After watching Blue Moon, Richard Linklater’s day-in-the-life exploration of famed lyricist Lorenz Hart, I sought out a viewing of Rogers and Hart musical adaption Babes in Arms!
Well sort of. The movie version, the first solo directorial effort from famed movie musical choreographer Busby Berkeley, retains only two of Rogers and Hart numbers from their original stage production but the most memorable song is Good Morning by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown, which while nicely performed here by Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, is used to greater effect in the later Singing in the Rain.
Plot wise, this is more like Nepo-Babes in Arm, with a bunch of vaudeville performer’s kids, lead by Rooney and Garland determined to show their parents, that they have the chops to make it big in show biz. In face they get so riled up about it they take to the streets, carrying lit torches and start breaking up boxes! And people complain when the kids today protest against genocide?
Truthfully the smug, self congratulatory, back slapping from the kids is pretty annoying. Looking down on common folks like Elevator car operators, in their all important quest to sparkle stardust in life’s dirty old pan. Good grief.
And to top it all off their grand new vision to revolutionise musical theatre…is a revamp of a fucking Minstrel show? Complete with black face!?!
After watching Blue Moon, Richard Linklater’s day-in-the-life exploration of famed lyricist Lorenz Hart, I sought out a viewing of Rogers and Hart musical adaption Babes in Arms!
Well sort of. The movie version, the first solo directorial effort from famed movie musical choreographer Busby Berkeley, retains only two of Rogers and Hart numbers from their original stage production but the most memorable song is Good Morning by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown, which while nicely performed here by Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, is used to greater effect in the later Singing in the Rain.
Plot wise, this is more like Nepo-Babes in Arm, with a bunch of vaudeville performer’s kids, lead by Rooney and Garland determined to show their parents, that they have the chops to make it big in show biz. In face they get so riled up about it they take to the streets, carrying lit torches and start breaking up boxes! And people complain when the kids today protest against genocide?
Truthfully the smug, self congratulatory, back slapping from the kids is pretty annoying. Looking down on common folks like Elevator car operators, in their all important quest to sparkle stardust in life’s dirty old pan. Good grief.
And to top it all off their grand new vision to revolutionise musical theatre…is a revamp of a fucking Minstrel show? Complete with black face!?!
