Early on in their careers, it was hard to separate Mickey Rooney from Judy Garland. Of course, as the years went on, Garland tended to eclipse Rooney in sheer star power, then died prematurely, while Rooney went on to one of the longest runs in entertainment history (307 films, starting in 1926, with three films in 2006, two in 2007, and another lined up for 2008). Capitalizing on the pair's continued popularity, Warner Bros. serves up four of their best films together in the "Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland Collection," a deluxe package that includes a bonus disc of extras, a hardbound collector's book of film materials, and a packet of studio stills. It's something of a Rooney-and-Garland fan's dream.
The four MGM films in the set are formulaic, high-spirited musical comedies, mostly covering the same ground with similar songs and characters. But that's exactly what audiences wanted then and now, so it's what they get. I hadn't seen them in years, but I remembered them as cheerful and bouncy, sometimes remarkably corny but spirited, too.
"Babes in Arms," 1939, produced by Arthur Freed and directed by the celebrated choreographer Busby Berkeley, stars Rooney and Garland with co-stars Charles Winninger, Guy Kibbee, June Preisser, and Margaret Hamilton (who the same year did the Wicked Witches in "The Wizard of Oz"). "Babes in Arms" is based on a Rodgers and Hart musical, freely adapted, with a lot of additional music and songs in one of those fund raiser-type shows to help the down-and-out. "Babes" is still lively and an enormous favorite with audiences. 7/10
"Strike Up the Band," 1940, also directed by Berkeley, co-stars bandleader Paul Whiteman, June Preisser, William Tracy, and Larry Nunn. A high school band hopes to compete in a nationwide radio contest, with Mick as the leader of the group and Garland as the lead vocalist. Best bits: an animated musical number concocted by George Pal; the Oscar-nominated song "Our Love Affair"; and Gershwin's title tune in the finale. 6/10
"Babes on Broadway," 1941, again directed by Berkeley, co-stars Fay Banter, Virginia Weidler, Richard Quine, and Donna Reed. Once more we get Rooney and Garland teaming up to help out the disadvantaged, this time to send orphaned children on holiday. Cute mimicking from the duo, lots of energy, but rather a been-there-done-that affair. 5/10
"Girl Crazy":
My favorite among them, though, is "Girl Crazy," a musical comedy from 1943, so I'll concentrate the rest of the review on this single, representative film. Arthur Freed returned as the producer, and for at least one number he again had Busby Berkeley as director. However, Berkeley only did the closing scene, filmed first, before Freed fired him, apparently for going over budget. Still, that closing number, "I Got Rhythm," is the best scene in the picture. Then Freed hired director Norman Taurog to finish the picture. Taurog had already directed Rooney in things like "Boys Town" and "Young Tom Edison," and he would go on in the fifties to direct Martin and Lewis and Elvis Presley.
The movie is helped by the fact that the screenwriters based it on a 1930 musical by Guy Bolton and Jack McGowan, with music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin. Then Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra helped provide much of the music, along with The Music Maids and Six Hits and a Miss.
Rooney says in his introduction to the film that 1943 "marked the height of the big-band era, and this movie provides an excellent showcase for Tommy (Dorsey)." It does, indeed. The movie's plot may be slight and the characters silly, but the music and the music-makers are terrific.
The first fifteen or twenty minutes of the movie belong to Rooney, with Garland not entering the picture until later. Rooney plays Danny Churchill, Jr., a rich, spoiled young college student, the son of a New York City newspaper publisher. Young Danny is also a playboy, cavorting around the city's nightclubs with bevies of young women on his arm when he should be studying. Danny's father is concerned that the boy is wasting his time and neglecting his studies at Yale; therefore, he sends Danny out West to the Cody College of Mines and Agriculture, an all-male school. "There hasn't been a woman out there since the Civil War," he tells his despondent son.
The four MGM films in the set are formulaic, high-spirited musical comedies, mostly covering the same ground with similar songs and characters. But that's exactly what audiences wanted then and now, so it's what they get. I hadn't seen them in years, but I remembered them as cheerful and bouncy, sometimes remarkably corny but spirited, too.
"Babes in Arms," 1939, produced by Arthur Freed and directed by the celebrated choreographer Busby Berkeley, stars Rooney and Garland with co-stars Charles Winninger, Guy Kibbee, June Preisser, and Margaret Hamilton (who the same year did the Wicked Witches in "The Wizard of Oz"). "Babes in Arms" is based on a Rodgers and Hart musical, freely adapted, with a lot of additional music and songs in one of those fund raiser-type shows to help the down-and-out. "Babes" is still lively and an enormous favorite with audiences. 7/10
"Strike Up the Band," 1940, also directed by Berkeley, co-stars bandleader Paul Whiteman, June Preisser, William Tracy, and Larry Nunn. A high school band hopes to compete in a nationwide radio contest, with Mick as the leader of the group and Garland as the lead vocalist. Best bits: an animated musical number concocted by George Pal; the Oscar-nominated song "Our Love Affair"; and Gershwin's title tune in the finale. 6/10
"Babes on Broadway," 1941, again directed by Berkeley, co-stars Fay Banter, Virginia Weidler, Richard Quine, and Donna Reed. Once more we get Rooney and Garland teaming up to help out the disadvantaged, this time to send orphaned children on holiday. Cute mimicking from the duo, lots of energy, but rather a been-there-done-that affair. 5/10
"Girl Crazy":
My favorite among them, though, is "Girl Crazy," a musical comedy from 1943, so I'll concentrate the rest of the review on this single, representative film. Arthur Freed returned as the producer, and for at least one number he again had Busby Berkeley as director. However, Berkeley only did the closing scene, filmed first, before Freed fired him, apparently for going over budget. Still, that closing number, "I Got Rhythm," is the best scene in the picture. Then Freed hired director Norman Taurog to finish the picture. Taurog had already directed Rooney in things like "Boys Town" and "Young Tom Edison," and he would go on in the fifties to direct Martin and Lewis and Elvis Presley.
The movie is helped by the fact that the screenwriters based it on a 1930 musical by Guy Bolton and Jack McGowan, with music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin. Then Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra helped provide much of the music, along with The Music Maids and Six Hits and a Miss.
Rooney says in his introduction to the film that 1943 "marked the height of the big-band era, and this movie provides an excellent showcase for Tommy (Dorsey)." It does, indeed. The movie's plot may be slight and the characters silly, but the music and the music-makers are terrific.
The first fifteen or twenty minutes of the movie belong to Rooney, with Garland not entering the picture until later. Rooney plays Danny Churchill, Jr., a rich, spoiled young college student, the son of a New York City newspaper publisher. Young Danny is also a playboy, cavorting around the city's nightclubs with bevies of young women on his arm when he should be studying. Danny's father is concerned that the boy is wasting his time and neglecting his studies at Yale; therefore, he sends Danny out West to the Cody College of Mines and Agriculture, an all-male school. "There hasn't been a woman out there since the Civil War," he tells his despondent son.
Early on in their careers, it was hard to separate Mickey Rooney from Judy Garland. Of course, as the years went on, Garland tended to eclipse Rooney in sheer star power, then died prematurely, while Rooney went on to one of the longest runs in entertainment history (307 films, starting in 1926, with three films in 2006, two in 2007, and another lined up for 2008). Capitalizing on the pair's continued popularity, Warner Bros. serves up four of their best films together in the "Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland Collection," a deluxe package that includes a bonus disc of extras, a hardbound collector's book of film materials, and a packet of studio stills. It's something of a Rooney-and-Garland fan's dream.
The four MGM films in the set are formulaic, high-spirited musical comedies, mostly covering the same ground with similar songs and characters. But that's exactly what audiences wanted then and now, so it's what they get. I hadn't seen them in years, but I remembered them as cheerful and bouncy, sometimes remarkably corny but spirited, too.
"Babes in Arms," 1939, produced by Arthur Freed and directed by the celebrated choreographer Busby Berkeley, stars Rooney and Garland with co-stars Charles Winninger, Guy Kibbee, June Preisser, and Margaret Hamilton (who the same year did the Wicked Witches in "The Wizard of Oz"). "Babes in Arms" is based on a Rodgers and Hart musical, freely adapted, with a lot of additional music and songs in one of those fund raiser-type shows to help the down-and-out. "Babes" is still lively and an enormous favorite with audiences. 7/10
"Strike Up the Band," 1940, also directed by Berkeley, co-stars bandleader Paul Whiteman, June Preisser, William Tracy, and Larry Nunn. A high school band hopes to compete in a nationwide radio contest, with Mick as the leader of the group and Garland as the lead vocalist. Best bits: an animated musical number concocted by George Pal; the Oscar-nominated song "Our Love Affair"; and Gershwin's title tune in the finale. 6/10
"Babes on Broadway," 1941, again directed by Berkeley, co-stars Fay Banter, Virginia Weidler, Richard Quine, and Donna Reed. Once more we get Rooney and Garland teaming up to help out the disadvantaged, this time to send orphaned children on holiday. Cute mimicking from the duo, lots of energy, but rather a been-there-done-that affair. 5/10
"Girl Crazy":
My favorite among them, though, is "Girl Crazy," a musical comedy from 1943, so I'll concentrate the rest of the review on this single, representative film. Arthur Freed returned as the producer, and for at least one number he again had Busby Berkeley as director. However, Berkeley only did the closing scene, filmed first, before Freed fired him, apparently for going over budget. Still, that closing number, "I Got Rhythm," is the best scene in the picture. Then Freed hired director Norman Taurog to finish the picture. Taurog had already directed Rooney in things like "Boys Town" and "Young Tom Edison," and he would go on in the fifties to direct Martin and Lewis and Elvis Presley.
The movie is helped by the fact that the screenwriters based it on a 1930 musical by Guy Bolton and Jack McGowan, with music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin. Then Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra helped provide much of the music, along with The Music Maids and Six Hits and a Miss.
Rooney says in his introduction to the film that 1943 "marked the height of the big-band era, and this movie provides an excellent showcase for Tommy (Dorsey)." It does, indeed. The movie's plot may be slight and the characters silly, but the music and the music-makers are terrific.
The first fifteen or twenty minutes of the movie belong to Rooney, with Garland not entering the picture until later. Rooney plays Danny Churchill, Jr., a rich, spoiled young college student, the son of a New York City newspaper publisher. Young Danny is also a playboy, cavorting around the city's nightclubs with bevies of young women on his arm when he should be studying. Danny's father is concerned that the boy is wasting his time and neglecting his studies at Yale; therefore, he sends Danny out West to the Cody College of Mines and Agriculture, an all-male school. "There hasn't been a woman out there since the Civil War," he tells his despondent son.
The four MGM films in the set are formulaic, high-spirited musical comedies, mostly covering the same ground with similar songs and characters. But that's exactly what audiences wanted then and now, so it's what they get. I hadn't seen them in years, but I remembered them as cheerful and bouncy, sometimes remarkably corny but spirited, too.
"Babes in Arms," 1939, produced by Arthur Freed and directed by the celebrated choreographer Busby Berkeley, stars Rooney and Garland with co-stars Charles Winninger, Guy Kibbee, June Preisser, and Margaret Hamilton (who the same year did the Wicked Witches in "The Wizard of Oz"). "Babes in Arms" is based on a Rodgers and Hart musical, freely adapted, with a lot of additional music and songs in one of those fund raiser-type shows to help the down-and-out. "Babes" is still lively and an enormous favorite with audiences. 7/10
"Strike Up the Band," 1940, also directed by Berkeley, co-stars bandleader Paul Whiteman, June Preisser, William Tracy, and Larry Nunn. A high school band hopes to compete in a nationwide radio contest, with Mick as the leader of the group and Garland as the lead vocalist. Best bits: an animated musical number concocted by George Pal; the Oscar-nominated song "Our Love Affair"; and Gershwin's title tune in the finale. 6/10
"Babes on Broadway," 1941, again directed by Berkeley, co-stars Fay Banter, Virginia Weidler, Richard Quine, and Donna Reed. Once more we get Rooney and Garland teaming up to help out the disadvantaged, this time to send orphaned children on holiday. Cute mimicking from the duo, lots of energy, but rather a been-there-done-that affair. 5/10
"Girl Crazy":
My favorite among them, though, is "Girl Crazy," a musical comedy from 1943, so I'll concentrate the rest of the review on this single, representative film. Arthur Freed returned as the producer, and for at least one number he again had Busby Berkeley as director. However, Berkeley only did the closing scene, filmed first, before Freed fired him, apparently for going over budget. Still, that closing number, "I Got Rhythm," is the best scene in the picture. Then Freed hired director Norman Taurog to finish the picture. Taurog had already directed Rooney in things like "Boys Town" and "Young Tom Edison," and he would go on in the fifties to direct Martin and Lewis and Elvis Presley.
The movie is helped by the fact that the screenwriters based it on a 1930 musical by Guy Bolton and Jack McGowan, with music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin. Then Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra helped provide much of the music, along with The Music Maids and Six Hits and a Miss.
Rooney says in his introduction to the film that 1943 "marked the height of the big-band era, and this movie provides an excellent showcase for Tommy (Dorsey)." It does, indeed. The movie's plot may be slight and the characters silly, but the music and the music-makers are terrific.
The first fifteen or twenty minutes of the movie belong to Rooney, with Garland not entering the picture until later. Rooney plays Danny Churchill, Jr., a rich, spoiled young college student, the son of a New York City newspaper publisher. Young Danny is also a playboy, cavorting around the city's nightclubs with bevies of young women on his arm when he should be studying. Danny's father is concerned that the boy is wasting his time and neglecting his studies at Yale; therefore, he sends Danny out West to the Cody College of Mines and Agriculture, an all-male school. "There hasn't been a woman out there since the Civil War," he tells his despondent son.
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