"Babes in Arms" is the first of four musicals MGM made for its two young musical talents, Mickey Rooney (as Mickey Moran) and Judy Garland (as Patsy Barton). And this one is very entertaining. The story is OK – the kids are protégés of parents who had been successes in vaudeville. They now live in a community on Long Island where many performers also have settled down. The rest of the story plot will be familiar to movie buffs.
The story was developed so that we could see Rooney, Garland and several other good performers display their talents. The movie is adapted from a play by Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart. The "kids" shine in two Rogers- Hart numbers – "Babes in Arms" and "Where or When." Several other numbers are interspersed in the movie. The last two numbers are lengthy staged routines with singing, dancing, and dialog. Nacio Herb Brown & Arthur Freed wrote "Good Morning," and Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg wrote "God's Country." In the latter two, Rooney shows some excellent footwork and does a couple of nice imitations. Garland also does a nice imitation of Eleanor Roosevelt.
One strange thing in this move was the bus that Patsy takes to visit her mother in Schenectady, NY. I've ridden Greyhound and Trailways buses many years ago, but I've never seen a bus with sleeping berths. This is the first and only one I've ever seen in a movie or anywhere. And this berth doesn't even look cramped, like those in trains. I suspect this was just a concoction of MGM to give Garland a more comfy setting in which to film her song, "I've Cried for You."
This early film of the series isn't up to the caliber of the later ones; but it's enjoyable just the same. Most have more comedy dialog. One cute and funny scene here is in the opening. Mickey asks Patsy, "Would you like my pin?" Patsy replies, "It's your music class pin." Mickey: "Well, what do you want me to say?" Patsy: "You know what I want you to say." Mickey: "Well, I won't." Patsy: "All right then, don't." Mickey: "Oh, Pat . I do." Patsy: "You do what?" Mickey: "I do, what you want me to say and I won't. Very much."
And, remembering that this was 1939, the last song in the tune, "God's Country," has some clever lines. "We've got no Duce, we've got no Führer; but we've got Garbo and Norma Shearer. Got no goose steps, but we got a Suzie Q step .. Here in God's country."
The story was developed so that we could see Rooney, Garland and several other good performers display their talents. The movie is adapted from a play by Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart. The "kids" shine in two Rogers- Hart numbers – "Babes in Arms" and "Where or When." Several other numbers are interspersed in the movie. The last two numbers are lengthy staged routines with singing, dancing, and dialog. Nacio Herb Brown & Arthur Freed wrote "Good Morning," and Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg wrote "God's Country." In the latter two, Rooney shows some excellent footwork and does a couple of nice imitations. Garland also does a nice imitation of Eleanor Roosevelt.
One strange thing in this move was the bus that Patsy takes to visit her mother in Schenectady, NY. I've ridden Greyhound and Trailways buses many years ago, but I've never seen a bus with sleeping berths. This is the first and only one I've ever seen in a movie or anywhere. And this berth doesn't even look cramped, like those in trains. I suspect this was just a concoction of MGM to give Garland a more comfy setting in which to film her song, "I've Cried for You."
This early film of the series isn't up to the caliber of the later ones; but it's enjoyable just the same. Most have more comedy dialog. One cute and funny scene here is in the opening. Mickey asks Patsy, "Would you like my pin?" Patsy replies, "It's your music class pin." Mickey: "Well, what do you want me to say?" Patsy: "You know what I want you to say." Mickey: "Well, I won't." Patsy: "All right then, don't." Mickey: "Oh, Pat . I do." Patsy: "You do what?" Mickey: "I do, what you want me to say and I won't. Very much."
And, remembering that this was 1939, the last song in the tune, "God's Country," has some clever lines. "We've got no Duce, we've got no Führer; but we've got Garbo and Norma Shearer. Got no goose steps, but we got a Suzie Q step .. Here in God's country."