weezeralfalfa Of course, the thing that sticks most in my mind about this film is the long, spectacular, controversial, minstrel show at the end, which most reviewers gloss over as an embarrassing reminder of a best forgotten period in American theater when white folks made up to resemble black folks and to enact accepted stereotypical diction, singing, and behavior of black folks was considered acceptable theater content. Even occasionally into the early '50s, blackface musical and comedic numbers were occasionally included in new films. As a liberal-minded WASP, I find very few of these performances sufficiency offensive on racial grounds to warrant their deletion from present day viewing. However, I have to take exception to portions of the minstrel show in this film. The characterizations of African Americans by Judy, and especially Mickey, at times,is hilarious, and largely based on stock characters in minstrel shows. Mickey's manic banjo playing sequence in black face of "Alabama" is one of my most vivid film memories. However, I can readily sympathize with those who are horrified by his facial expressions during his total banjo-playing performance...a warning to potential viewers! Incidentally, despite appearances, apparently, Mickey didn't play what we hear from the banjo. Apparently, it was dubbed by world famous banjo player Eddie Peabody. Many aspects of this production, I don't find offensive, and exhibit a striking example of Busby Berkeley's instinct for the visually spectacular, combined with either familiar exciting or soothing music, in different phases of the total production. The exuberant last portion, sung and danced to "The Robert E. Lee" is another especially memorable experience....Actually, the first film in this series of 4, from '39 to '43,; "Babes in Arms" included a very similar minstrel show up to the banjo playing portion. I guess B.B. decided he wanted to redo it with an expanded program and with some overhead shots, making it into the finale big production...After getting better acquainted in Judy's apartment, Mickey and Judy do their classic soft shoe-like "How About You" alternating solo or duet act, beginning with only singing, graduating to dancing and tumbling on the furniture, much like Don O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds in the much later "I Love Melvin"... After a period of drama about how to get a block party OKed by authorities, as a hopeful springboard to Broadway stardom, we have the unforgettable, long, often superenergetic "Hoe Down" production. Mickey, especially goes manic during portions of this no-doubt BB-inspired production. As with the minstrel show, a Ray MacDonald solo tap dance routine is included in the middle, providing a breather.In the middle of the film, we have a program that acknowledges that the UK is fighting for its life against the Nazis. Some well-off Brits have sent their children to the U.S. for safe keeping. These are the children of the 'settlement housing'. Newly composed "Chin Up!, Cheerio!, Carry On!" is the rousing highlight of this segment.Between this segment and the minstrel show , there is a long period of mostly haggling and uncertainty about how to obtain the financing and acquire access to an adequate theater for the minstrel show. During this period, also Mickey and Judy don several theatrical outfits and pretend they are other actors, in the 'ghost' sequence. Mickey also does a terrible impersonation of Carmen Miranda, despite her reported help. He just didn't have the looks to carry this off.As for the first two films of this series of 4 films, the director was Busby Berkeley and producer Arthur Freed, but future husband Vincent Minnelli directed Judy's solos... The songs were a mixed bag of old and novel ones, with several teams of composers and lyricists involved with the new ones. As an overall assessment, I have to balance the highlight musical numbers against the often too long and uninteresting periods of background drama.Who would have thought that Mickey would outlive Judy by 45 years, despite their both eventually developing unstable careers and personal lives. Mickey was still occasionally active in theatrical productions through most of his life, and passed away just recently, 74 years after starring in this film!

gkeith_1 Very famous dances and dancers. 'Hoe Down'. Judy a great dancer; she had very smooth and well timed technique. Mickey as type of Carmen Miranda, swaying and sashaying. Minstrelsy spectacular had great dancing, even though racist by today's standards. I loved all the front row men tap dancing while sitting in chairs. Minstrelsy was big in real life in around the 1880s, and I feel that some of the routines were respectful to African Americans -- yet some character dialogues were just a little too stereotypical. Maybe the minstrelsy part could not be made today.Ray McDonald had fabulous dancing. He always did, including in "Till the Clouds Roll By" with June Allyson. I guess there was not enough room in the movie dancing field for his talents, what with Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly and the later blossoming of Bob Fosse, Bobby Van, Tommy Rall, et al. In early 1941, the U.S. had not yet entered World War Two, but 'Fritz' was bothering the Europeans. The Great Depression was ending (and maybe studio budgets were now higher), but it seems that great dancers had to make room for the greatest superstars. Even Frank Sinatra was taught to tap dance.In a similar vein, Judy Garland IMO took the place of Deanna Durbin and Shirley Temple, regarding singing and dancing. There was not enough room in the superstar heaven for all three, and Judy always won out. If they all three helped take the U.S. through the Depression, and helped make big money for the studios, in the end only one major star (Judy, I feel) was affordable. Mickey Rooney (RIP) always felt Judy was used and abused, and yet Durbin and Temple must have always felt cheated because their careers were short-circuited. Remember that Temple was supposed to be Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz". It seems that after that, her career downslided, World War Two was coming, and Judy was left to carry the 1940s musicals a lot. I don't remember Shirley singing and dancing in "Fort Apache".Look again at Mickey Rooney. He went into the war. When he came out, his career had to be kickstarted again. Gee-Gosh-Dad-Andy-Hardy was a thing of the past. Mickey managed to stay within the entertainment industry in one way or another, and later acted in character parts. I saw him in "Night at the Museum", and I thought that he was excellent.Mickey and Judy in "Babes on Broadway" were fabulous. They always seemed to play well against and with each other. Their costuming was wonderful and at times hilarious. I especially liked the 'ghost sequences' in this movie, where they portrayed Richard Mansfield, Fay Templeton, Sir Harry Lauder, Sarah Bernhardt, George M. Cohan, et al.10/10

Neil Doyle This big MGM "let's put on a show" musical is obviously a showcase for the over-sized talents of JUDY GARLAND and MICKEY ROONEY.But it amuses me to see young commentators expressing "shock" and dismay at the blackface routines shown in the big finale. They never knew how popular minstrel shows were, even into the 1940s? Where have they have been living? They never heard of Al Jolson and how he rode to stardom on his blackface routines?The film actually rises above its clichéd plot whenever Judy takes the spotlight with a song. Never has she looked so radiantly youthful and vibrant. Rooney, while of course obviously talented, tends to ham it up a bit too much whenever he's given the spotlight, which is a little too often for my taste. Fay Bainter does nicely as a patron of the arts while James Gleason gets on the nerves with his frustrated bit as a producer.Amusing to see gangly RICHARD QUINE hoofing it up (before he became a film director). The standout dancer is Ray MacDonald, the fresh faced kid who lights up the screen whenever he dances, resembling, in style and acting technique, Donald O'Connor. Tragically he, like others in the cast, ended his life much too soon.Judy and Mickey do a fabulous version of "How About You?" and Buby Berkeley's genius at staging intricate dance routines is nowhere more evident than in the "Hoe Down" number, probably one of the catchiest of all the musical routines.There are slow spots and the film could easily have omitted footage to pare it down to a running time of, say, an hour and forty minutes. As it is, you have to be willing to stick with it for the full two hours, something only likely to occur if you're a true fan of Garland and Rooney.You can catch a brief glimpse of two up and coming stars, Margaret O'Brien and Donna Reed. Reed has a brief moment as a receptionist.Trivia note: Shirley Temple was originally considered for the Virginia Wiedler role. Might have been OK too, since the part is not that demanding musically and Temple could certainly still do the required amount of hoofing.

preppy-3 I've never seen a Judy Garland/Micky Rooney musical. They did a number of them in the 30s and 40s. They seem to have disappeared. Watching this one I can see why.Within the first 10 minutes I was ready to turn it off. The plot is OLD (Garland and Rooney putting on a show), the dialogue is terrible and the jokes are SO bad. Also Rooney overacts horribly. But I stayed with it. When Garland showed up--about 15 minutes in--the movie got bearable. She was so young, beautiful and full of life. She made me stay with it. When the songs and dances came on they were great--and there's a hoedown number that stops the show. And Fay Bainter is very good as a theatrical agent. There's also a very bizarre sequence with Garland and Rooney in an empty theatre playing different characters--it's WAY too long and gets kind of dull. And this has an interesting subplot about WWII and British children. Still I can't recommend this.Rooney is just horrible--he overacts in the dramatics and he REALLY overacts in the musical numbers--I was embarrassed just to watch him. That drags down the movie and the big finale was a minstral show with the cast in blackface! I realize in 1941 that was considered OK but it's terribly racist today (for the record I'm a white guy). I tried to look past that but I couldn't. And it's too long (almost 2 hours).I'm giving it a 6--but I really can't say I liked it. The 6 is for Garland and some of the numbers.