: It was 1933 the middle of the "Great Depression" Hollywood was looking for a way to boost the American morale. Musicals had run there toll with the primitive sound systems & frozen camera shots. Along comes Warner Brothers Studios, "42nd Street" script, Harry Warren / Al Dubin delightful songs, Busby Berkelry dance choreographer (predessor to Bob Fosse)larger than life dance productions & a budget of $400,000 (unheard of for musicals, especially during the depression). The results a revolutionary film that set the standards for the "Hollywood Musicals" forever. Note: Berkeley revolultionized Hollywood musicals in the 1930's & 40', staging elaborate dance productions with scores of dancers. Creating massive geometric dance routines with his patented "top shot" (overhead) & arial shots moving the camera from the floor creating many new & unique camera angles forever changing the way movies especially, musicals were filmed. Now this great Warner Brothers musical has been digitally restored & transferred to DVD with outstanding viewing & listening quality!!! Excellent DVD package with several extras capturing the behind the scenes & backlot Warner Brothers Studios segments. Summary: The story focuses on a hopeful & sincere starlet played by Ruby Keeler (her film debut from Broadway), who is initially cast as a nameless chorus girl. She wins us over & we are therefore involved in the film as she stuggles to "make it" in the glorious world of show business. With a great 30's supporting cast, a great musical score by Warren/Dubin, Dance choreography by Busby Berkeley we have a very entertaining movie musical. (Watch for a young Ginger Rogers as another supporting chorus girl). A great period film of the "Great Depression", early years of Hollywood, the evolution of the "Movie Musical" & the amazing choreography of Busby Berkeley captured forever on this fantastic DVD. Enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: No "We're in the Money ", "Lullaby of Broadway"
Review: Just bought the DVD last night and waited through the whole movie for the "Lullaby of Broadway" number. It wasn't there. Immediately jumped on the Internet and it looks like these two numbers were added in the 1980s revival. Arg.
I wish there was a video or DVD of the 1980s version. Sigh.
However, the movie wasn't bad. The B&W picture transfer was so good I forgot about it after a while. But still missed the two most memorable songs I associate with the show.
Rating:
Summary: A Monumental Musical
Review: 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...
Rating:
Summary: A Monumental Musical
Review: 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...
Rating:
Summary: 42nd Street: Music Creates One Mood But Hides Another
Review: Nothing makes an economically blighted population forget their financial woes (other than getting a job) than by seeing and hearing a rousing movie. In 1933, director Lloyd Bacon and choreographer Busby Berkely combined to make the quintessential musical in 42ND STREET, which set the standard for all future musicals with its original mixture of song, dance, camera angles, and co-ordinated mass leg kicking. The hero is a robust ensemble of singers and dancers who showcase their talents singly and collectively. Julian Marsh (Warner Baxter) is the martinet director of a Broadway musical who puts his troupe through their paces like a Marine drill instructor. His lead dancer Dorothy Brock (Bebe Daniels) has a drinking problem and is pressured to date the lecherous backer Abner Dillon (Guy Kibbee) who wants more than a financial return on his investment. Peggy Sawyer (Ruby Keeler) is pulled out of the chorus line to replace Miss Brock, who suffers a sprained ankle on opening night. Pat Denning (George Brent) flits back and forth between Miss Brock and Miss Sawyer. All of these personal entaglements are merely glue to hold the story together so that the last ten minutes of the film can be seen as a miniaturized version of the musical. This conclusion is more like a play within a play. The sets and choreography are so astounding that one wonders how the choreographers managed to simulate the vast geographical essence that is New York City. The props are huge, but then so is the talent of the cast in front of them. In addition to the song and dance routines, the interaction of the cast catches the eye even when the songs catch the ear. Of particular note is the competition between Ruby Keeler and Bebe Daniels for George Brent. Guy Kibbee is comical as the letch who thinks his money will buy the charms of Miss Daniels. And then there is Warner Baxter, whose only wish is to put on a hit show, at the conclusion of which he hangs around outside the theater, listening to the comments of the exiting patrons who praise the new star (Keeler) but lambast himself. It is odd that a movie that delivers so rousingly with bright sound and starry song should end on such a mute note. Unless, of course, the director wanted to show that for all the rehearsed action of a play, there must come a time when the cast needs quiet to take stock of their endeavors. Films like 42ND STREET continually serve to remind us that the enduring legacy of music sometimes occurs only after the curtain closes.
Rating:
Summary: "Hear the beat, those dancing feet....."
Review: One of my favorite films(and I wasn't even around in 1933)it really shines.Ruby Keeler is a delight,Dick Powell can sing.The Music...it is joy to the ears."You're Getting To Be A Habit With Me","Young And Healthy",and Ruby's classic "42nd Street".The plot that "We are putting together a show",shows one how hard those worked,as Dancers and Singers to do just that.The extras are good,especially on Harry Warren,who was tremendously talented.The Depression audiences really enjoyed this one,as 1933 was probably the worst of all the Depresssion years. Good show,Warner's....good show.
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Summary: After All These Years, 42nd Street Still Delivers
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: surreal and corny, but irresistible
Review: The surreal parts are the Busby Berkeley numbers and the corn is everything else. One of the funniest moments in the movie is when Ginger Rogers tells Warner Baxter that Ruby Keeler is the person who should star in the big show -- Rogers was incomperably more talented that Keeler at both singing and dancing (it's almost painful to watch Keeler stomp around staring at her feet), but she plays the (already at that time) cliche of the good girl getting a big break charmingly in spite of her many limitations as a performer. (Just for the record, Rogers wasn't my favorite musical star; while quite talented, her shortcomings as a dancer were all too evident when dancing with Fred Astaire, but then so were almost everyone's...) There are any number of later musicals that parodied this one to good effect, but my two favorites are the "Baxter's Beauties" segment of "Movie, Movie" and "The Band Wagon". The former is a straight parody, so the connection is easy to see, but I consider the latter a parody, too, in that in neither this movie nor "The Band Wagon" is it possible to imagine a single Broadway show having the bizarre collection of musical numbers used in either movie. I consider this to be one of the funniest running jokes in "The Band Wagon", and while this goofiness is true of all of the Busby Berkeley musicals I've ever seen, I think of this as the definitive one.(However, "Gold Diggers of 1933" is, to my mind, the most spectacularly insane of his movies.)
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: The trouble with the word "classic" is that it becomes applied to films that don't deserve it. Perhaps that's a little harsh, but after watching 42nd Street, that's what came to mind. Now, I can understand how it could gain that name. When it was made in 1933, it was likely a groundbreaker in terms of the movie musical. Busby Berkley is a name known throughout the world for good reason, and the dance sequences in 42nd Street are eyepopping. It's the rest of the movie that is lacking. I didn't care a whit about any of the characters in the film. I'll take that back, I cared that the guy got dumped and that the girl that dumped him seemed to be prostituting herself for her work. And that's one of the better qualities of the film. In 1933, the Hays office had not yet been created and the dark aspects of society, however implied, could still pass muster and be played out on the screen. The film only picks up, though, during the scenes of the Broadway play "Pretty Lady," when Berkley's genius finally comes to the fore. The rest is merely leading up to that finale. Several famous names appear like Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Una Merkel, and Ginger Rogers; and 42nd Street also contains songs like the title tune and "Shuffle Off to Buffalo." A Broadway adaptation was launched in 1980, based on the movie, rather than vice versa.
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