Babes on Broadway (1941)

My Review

“Babes on Broadway” is a big MGM musical where Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland play two starstruck performers struggling to make it in New York. To get their big break and send orphan kids on a country vacation, they team up to produce their own ambitious benefit show. Director Busby Berkeley put together this musical extravaganza which is chock-full of songs and musical numbers, including the famous “How About You?” This was the third in a series of “Backyard Musicals” where youngsters put on their own show, such as “Babes in Arms” (1939) and “Strike Up the Band” (1940), all directed by Berkeley. In “Babes on Broadway,” Vincent Minnelli directed Judy Garland in her musical segments. (They were later married 1945-1951.)

The cast includes Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Fay Bainter, Virginia Weidler, Richard Quine, Donald Meek, James Gleason, Donna Reed, and Margaret O’Brien. The watchable “Babes on Broadway” was a huge hit at the box office for producer Arthur Freed and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was filmed at the MGM Studios in Culver City, California.