Come Back A Star!

According to Seymour Peck, a culture editor for the New York Times, the line “Sawyer, You’re going out a youngster but you’ve got to come back a star!” is an immortal line from the movie 42^nd Street. People all over the country have heard the song “42^nd Street”- the title song of the movie. As a classic movie, 42^nd Street has changed and influenced many people, particularly actors, over the years.

            Warner Bros. filmed this movie in 1933 with the budget of $435,000.  42^nd Street received the 10 Best Films from Film Daily (1933) and the U.S. National Film Registry from the Library of Congress (1998) awards. This movie was originally a book written by Bradford Ropes, then adapted to a movie, and lastly adapted to Broadway (Phillips Jr.).  The choreography, costumes, and actors all had a major impact on the success of the film, as well as influence people of all generations.

            Busby Berkeley was the choreographer of the film 42^nd Street and was often times called “Buzz” by Ruby Keeler. He is well known for his overhead shots in films. As a result of not being a trained dancer, he usually let the camera do all the movement (Faller). In an interview Keeler said, “As a matter of fact, Buzz couldn’t dance. Didn’t do a step. There were boys in the chorus he’d worked with before and he’d say, ‘Remember that step we did? Do it.’” Keeler also went on to say that the reason why the dance floor was always shiny in his films was because he entertained his audiences (Dunning).

            Some examples of his work in 42^nd street include “You’re Getting to Be a Habit With Me,” “I’m Young and Healthy,” “Shuffle off to Buffalo,” and “42^nd Street” (M.H.). In “Shuffle off to Buffalo,” we get the illusion of being on a train, by using amazing scenery and imagery. In a movie review from 1933 in the New York Times, “Shuffle off to Buffalo” was considered to be “an excellent example of stagecraft” (M.H.). Another example is in the title song “42^nd Street”. We see a close up of Keeler dancing, but when the camera pans out; we see that Keeler is dancing on top of a taxi at the corner of Broadway and 42^nd Street (Fristoe).

            Berkeley showed us in his musical numbers that he had a vivid imagination. It was very popular during this time period for movies to show the backstage of the theater. But in this movie it is “pictured brightly and with a degree of authenticity that makes it diverting” (M.H). Berkeley stands out during his career for his “innovative camera work, monumental dance numbers, and telling, teasing glimpses of female flesh” (Dunning). 

            The costumes in 42^nd Street were normal everyday clothes, which were typical of the time. Shorts were worn for beach games, tennis, hiking, and they were even considered pyjamas (anonymous). Men wore suits, or tuxes, in the 30’s. So it would not come as a complete surprise that this is what the men wore in the movie. Except, for rehearsals it was more undershirts and dress pants for the dancers and suit pants with shirts and vests for almost everyone else.

            We see examples of this fashion style during the rehearsal scenes. A woman dancing in the front row is wearing a silk shirt with dark shorts. Using shorts as costumes was due to the fact that it was fashionable to ride bicycles again (anonymous). Jumpsuits for women were also visible in the movie. In the scene where Dorothy Brock sings “You’re Getting to be a Habit with Me” in Philadelphia she is wearing a silk jumpsuit with gloves.

            By using scenery and costumes, we see what New York City and Philadelphia were like in 1933. The movie was filmed during the depression and you can see the effect it had on people who were wealthy and those that had very little. The character Abner Dillon shows us his wealth, by wearing fancy suits as well as being driving around in an expensive car. During the title song, we see vendors on the street wearing average clothes. They show us that there was a depression going on during that time and not every character in the movie was wealthy.

            Some famous actors of that time were casted in the film. They included Warner Baxter, Bebe Daniels, Una Merkel, all of whom had successful careers before filming the movie. Ginger Rogers later went on to have a successful career. She was best known for being Fred Astaire’s dance partner. 42^nd Street also started a movie career for Ruby Keeler, who was working in New York nightclubs where she was spotted by Earl Lindsay (a stage director) after winning a dance contest. Another actor with a successful career after 42^nd Street was Dick Powell, who ended up being teamed with Ruby Keeler and became “one of the most popular screen couples of the early 1930’s” (Holden).

            Warner Baxter, according to a 1933 article from the New York Times, gave “one of the outstanding portrayals of his screen career” as Julian Marsh, the stage director of the musical in the film “Pretty Lady.” Ruby Keeler, who played Peggy Sawyer, added her own vibrant personality while singing and dancing (M.H.). In the following clip you can see Ruby Keeler and Warner Baxter in a scene they did together. One scene of the movie is where Julian Marsh (Warner Baxter) is giving Peggy Sawyer (Ruby Keeler) a pep talk before the first scene of “Pretty Lady.”- The clip of the scene is found below 

The acting in this movie is typical for that time period; from the speech that they used to the hand motions and walking. During the 30’s it wasn’t uncommon for men to be filmed smoking cigars. The character, played by Ned Sparks, who is a theatrical expert, is always seen chewing on a cigar (M.H.). When watching the movie, the acting seems to be melodramatic with the big eyes and over enunciation on words with big gestures. This was very common in movies of the early to mid-1930s and it shows when watching movies from that time.
In a review of the film, it is said to be “the liveliest and one of the most tuneful screen musical comedies that has come out of Hollywood” (M.H.). Classic movies, for example, 42^nd Street, has inspired actors and many others over the years from the acting, choreography, and the costumes. This is proven with the recent film The Artist, and vintage clothing being brought back into style. In the words of Julian Marsh, “Sawyer, You’re going out a youngster but you’ve got to come back a star!”

Works Cited

 Anonymous. "1933 Fashions." Delineator June 1933. 1933 Fashions. Vintageconnection.net. Web. 16 May 2012.

Dunning, Jennifer. "FILM; Ruby Keeler Still Moves to a Berkeley Beat." The New York Times. The New York Times, 07 July 1991. Web. 18 May 2012.

Faller, Greg S. "42nd Street." Encyclopedia.com. Web. 15 May 2012.

Fristoe, Roger. "42nd Street." Tcm.com. Web. 16 May 2012.

H., M. "Patting On a Show." New York Times 10 Mar. 1933. Patting On a Show. The New York Times. Web. 15 May 2012.

Holden, Stephen. "Ruby Keeler, Tap-Dancing Actress, Is Dead at 82." New York Times 01 Mar. 1993. The New York Times. The New York Times. Web. 16 May 2012.

Phillips, Jr., Michael W. "42nd Street, 1933." Goatdog's Movies - 42nd Street, 1933. Web. 15 May 2012.

Times, Seymour Peck; Seymour Peck Is Culture Editor Of The New York. "SUDDENLY THE TALKIES COULD SING." New York Times 15 Nov. 1981. The New York Times. The New York Times. Web. 15 May 2012.

Critique #2

            When first hearing of Psycho Beach Party I thought it was a bunch of people on a beach that were crazy. I was partially wrong. The play starts off on a made-up west coast beach – Malibu Beach during the 1960’s. The main character, Chicklet – played by Andrew DeNardo- had multi-personality disorder in result to the death of her twin brother when she was younger. The play shows us her struggles and how she eventually found love.

            The actors of the play were so in tune with their character. Two characters that stood out the most for me were Chicklet and Berdine. The lead character was Chicklet, a young girl who just wants to learn how to surf, who was played by Andrew DeNardo. DeNardo had to have great range in his acting. He had to go from playing a shy timid girl to a vixen, old lady, or a man in a matter of seconds without thinking it over. Another character in the play is Berdine, the best friend of Chicklet and nerd best friend that everyone has had at one point, played by Leeanna Zayas. This actor was brilliant in the whole show. She mastered the talk, walk, and characteristics one would imagine this character having. One point in the play that I liked the most was when Chicklet was tied up and Berdine went to rescue her, she jumped through the window and had us all by surprise that I literally jumped in my seat.  

            The scene design in this show wasn’t too much and it wasn’t too little, just the right amount. Scott Mancha, who designed the set, should receive a round of applause for making the most of what you had and making it colorful and beautiful. The set for the show never changed, except for the little add-ons to give us comic relief during serious scenes. The steps from one level of the stage to the other didn’t look stable, so maybe they could have put weights inside a hollow box (the step) or made the steps attached to the second level of the stage so they were more stable and less wobbly.

            I don’t find myself to be very fashionable most of the time but when I go see a show I always look at costuming. I look at costuming when going to shows because as a dancer and teacher, I’m always looking for different ideas for the next dance season. And Arnold Bueso did a good job with costume design. He had a real challenge on his hands when he had to find female clothing to fit Andrew DeNardo, who is skinny and lanky but also broader than most girls that would where clothes appropriate for the beach. And Bueso nailed it. During the show, I saw that DeNardo’s clothes didn’t fit right, like for example, his shirts kept falling off and his shorts seemed a little snug even for the 60’s. For Zayas costumes, I would think that Bueso had a fun time with her costume. Not only were her outfits nerdy but her hair style was the big pouf hairstyle with the bow ribbon in it that was very hairsprayesqe.  The other costumes were typical for the beach, floral shirts and swim shorts, bikinis and cover ups for the girls and the big hair styles. I just wish that more could have been done for the other characters costumes, like maybe made them more unique in a way to fit the characters personality but stay in the 60’s fashion.

            Overall the show was a hit. I saw it on its opening night and I have no doubt that it will be a huge success at the college. If this show was to be put on Broadway I wouldn’t mind seeing it again. This show opened my eyes to what people with multi personality disorder go through except they don’t have that over dramatic change sequence from one personality to another that Chicklet had in the play. I felt that the over dramatic sequence from one personality to another was, when we first saw Chicklet’s change in personality. Chicklet made these motions like she was being beat up by an imaginary person. It was funny but not necessary because the rest of the show was like reality and this felt to be more cartoonish. Not only is this show funny, it also shows how hard things are for people with multi personality disorder who are not treated for it at an early stage.