42nd Street

42ND STREET (1933) - June 10, 2010
This is the second musical I’ve watched for this blog, with the first one being All That Jazz. Boy, they could not be more different. Where Jazz was torpid, dull and pretentious, 42nd Street was fun, fast-paced and immensely memorable. It’s funny, because both films have a fairly similar plot and structure (a play being prepared, followed by an extended sequence of musical numbers). But 42nd Street just does it so much better.  One of the hallmarks of a good musical is that it leaves you humming the songs to yourself — I definitely have at least one of the songs stuck in my head pretty conclusively, so the film certainly succeeded on that count.  The film essentially breaks up into two parts: the first hour, with all the behind the scenes stuff, followed by the musical itself. The whole thing was well made and engaging, though it’s the last 20 minutes or so (which features some really visually dazzling musical sequences choreographed by the legendary Busby Berkeley) in which the film really comes alive.  Really, this is just a movie that puts a big smile on your face. It’s quite enjoyable throughout, and definitely one of the better musicals I’ve seen in a while.  ***1/2