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Warner Baxter, Bebe Daniels, George Brent, Ruby Keeler, Una Merkel ... see more see more... , Guy Kibbee , Ginger Rogers , Ned Sparks , Dick Powell , Allen Jenkins , Henry B. Walthall , Eddie Nugent , Clarence Nordstrom , Robert McWade , George E. Stone , Harry Warren , Joan Barclay , Louise Beavers , Wallis Clark , Dorothy Coonan Wellman , Patricia Ellis , Anne Hovey , George Irving , Alice Jans , Milt Kibbee , Jack LaRue , Adele Lacey , Lorena Layson , Kermit Maynard , Donna Mae Roberts , Barbara Rogers , Rolfe Sedan , Harry Seymour , Lyle Talbot , Dorothy White , Renee Whitney , Pat Wing , Toby Wing , Albert Akst , Busby Berkeley , Alexis Dubin , Charles Lane , Dave O'Brien , Loretta Andrews , Lynn Browning , Maxine Cantway , Ruth Eddings , June Glory , Gertrude Keeler , Margaret La Marr , Jayne Shadduck , Tom Kennedy

The quintessential "backstage" musical, 42nd Street traces the history of a Broadway musical comedy, from casting call to opening night. Warner Baxter plays famed director Julian Marsh, who despite fa... read more read more...iling health is determined to stage one last great production, "Pretty Lady." Others involved include "Pretty Lady" star Dorothy Brock (Bebe Daniels); Dorothy's "sugar daddy" (Guy Kibbee), who finances the show; her true love Pat (George Brent); leading man Billy Lawlor (Dick Powell); and starry-eyed chorus girl Peggy Sawyer (Ruby Keeler). It practically goes without saying that Dorothy twists her ankle the night before the premiere, forcing Julian Marsh is to put chorine Peggy into the lead: "You're going out there a youngster, but you've got to come back a star!" Delightfully corny, with hilarious wisecracking support from the likes of Ginger Rogers, Una Merkel, and George E. Stone, 42nd Street is perhaps the most famous of Warners' early-1930s Busby Berkeley musicals. Based on the novel by Bradford Ropes (which was a lot steamier than the movie censors would allow), 42nd Street is highlighted by such grandiose musical setpieces as "Shuffle Off to Buffalo," "Young and Healthy," and of course the title song. Nearly fifty years after its premiere, it was successfully revived as a Broadway musical with Tammy Grimes and Jerry Orbach. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Flixster Users

71% liked it

7,124 ratings

Critics

95% liked it

20 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 29 min.

Directed by: Lloyd Bacon

Release Date: March 9, 1933

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DVD Release Date: March 21, 2006

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Stats: 307 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (307)

  • bottcorecords1
    May 16, 2012
    bottcorecords1
    Released the same year as "Gold Diggers of 1933", "42nd Street" also features many of the same cast (Ginger Rogers, Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler) and the same choreographer (Busby Berkeley, famous for his overhead shots of geometrically arranged chorus dancers). The plot too, is sor... read moret of similar. In it, we see the trials and tribulations of producing a broadway musical, from funding and casting to the opening night, and all the hair-pulling frustration that comes with it. Peggy Sawyer (Ruby Keeler) is the greener than green wannabe actress who shows up for the audition and is tricked into walking in on Billy's (Dick Powell) dressing room (also, Billy plays what is called "the juvenile lead", whatever that is). While it's a dirty trick, it winds up paying off for Peggy as she soon makes friends with Billy and the rest of the stars of the production. The closing number is pretty great, and the rest of the movie is too, with it's self-deprecating humor and depression era sensibilities. It's funny, but Ruby Keeler has the mannerisms of someone's grandma, but you gotta figure even grandmas were young once upon a time, back in the days when grandpas got excited at a peak at a pretty girl's knee.
  • FrizzDrop
    February 12, 2011
    FrizzDrop
    Spicey for the Depression era 30's, this gorgeously made musical is like none other ever performed. Use of forward thinking cinematography, an uncensored storyline, and musical numbers that inspire choreographers to this day, made this a very unique musical among the stereotyped ... read moregenre. An amazing performance by the docile and demure Ruby Keeler, whose singing is so-so, but dancing is off the charts amazing. A web of romantic entanglements and decidely backwards Broadway politics leads to comedy. love, and pure entertainment.
  • kenstachnik
    February 9, 2011
    kenstachnik
    A lot of fun with an amazing sequence at the end by Mr. Busby Berkeley.
    This is to legs as Death Proof is to feet.
  • ajv2688
    October 17, 2010
    ajv2688
    This movie is just the same as all the other "let's put on a musical" musical movies of the 30s, so I found it predictable, but there are some good actors.
  • SirPant
    March 30, 2010
    SirPant
    A bawdy classic musical that inspired...just about every musical since! It's beautifully shot (no surprise considering the production), beautifully acted by some of the best talent of the day and it has a killer script. It's glamorous, hilarious and just downright delicious.
  • smith44
    March 2, 2010
    smith44
    "Sawyer, you're going out a youngster, but you've got to come back a star!"
  • hobster1
    January 16, 2010
    hobster1
    Archetypal backstage musical about putting on a Broadway show, from casting call to opening night. Actress Ruby Keeler is Peggy Sawyer, the ingénue, in her film debut. Landmark musical holds up pretty well considering its age, but features a storyline full of what would later b... read moreecome well-worn clichés. Three Busby Berkeley production numbers: "Shuffle Off to Buffalo", "Young and Healthy", and the title song, make up the last twenty minutes of the film. These numbers, are the real reason to watch. The last two, in particular, are an absolute tour de force of the chorographer's talent.
  • flixsterman
    December 28, 2009
    flixsterman
    Wonderful Busby Berkeley musical that's as steeped in story as it is in dance routines. Might be the best production musical about the production of a musical.

    *NOTE: Watch for a young and extremely talented Ginger Rogers in a minor but memorable role.
  • MissMorganLeee
    February 27, 2009
    MissMorganLeee
    great black and white movie!
  • ceWEBrity
    February 5, 2009
    ceWEBrity
    Please forgive me for being the only gay man in the world with not an ounce of interest in musicals. A musical is supposed to offer unfettered, guilt-free fun but I just don't find watching them all that "fun" at all. Maybe like...the Evil Dead musical or something. But this is a... read morebout as far away from singing zombie carnage as you could possibly get in a movie, and that's why I feel comparatively underwhelmed.

    I guess this is technically impressive and all but Ruby Keeler sucks at everything so it kind of renders the whole enterprise a wash.

View All 42nd Street Reviews

Critic Reviews

Dave Kehr
October 16, 2007
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

This 1933 film is the best known of the Warner Brothers Depression-era musicals, though it doesn't compare in dash and extravagance to later entries in the cycle. Full Review

Mordaunt Hall
August 8, 2006
Mordaunt Hall, New York Times

The liveliest and one of the most tuneful screen musical comedies that has come out of Hollywood. Full Review

Chris Laverty
June 17, 2009
Chris Laverty, Clothes on Film

A deliciously funny musical; racy and light years ahead of its time. Full Review

Christopher Null
April 8, 2006
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com

Of Golden Age musicals, 42nd Street is about as close to the archetype as they come. Full Review

John J. Puccio
March 22, 2006
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis

...the film that practically invented every backstage musical cliché we know today...remains a remarkable achievement for a film over seven decades old. Full Review

Geoff Andrew
January 26, 2006
Geoff Andrew, Time Out

Berkeley choreographs chorines and camera with mischievous dexterity. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
August 26, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

42nd Street may not be the best backstage musical ever made, but it's certainly the most enjoyable and durable in appeal--find out why. Full Review

Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
February 15, 2004
Michael W. Phillips, Jr., Goatdog's Movies

The strength of a musical is its songs, and this film had a mixed bag. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
January 11, 2004
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

One can't say enough good things about what Busby Berkeley did for the musical. Full Review

Angie Errigo
April 21, 2003
Angie Errigo, Empire Magazine

The result is an absolute spectacular. Not to be missed. Full Review

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42nd Street Trivia

  • Which of these films saved Warner Brothers from bankruptcy?  Answer »
  • In which movie did Meg Ryan say that she saw a butterfly get on the subway in New York at 42nd street and off at 59th, where it was, she assumed, going to Bloomingdale's to buy a hat?   Answer »
  • The quote "You're going out a youngster, but you've got to come back a star!" is from the film:  Answer »
  • He survived the San Francisco earthquake, lived to be 102, went on to have charater roles in such classics as "42nd Street," "It's a Wonderful Life" and "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" and appear in more than 300 movies and television shows.   Answer »
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