TCM Greatest Classic Films: Busby Berkeley Musicals

TCM has been doing big things with its Greatest Classic Films Collection. This time the focus is on Busby Berkeley musicals, and so we get four Berkeley favorites on two (double-sided) discs: 42ND STREET, GOLD DIGGERS OF 1937, FOOTLIGHT PARADE, and DAMES. Featured in all four musicals is Dicl< Powell. Powell, before he played those tough guy roles in film noir, was a consummate crooner and a dashing leading man of light musical comedies in the 1930s. He was often partnered with the sweet Ruby Keeler who, if you allow her, will tap dance into your heart. More so than not, the plots of Berkeley flicks are flimsy material at best and revolve around the behind-the-scenes shenanigans of a stage production, and no different here. Formula also dictates that these pictures culminate in extended musical sequences showcasing Berkeley's intricate, extravagant choreography. For those who were in the throes of the Great Depression, Berkeley's precision-marked show stoppers were welcome distractions.

The quintessential "let's put on a show" plot gets an infusion of star power when Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler paired up for the first time in 1933's terrific 42ND STREET. Powell plays the juvenile and Keeler plays the ingenue, and the Warner Brothers studio knew honest to gosh chemistry when it bumped into one. Ginger Rogers has a choice supporting part as the sardonic, brassy "Anytime" Annie. Warner Baxter as the ailing tyrannical Broadway director and George Brent as the unwilling gigolo submit dramatic turns and provide story conflict.

When Bebe Daniels' Broadway star fractures an ankle on the eve of the show's debut, how will the show go on? Time then for Ruby Keeler's ingenue to step in and step into musical cinema immortality, never mind that she's first exposed to Warner Baxter's awful pep talk. "Two hundred people. Two hundred jobs. Two hundred thousand dollars. Five weeks of grind and blood and sweat depend upon you," he intently says to Keeler, and you wouldn't have blamed her had she then ran for the hills. Highlight numbers include "You're Getting To Be A Habit With Me," "Shuffle Off To Buffalo," and, of course, the title tune.

Extras to 42ND STREET: 3 shorts: "Harry Warren: America's Foremost Composer," "Hollywood Newsreel," and "A Trip thru a Hollywood Studio"; cast & crew credits; and the 42ND STREET trailer.

"It's the root of all evil, of strife and upheaval. But I'm certain, honey, that life could be sunny with plenty of money and you." The zany GOLD DIGGERS OF 1937, which came out in1936, is the only film in this collection that doesn't feature Ruby Keeler, but it's still a fine entry in the Gold Diggers series. Powell is back, and sporting a caterpillar on his upper lip and peddling life insurance (but aspiring to be a singer on stage). This time, blue-eyed Joan Blondell is his leading lady and she plays an ex-chorus girl. She lights up the screen with Powell, even if she Rex Harrisons her verses, instead of singing them.

There's a nefarious plot brewing. It involves gold-digging Glenda Farrell hoping to reel in a 59-year-old stage producer and cashing in when he croaks, and she's in cahoots with the guy's two sneaky partners. Accordingly, Powell is summoned to sell him a life insurance policy worth one million dollars. Except that the client turns out to be a hypochondriac and not at death's door. So cue the murder attempt to collect on the policy. And, somehow, someway, it all culminates with the participants putting on a musical show. There's plenty to like about this film. A likable cast. Some good comedy bits. And the songs, which are uniformly pretty good, with three stand-out numbers: the catchy "With Plenty of Money and You," the breezy "Speaking of the Weather," and the showstopping "All's Fair In Love And War." And, as usual, Busby Berkeley gets all fancy.

Extras for GOLD DIGGERS OF 1937: Historical short "The Romance of Louisiana"; 2 cartoons - "Plenty of Money and You" and "Speaking of the Weather"; 2 excerpts from 1929's GOLD DIGGERS OF BROADWAY - "Tip Toe Through The Tulips" and the film's finale; and the GOLD DIGGERS OF 1937 theatrical trailer.

The gangster movie's gain is the musical's loss. In a way, it's a shame that James Cagney so excelled in playing these gangster roles, because he was a hell of a dancer. 1933's FOOTLIGHT PARADE, my favorite in this set, allows Cagney one of his rare opportunities to play hoofer. Powell and Keeler provide terrific support, respectively playing a gigolo crooner and a frumpy secretary turned dancer. Joan Blondell plays Cagney's lovelorn secretary, but lest you think lovelorn and moxie are mutually exclusive, the best line in this film comes from Blondell when she tosses out her floozy roommate: "Outside, countess! As long as they have sidewalks, you've got a job.'

We tend to forget that, in a bygone era, movie theaters used to augment their featured presentations with live entertainment. Anyway, with the advent of talking motion pictures, Chester Kent's days as a producer of stage musicals is numbered, seemingly. Except that Kent comes up with the idea of producing brief live musical prologues for films. It's hard work consistently trying to come up with creative original material, and he finds himself challenged as never before when he's forced to come up with three prologues which must all be performed on the same night. It doesn't help that his partners are cooking the books and that a mole for a rival production company is stealing his ideas. But since Chester Kent is being played by Cagney, we don't worry too much. But Frank McHugh worries. He plays the dance choreographer who seriously doubts Cagney could pull off this monster feat. McHugh's amusing running battle cry: "It can't be done! It can't be done!"

Highlights galore. Cagney alone is a walking highlight, and he brings his usual tautly coiled energy, even to his dancing. There are three ridiculously lavish musical productions - "The Honeymoon Hotel," "By A Waterfall," and "Shanghai Lil" - all of which beg the question: how in hell do these epic sets consistently defy the space limitations of the average theater stage? As per normal with Busby Berkeley musicals, you need to suspend that sense of disbelief. My favorite is the riotous Shanghai Lil number which features Cagney singing and dancing and, later, Cagney and Keeler in a tap off on a bar counter.

Extras to FOOTLIGHT PARADE: "Footlight Parade: Music for the Decades" featurette; 2 vintage shorts ("Rambling 'RoundRadio Row #8" and "Vaudeville Reel #1"); 2 vintage cartoons ("Honeymoon Hotel" and "Young and Healthy") and the FOOTLIGHT PARADE theatrical trailer.

In 1934's DAMES struggling singer James Higgens (Powell) romances his thirteenth cousin removed, Barbara (Keeler), and faces the wrath of another relative, his cranky, crusading millionaire uncle, Ezra Ounce. Ezra Ounce is most concerned with elevating America's morals, and he sets his eye on stamping out New York's most recent musical stage show, Powell's play, titled Sweet & Hot. Joan Blondell has another nice supporting role as the savvy showgirl who blackmails Keeler's father into secretly financing Sweet & Hot.

Running gags include Dr. Silver's Golden Elixir (it cures hiccups) and an always napping bodyguard. The songs aren't bad - "When You Were a Smile on Your Mother's Lips (and a Twinkle in Your Daddy's Eye)," "The Girl at the Ironing Board," "Dames," and "Try to See It My Way" - with the best being the classic "I Only Have Eyes For You." In fact, keep your eyes peeled for the big "I Only Have Eyes For You" number featuring a series of interludes in which all the showgirls are made up to look like Ruby Keeler, with the real Keeler strolling by in the foreground of each sequence. Ruby Keeler, by the way, lands what nowadays is a pretty eyebrow-raising (but back then is a fairly standard) line when she rebelliously professes her independence: "I don't care what either of you say. I'm free, white, and twenty-one. I love to dance, and I'm going to dance." We can only wish Ruby Keeler had danced more.

Extras to DAMES: "Busby Berkeley's Kaleidoscopic Eyes" featurette; 3 shorts ("And She Learned About Dames," "Good Morning, Eve," and "Melody Master: Don Redman and His Orchestra"); 2 cartoons ("I Only Have Eyes For You" and "Those Beautiful Dames"; Audio-Only Bonus: "Direct from Hollywood" radio promo previews audio excerpts from DAMES; and the DAMES theatrical trailer.

Three of these four films are Berkeley from his heyday including the one that started it all, 42nd Street. The other two very good ones in order of quality are "Footlight Parade" with James Cagney - Dick Powell was recovering from an illness at the time - and "Dames". The thing that makes me scratch my head is the choice of "Gold Diggers of 1937" to round out the four.

"Gold Diggers of 1933" was the Busby Berkeley musical, in my opinion, that had the best combination of plot and music, yet it is omitted. Berkeley was really hampered by the introduction of the 1934 production code, so "Gold Diggers of 1935" has a really inane plot, but it has probably the best number ever in a Berkeley film, maybe in any musical film of the 1930's "Lullaby of Broadway". I feel like either of those would have been a better selection. You can have the best of Berkeley by buying The Busby Berkeley Collection (Footlight Parade / Gold Diggers of 1933 / Dames / Gold Diggers of 1935 / 42nd Street) which is a five star set if you ask me. It's been out for some time, so you should be able to find a copy on sale relatively cheap.

The included "Gold Diggers of 1937" has one plus in its DVD incarnation. It includes the only surviving footage of the lost early talkie color film "Gold Diggers of Broadway" as an extra. If you can find an individual copy of that film on DVD used, it is worth it just to see these two excerpts.

If you love over the top black and white movie musical dance routines from Busby Berkeley, this is the DVD for you.
"By a Waterfall" from "Footlight Parade" with Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler is a classic.
There are two discs in this set with four films, back to back on each disc, so hopefully your
machine can play them on either side of the discs.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 4 reviews  4.8 out of 5 stars