42nd Street
(1933)
89 mins | Musical | 11 March 1933
Director:
Lloyd BaconWriters:
Rian James, James SeymourProducer:
Darryl F. ZanuckCinematographer:
Sol PolitoEditors:
Frank Ware, Thomas PrattProduction Designer:
Jack OkeyProduction Company:
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
The film introduced Ruby Keeler and was the first Warner Bros. film for Busby Berkeley and songwriters Harry Warren and Al Dubin. Mervyn LeRoy was originally scheduled to direct, but due to illness was replaced by Lloyd Bacon. According to AMPAS clipping files, as a publicity stunt, a train called the "42nd Street Special," traveled from Hollywood to New York City, arriving the day the film opened in New York. Celebrities including Tom Mix and his horse and chorus girls from the film were on the train.
The film had a shooting schedule of 28 days and was made for a total cost of $340,000. The popular musical, which was one of the top money making films of the year, won Academy Award nominations for Best Picture and Best Sound Recording and also appeared as number two on the Film Daily Ten Best. In 1980, a theatrical adaptation of the screenplay with additional songs, produced by David Merrick and choregraphed by Gower Champion, was a Broadway hit. According to modern sources, Whitney Bolton wrote the first treatment and worked with James Seymour on several drafts before he was replaced by Rian James. In 2005, 42nd Street was ranked 13th on AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals ...
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The film introduced Ruby Keeler and was the first Warner Bros. film for Busby Berkeley and songwriters Harry Warren and Al Dubin. Mervyn LeRoy was originally scheduled to direct, but due to illness was replaced by Lloyd Bacon. According to AMPAS clipping files, as a publicity stunt, a train called the "42nd Street Special," traveled from Hollywood to New York City, arriving the day the film opened in New York. Celebrities including Tom Mix and his horse and chorus girls from the film were on the train.
The film had a shooting schedule of 28 days and was made for a total cost of $340,000. The popular musical, which was one of the top money making films of the year, won Academy Award nominations for Best Picture and Best Sound Recording and also appeared as number two on the Film Daily Ten Best. In 1980, a theatrical adaptation of the screenplay with additional songs, produced by David Merrick and choregraphed by Gower Champion, was a Broadway hit. According to modern sources, Whitney Bolton wrote the first treatment and worked with James Seymour on several drafts before he was replaced by Rian James. In 2005, 42nd Street was ranked 13th on AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals list.
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Less
Julian Marsh, a tough, demanding Broadway director, ignores his weak heart when he has a chance to earn money he needs desperately by directing Pretty Lady the next musical for producers Jones & Barry. The leading lady, Dorothy Brock, has been cast already by backer Abner Dillon, who is also Dorothy's sugar daddy. In a highly competitive casting call, Marsh and his stage manager, Andy Lee, audition the dancers, choosing among them Lee's girlfriend Loraine Fleming, a gold digger nick-named Anytime Annie, and newcomer Peggy Sawyer. Billy Lawler, the play's juvenile, falls in love with Peggy, but she is more impressed with Pat Denning, Dorothy's lover and ex-partner. Pat is getting tired of living in the shadow of Dorothy's life and soon leaves for Philadelphia to establish his independence. Coincidentally, the company goes to Philadelphia for its out-of-town opening. During the cast party the night before the opening, Dorothy gets drunk, fights with Pat, and in the struggle, badly sprains her ankle. The next evening, after exhausting rehearsals with Marsh, Peggy goes on in her place and is a star overnight. Now she realizes that she loves Billy, just as Dorothy admits that what she really wants is to retire and marry Pat. In the end, Marsh's finances are saved, but his accomplishment is overshadowed by Peggy's new ... + −
Julian Marsh, a tough, demanding Broadway director, ignores his weak heart when he has a chance to earn money he needs desperately by directing Pretty Lady the next musical for producers Jones & Barry. The leading lady, Dorothy Brock, has been cast already by backer Abner Dillon, who is also Dorothy's sugar daddy. In a highly competitive casting call, Marsh and his stage manager, Andy Lee, audition the dancers, choosing among them Lee's girlfriend Loraine Fleming, a gold digger nick-named Anytime Annie, and newcomer Peggy Sawyer. Billy Lawler, the play's juvenile, falls in love with Peggy, but she is more impressed with Pat Denning, Dorothy's lover and ex-partner. Pat is getting tired of living in the shadow of Dorothy's life and soon leaves for Philadelphia to establish his independence. Coincidentally, the company goes to Philadelphia for its out-of-town opening. During the cast party the night before the opening, Dorothy gets drunk, fights with Pat, and in the struggle, badly sprains her ankle. The next evening, after exhausting rehearsals with Marsh, Peggy goes on in her place and is a star overnight. Now she realizes that she loves Billy, just as Dorothy admits that what she really wants is to retire and marry Pat. In the end, Marsh's finances are saved, but his accomplishment is overshadowed by Peggy's new stardom. + −
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