Week Fourteen: 42nd Street (1933)

Week Fourteen: 42^nd Street (1933)

Director: Lloyd Bacon and Busby Berkeley

Producer: Darryl F. Zanuck

Writers: Rian James and James Seymour

Cinematography: Sol Polito

Music: Harry Warren and Al Dubin

Choreography: Busby Berkeley

Studio: Warner Bros.

Starring: Warner Baxter (Julian Marsh), Bebe Daniels (Dorothy Brock), George Brent (Pat Denning), Ruby Keeler (Peggy Sawyer), Dick Powell (Billy Lawler), Ginger Rogers (“Anytime Annie” Lowell), Una Merkel (Lorraine Flemming), Guy Kibee (Abner Dillon), Ned Sparks (Barry), Allen Jenkins (Mac Elroy), Harry Akst (Jerry)

Before You Watch the Movie
(First make sure you have read the introduction to this series)

Despite the fact that the first talking picture, The Jazz Singer, was a musical, Hollywood hadn’t really figured out how to make the genre work yet. Cumbersome recording technology certainly didn’t help matters, nor did a complete lack of experience on the part of many in Hollywood, since, obviously, musicals weren’t being made during the silent era. Early musicals weren’t very good and often they had no plot at all and were just “revues,” or a series of musicals acts strung together with no connecting story. Musicals weren’t just struggling on the screen during the early part of the thirties, they were also really bad for business. Audiences had had enough of the poorly made musicals Hollywood was pumping out: it go so bad that local movie theater owners started putting up signs that said “Not a Musical” on them so the public wouldn’t stay away. Merely the suspicion that a movie was a musical was enough to damage it at the box office.

Stagy, storyless "revue" musicals like King of Jazz (1930) were beginning to become anathema to both audiences and theater owners in the early 1930s.

Musicals weren’t the only thing in Hollywood struggling during the early thirties: after striking gold with their signature gangster pictures, Warner Bros. was struggling. They needed to take a chance and make a hit, or else the studio would be in real trouble. The chance they took was on a former top level Broadway director and choreographer who had thus far failed to make much of an impact in the three years since he left the Great White Way for the Tinseltown.

In the same way that Hollywood brought in directors familiar with directing dialogue to deal with this new component to their films, Broadway musical directors, choreographers, songwriters, singers, dancers, and other musical talent were likewise imported. One of these talents was Busby Berkeley, a choreographer who didn’t know much about dance steps but knew how to bring visual creativity and striking images to the screen. Before working on Broadway, Berkeley served with the military in World War I where his primary purpose was to drill his men to perfection. In order to stave off boredom, Berkeley would create intricate drills, mathematically working out the movements of his men before hand so that they could move in separate groups yet as part of an overall whole. Berkeley would bring a similar mathematical precision to his screen work as well as a unique visual creativity with elaborate sets and a camera without limits of movement.

Berkeley created a few interesting sequences when he first came to Hollywood but nothing that set the world, or audiences, on fire. After working for independent producer Samuel Goldwyn, Berkeley was loaned to Warner Bros. to create dances for their upcoming film 42^nd Street, which they desperately needed to be a hit. The studio was definitely gambling when they gave Berkeley autonomy to direct the dance sequences for the film but they hedged their bets. All of Berkeley’s work would be stacked at the end of the film and the story would work without the numbers included. So basically if Berkeley flopped, it wouldn’t have ruined the picture. They needed have worried.
You can rent 42nd Street from Amazon here.

After You Watch the Movie (Spoilers Below)

The studio’s hedge did reveal an aspect of thirties Hollywood musicals however, especially those made by Warner Bros: the singing and dancing numbers were completely separate from the plot and did nothing to advance it. Musicals were slowly changing to what we think of now as a modern musical, in which the music and lyrics serve the story above all, starting on Broadway with 1927’s Show Boat (Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II, 1927) but Hollywood, as usual, was several years behind the curve.

The plot of 42^nd Street, based on a novel from the previous year written by Bradford Ropes, is a classic example of the now common backstage musical. This common story formula revolves around the preparation for a show and all the interpersonal drama that entails. This serves to immerse the audience in the lives of the performers and add significance to their on-stage performances. 

42nd Street creates the archetypal backstage story, following the preparation and behind the scenes drama of Pretty Lady.  

Most of Warner Bros. musicals during Berkeley’s run at the studio were set backstage, a choice that fit not only the time they were made but the style of Warner Bros. at that time. Warner’s was the gangster studio and they made gritty, down-to-earth films with tough talking two-fisted heroes and equally tough broads. 

42nd Street has standard backstage characters like the tough-nosed director...

...freshfaced young ingenue..

...and experienced leading lady.

This type of film played very well during the Great Depression in which the lower classes grew and toughness was at a premium. Many of the main characters in 42^nd Street are from the working class or effected by the Depression in some way. Even the show’s star, producers, and director must demean themselves in order to attain the financial backing they need. The lone rich character in the film, Abner Dillon, is a lecherous buffoon. 

Lustful and affluent Abner Dillon ogles the chorus line.

Lower class audiences that saw 42^nd Street wouldn’t have to work very hard to identify with the heroes of the film or appreciate that a diligent newcomer like Peggy just needed a lucky break to fulfill her potential. What hardworking but struggling working class viewer of 42^nd Street wouldn’t think that they, with that lucky break, could be on easy street too, if only given the chance? Pretty Lady doesn’t just represent an investment of two hundred thousand, it is also means two hundred in a time when jobs were hard to come by.

42^nd Street has an uncommonly good story for a thirties musical, not because it is particularly revelatory but because that bar is so low to clear, though it does clear it by quite a bit. It is the template for the backstage musical with drama and romance at every level of the fictional production. Over the course of the film we get several love triangles, even some that intersect into a sort of love Venn Diagram (we have Dorothy/Abner, Dorothy/Pat, Pat/Peggy, Peggy/Billy, and Peggy/Terry) as well as the director looking for one last hit, a conflicted star, and the young chorus girl getting her big chance. 

Backstage love triangles including Dorothy and Abner...

...Pat and Dorothy...

...Pat and Peggy...

...Peggy and Billy...

...and Peggy and Terry.

Peggy’s ascent to stardom is stuffed with iconic lines that typify the backstage musical:

“I’m either going to have a live leading lady or a dead chorus girl.”

“The customers out there want to like you. Always remember that, kid. I've learned it from experience. And you've got so much to give them: Youth and beauty and freshness. Do you know your lines? And your songs? And your dance routine? You're a cinch… Now go out there and be so swell that you'll make me hate you!"

And the mother of all backstage pump-up speeches:

“Sawyer, you listen to me, and you listen hard. Two hundred people, two hundred jobs, two hundred thousand dollars, five weeks of grind and blood and sweat depend upon you. It's the lives of all these people who've worked with you. You've got to go on, and you've got to give and give and give. They've got to like you. Got to. Do you understand? You can't fall down. You can't because your future's in it, my future and everything all of us have is staked on you. All right, now I'm through, but you keep your feet on the ground and your head on those shoulders of yours and go out, and Sawyer, you're going out a youngster but you've got to come back a star!”

Peggy's big break comes at the misfortune of Dorothy...

...but she still has to deliver.

Now go out there and be so swell that you'll make me hate you!

"You've got to go on, and you've got to give and give and give. They've got to like you. Got to!"

"You're going out a youngster but you've got to come back a star!"

Warner Bros. tough talking stars translate to their musicals well, with a bevy of wisecracks, one liners, and innuendos that fly back-and-forth amongst the characters. The film has an uncommonly high quality of sarcasm and sass, mostly provided by the experienced chorus girls and stage staff. The studio’s formula for its Busby Berkeley musicals was simple: one part romantic drama, one part comedy, and the rest of the space filled up with Berkeley’s musical majesty. All three of these aspects work to perfection in 42^nd Street.

Sardonic chorus girls Lorraine and "Anytime Annie" provide some working class sass to 42nd Street.

The backstage aspects of the film are very well done visually as well, director Lloyd Bacon keeps the films many rehearsal scenes fresh by constantly moving the camera, giving us new angles to view the action, and injecting an overall energy into these scenes. The editing of the film also serves the feel of the film well, especially during the backstage parts of Pretty Lady’s opening night. Quick cuts of action covey the excitement and chaos of that setting perfectly. 

Lloyd Bacon's direction keeps the film's many preparation and backstage scenes fresh and interesting.

As enjoyable, funny, and well directed as the story of 42^nd Street is, it is the musical numbers that make it an absolute classic. “You’re Getting to Be a Habit with Me” became a jazz standard and the simple choreography is well done by Bebe Daniels and company, but the film’s final three productions, directed by Berkeley, are the gems of the production and a hint at the genius of the choreographer.

“Shuffle Off to Buffalo” starts off simply enough, with newlyweds Ruby Keeler and Clarence Nordstrom singing to each other on the caboose of the Niagara Limited. Berkeley productions often begin with just two characters on a simple set singing the opening of the number before the production steadily grows in proportion. Soon the trick is revealed as the two characters are pulled apart and the set opens up like a pocket knife to reveal the inside of the train, where the rest of the song and dance takes place, punctuated with sardonic comments by Ginger Rogers and Una Merkel and plenty of wink-wink innuendo in the lyrics and choreography. 

Like many Berkeley numbers, "Shuffle Off to Buffalo" starts with just two performers...

...but quickly evolves from there...

...revealing an elaborate trick set.

Berkeley returned to this formula often, here Dick Powell serenades Ruby Keeler on a simple set...

...but the number escalates quickly (from "By a Waterfall," Footlight Parade, 1933)

There is a lot of creativity just in the one number but “Shuffle Off to Buffalo” in the hierarchy of Berkeley is one of the most straightforward numbers he produced. There is just the one change in the number, from caboose to train interior, but future Berkeley production will evolve through numerous different permutations, each one growing upon the other. We do also see Berkeley’s penchant for elaborate sets and literal interpretations of song lyrics.

Berkeley sets are often elebatorate and feature direct references to song lyrics (from "In the Money," Gold Diggers of 1933)

We see that with the next song, “Young and Healthy,” which once again starts simple with Dick Powell singing to Toby Wing as she sits on a bench, dressed in white furs. Right away, one of Berkeley’s favorite elements is apparent: bright white costumes on a solid black background. This stark color palate brings the most possible dynamism and pop possible in a black-and-white film and rivals Technicolor for sheer eye-catching beauty. 

Stark contrast between black and white are a common Berkeley visual...

...that is repeated often, to great effect (from "All's Fair in Love and War," Gold Diggers of 1937)

“Young and Healthy” makes its first shift as the bench sinks into the floor, leaving Powell and Wing reclining as the floor begins to rotate. Berkeley himself invented and patented this rotating stage, which allowed him to create unique movements that would bring even more vibrance to his diverse camera angles and movements. After the initial opening part, there is almost always constant movement in Berkeley’s numbers, though often the dancers are standing still and it is the camera or set that is moving. 

A disappearing bench creates a seamless transition between sitting...

...and reclining.

Soon, Powell is singing to a rotating set of chorus girls, who rotate past him on the stage. This is another Berkeley staple, a parade in which his camera loving admires his dancers faces. Berkeley took extra care in selecting his dancing girls and often spoke about how their talent and hard work was crucial to his success. The titular number in Dames is Berkeley’s tribute to show business unsung heroes in the chorus line. 

Berkeley's parade of dancing girls...

...is a visually appealing tribute to his chorus girls. (from "Dames," Dames (1934)

Later, we get another oft-repeated Berkeley element, the high top shot in which dancer’s movements are shown from straight above, forming his signature kaleidoscope of human bodies. This is an element that he returned to often, always adding new elements and more complexities to create even more complex visuals. Berkeley’s obsession with continuously topping himself caused him to go to extreme lengths at times. In order to get the height he wanted on one of his top-shots, Berkeley had crew members cut a hole in the roof of a Warner Bros. soundstage. 

Berkeley's signature top-shot...

...is often repeated...

...but with new wrinkles introduced... (from "Shadow Waltz" Gold Diggers of 1933)

...layers added... (from "By a Waterfall," Footlight Parade)

...and more complex arrangements devised. (from "Dames," Dames)

“Young and Healthy” ends with a final Berkeley element, a tracking shot to passing in between a series of mirrored objects, in this case legs. Berkeley would expand on this idea, upping the ante numerous times, but none match the simple elegance of this archway of legs.

The archway of legs, squared. (from "Dames," Dames)

“Young and Healthy” contains all the essential elements of a Busby Berkeley choreographed chorus girl number, but there is another archetype that he returned to at times which is encapsulated in the films finale, “42^nd Street.” Though the musical numbers in Berkeley films don’t advance the story, occasionally they contain a story within themselves, which is the case for “42^nd Street,” which again starts with just a lone character, Ruby Keeler, singing and dancing alone on a sparse set. From there, however, the simple stage becomes a massive version of New York’s 42^nd Street and the camera moves around at street level before climbing a building, entering a room, showing a dramatic scene within, then pulling back out again to the street, all in one seamless camera movement. Busby Berkeley will forever be remembered first and foremost for his over the top choreography, but he doesn’t get enough credit for his Murnau-esque ability to move his camera in unique and creative ways. Unlike most choreographers, Berkeley didn’t just arrange the dances, he visualized the entire sequence and directed it himself. The film’s overall director had nothing to do with it. 

After starting out with just Ruby Keeler, the camera moves through fictional 42nd Street then into and out of an upstairs window.

Eventually the action moves to a group of dancers who assemble holding cardboard props, walking up stairs with their back to the audience. The dancers turn and the props are revealed to be the New York skyline. Berkeley often used oversized (or in this case undersized) props to create visuals that fit into the song and story he was bringing to the screen. He would return to this bag of tricks often, especially when creating stories-within-songs like “42^nd Street.” 

"42nd Street" features oversized props...

...which Berkeley would use often in creating his numbers. (from "All's Fair in Love and War," Gold Diggers of 1937)

"42nd Street" contains a light story-within-a-song, later Berkeley would create more fleshed out stories... (from "Remember My Forgotten Man," Gold Diggers of 1933)

...including his dreamlike, nightmarish masterpiece "Lullaby of Broadway" (from Gold Diggers of 1935)

“Young and Healthy” and the film’s title number are both masterpieces that contain all the key Berkeley elements, but they also represent just the tipping off point for the flamboyant madness that Berkeley would go on to create in future films.

42^nd Street wasn’t just a success, it was one of the top earners of the year and was nominated for Best Picture. It also fast-tracked Berkeley to Hollywood success and Warner Bros. gave him free reign in future pictures, including two more to be made right away, reuniting much of the talent and cast of 42^nd Street. The studio released three Berkeley musicals in 1933 and all three were top ten at the box office for the year, hits Warner Bros desperately needed. Busby Berkeley hadn’t just saved Warner Bros though, he had saved the musical as well.

See Also

Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933) dir. Mervyn LeRoy and Busby Berkeley

Rivals 42^nd Street for best Berkeley film, contains the sublime “Shadow Waltz,” suggestive “Pettin’ in the Park,” and socially conscious “Remember My Forgotten Man.”

Footlight Parade (1933) dir. Lloyd Bacon and Busby Berkeley

Berkeley and co. plus Warner’s superstar James Cagney. Features Berkeley’s insane water ballet “By a Waterfall” and a sequel to “Shuffle Off to Buffalo” in “Honeymoon Hotel.”

Dames (1934) dir. Ray Enright and Busby Berkeley

Contains some of Berkeley’s best numbers, (including the title song, the surreal “I Only Have Eyes for You,”) as well as perhaps the dumbest story of the Warner musicals.

Gold Diggers of 1935 (1935) dir. Busby Berkeley

Berkeley directs the whole film, both book and music, for the first time. Two classic numbers are featured: dancing grand pianos in “The Words Are in My Heart” and the epic story-in-a-song “Lullaby of Broadway.

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