Review: 42nd Street

Directed by: Lloyd Bacon

Written by: Rian James & James Seymour

Starring: Warner Baxter, Bebe Daniels, George Brent, Una Merkel, Ruby Keeler, Guy Kibbee

Rating: [3.5/5]

When making a film about the making of a musical and essentially building up to it for the majority of the narrative, it needs to dazzle. All of the rehearsals, arguments, and sweat shed need to culminate into something worth all of it in the end. A challenge 42nd Street takes on and succeeds where the majority of the film is mostly forgettable, but it delivers an exceptional finale that leaves you on a high. 

Shortly after the 1929 stock market crash, director Julian Marsh (Warner Baxter) takes on one final musical that he hopes can pay him enough to retire. He’s set to direct “Pretty Lady,” and with pre-production and rehearsals in full flow, the various dancers involved try to make the cut and leave their mark with their inclusion in the musical. 

Following the different individuals behind the making of a musical, 42nd Street demonstrates the chaos and the politics involved in reaching the opening performance. Within the film we witness various squabbles, scandals, and pettiness by various individuals that would make any director pull his hair out. Certainly not a great situation for Marsh, who must calm himself given his heart condition. This all leads to what the film wants to display as its entertainment factor while it bides its time until the final performance it builds up to. 

Of the different plot lines involved, the most fascinating one lies between the dancing ladies, where Peggy Sawyer (Ruby Keeler), Lorraine Fleming (Una Merkel), and Anne Lowell (Ginger Rogers) meet and look out for each other. Peggy enters the film as a newbie who has plenty to learn while Lorraine and Anne take her under their wing. A lovely trio that comes together, each with their different personalities to bring into the fold. Peggy represents the young ingénue who is new to the scene, while she has the two experienced women giving her the sage wisdom she needs, especially as things progress and who works in what role changes throughout. They each deal with their own drama, but their support for each other truly gives the film an emotional backbone to continually cling to. Each of the three actors portraying the ladies thrives, with me being particularly partial to Ginger Rogers as she breaks onto the scene here and begins her legendary career. 

Then we have the other subplots that just exist and do not necessarily bring anything of note other than some stale humor. It is at least a bit funny to watch Marsh continue to almost lose his mind as his frustration in the progress of the production continually grows. It turns his heart condition into a running gag where you may think if his latest outburst would be the one that takes him out. All of the other dynamics are just there, including Dorothy (Bebe Daniels), the woman dating the play’s primary financier. 

As mentioned before, everything leads to the final production, and the way the plot progresses and there still being frustrations up until the day of the opening performance makes you question how good it will be. However, its brilliance is ultimately what makes this film so memorable. This whole production bets and goes all-in to deliver its musical sequence, and it’s absolutely wonderful. Visually dynamic and filled with incredible feats of music and dance made perfect for audiences to appreciate. You do have to question how the actual audience in the theater actually experienced this, given the camera goes through all of these angles and close-ups that are made available to us watching the movie but surely did not look the same for the musical audience. Regardless, it’s a movie, and it proved worth the fairly pedestrian plotlines because it all builds into this performance that ranks highly amongst the best I have seen. 

Broadly respected as one of the best musicals in American history, 42nd Street delivers exactly in all of the facets it needs to. While the narrative as a whole does not present something particularly engaging, everything comes together beautifully as the rise of the newcomer Peggy. All of the stress involved for everyone comes together for a performance so well-choreographed and staged that it allows all of the criticisms one may have to fall away. Genuinely a wonderful treat for all fans of movie musicals.