Review of 42nd Street (1933) by Anthony I — 06 Aug 2013

42nd street is a movie about...LEGS! and why shouldn't it be? This movie has some of the greatest musical numbers of all time, but far and away the best part of the movie is the legs. I wish I could spend the whole review talking about legs, but I can't.

This movie is the first backstage musical of consequence. It has a slow paced plot leading up to 3 show stopping (in fact show ending) numbers. I am not going to pretend that the plot is complex or that the characters are groundbreaking. They are both just vehicles for the musical numbers and legs. I will say that they are both very good. The characters are likable and easy to empathize with. The plot keeps you interested. As a vehicle they are as good as they can be. If plots and characters are too good in a vehicle they overshadow the important parts of the movie, in fact taking away from them. The next paragraph will be about the bulk of the movie and the rest of the review will be about the musical numbers.

This is a very observational film about 1930's America (without the great depression, even though it is expressly mentioned). There is one shot in particular where Dorothy calls Mr Denning, and he picks up the phone. He puts the receiver to his ear while he is still half asleep. When he finds out what is going on he jumps up to the microphone to have a proper conversation. That was the most realistic phone conversation on film until Tony Soprano said, "I'm still here." Now would be an appropriate time to discuss the racism of this film. It is defended by the fact that it was observational. Many Africans were forced to take service positions, and they Bo Jangled it up or more tips. Also the performance of the train attendant was great.

The musical numbers were a brilliant mix of choreography and cinematography. Many are familiar with Busby Berkly's work, but, in my opinion, his later work borders on the ridiculous. This is the movie where it is just enough spectacle not to be silly. I think that this movie could be remade, and made better with steadicam. The final number is what sparked my recent interest in tap dancing. I have to admit that I did not understand the rape scene. This number is easily the best number in the film. The only thing it lacked...LEGS!