42nd Street (Warner Bros.) (1933)

Current Feature Scene Back Stage While Filming ‘42nd Street’’ 150 Chorus Beauties Start Long Grind That Blos soms Into Spectacular Sequence on Screen {?? LL right—let’s go as A tinny piano off in a corner of the huge Warner Bros. stage began to play a musical comedy number with dreadful monotony. Three hundred of the prettiest legs in the world began to march and step and jig to the tinny tune. One hundred and fifty showgirl voices raised themselves in weary song. ‘When lovers spoon beneath the moon And learn to croon “‘No! No! like I’ve told you.’’ Not ‘‘whenloversspoonbeneaththemoon.’’ this: When lovers spoon beneath a dreamy tune—’’ Like the moon and so on. Now do it A hundred and fifty pairs of wide blue, wide brown, wide green and wide hazel eyes played upon the slight, but dapper figure of dance director Busby Berkely, whose job it was to train the chorines for the Warner Bros. mammoth dramatic production, with music and dance numbers, ‘‘42nd Street,’’ now showing at the Theatre, for which this was the rehearsal—and, in justice to Mr. Berkeley, the first rehearsal. Three hundred lips pouted in true showgirl fashion. It never does to let a dance director think he’s right. Then one of the pairs of lips unpouted themselves. A blonde head bobbed in quick assent as what the director wanted sank through the pretty eyes to what goes for brain beneath the pretty curls. ; ‘“Oh, I think that’s a lot better!’ the pretty blonde said. ‘*What’s a lot better,’’ demanded the irate director, whose thought had already passed on to a hundred other items that had to be: straightened out in that chorus. ““The way you said, Mr. Berkeley,’’ the blonde chirruped. ‘Than’. s awfully, Phyllis,’’? the unmollified director answered sarcastical Ty. {{Now, will you get back into. ~ sd keep your mouth il I finish with this routine—or wu. I have to make you stay after school and get your hand slapped?’’ “Oh, Mr. Berkeley!’’ the Blonde | —— said—but got back in line. The tinny piano struck up the tune again. The chorines all lifted feet and eyes and voice to heaven again in the endless song: ““When you are true to someone who ( Is true to you when blue If you love‘me as I love you It must—it must be June—’?’ Skies are Another Flaw But the director had seen another flaw. He whistled, a thin, shrieking blast. The tinny piano stopped. The long line of chorines prepared to pout and look puzzled—no matter what he said. But he wasn’t being general this time. He was pointing his finger at a little thing with wide blue eyes and strangely contrasting dark hair. ‘“*Hey, you!’’? he said, ‘‘What’s the matter with you? Why don’t you get that step? We haven’t begun to do the hard stuff yet.’’ “‘T know I can learn that step, Mr. Berkeley. I studied dancing for five years.’’ The blue eyes were entirely undaunted. ““Where??? In Si0ux City .27 The director’s signal to the pianist to resume the dreadful tune was just in time. The resultant laughter might have been general—and_hysterical. The piano played. The mouths opened, the dance and song were resumed. ‘“Tt must, it must, it must, it must, it must, it must, it must, it must, It must be June.’’ Fortunately, that’s the way the whole thing should have been done. That, in fact, was exactly the way director Busby Berkeley wanted it done. For this was a typical backstage scene in ‘'42nd Street,’’ depicting a dizzy, ordinary, time worn musical comedy number which had to be Page Twenty-four With the enticing list of Hollywood favorites that the Strand’ Only” sign was in evidence at the opening, last night. role of director of the lavish revue with which the sto who makes her screen debut—Bebe Daniels, Stone—and oh, Current Feature ‘42nd Street’’ Presented No End of Big Problems 10 Stars a Show Within a Show, Chorus of 150 All Welded Into Big Production Without a Hitch By LLOYD BACON Director of ‘42nd STREET’’ Warner Bros.’ mammoth dramatic spectacle which is now showing at the Theatre. REATING a drama in itself stronger than the average motion picture drama is no small job. We had that do do in ‘‘42nd Street,’’ a drama of the Rialto, of backstage life in all its phases, good and bad, fortunate and unfortunate. But that isn’t all we had to do in this unusual story. We were faced with the problem of creating a spectacle with in that drama—the show the people in our drama were actually putting on as the routine, the day by day living, you might say, of their profession. during the picture’s unreeling, Cut No. 35 Out 60c Mat 20c YOUR CURRENT FEATURES Their Home Towns WARNER BAXTER....COLUMBUS, OHIO BEBE DANIELS)........... DALLAS, TEXAS GEORE BRENT.............00.00.0.. IRELAND RUBY KEELER............. HALIFAX, N. S. GUY KIBBEE.............. EL PASO, TEXAS Sus besyn cae sact ONTARIO, CAN. DICK POWELL...... LITTLE ROCK, ARK. GINGER ROGERS. INDEPENDENCE, MO. UNA MERKEL............ COVINGTON, KY. GEORGE E. STONE........ LODZ, POLAND EDDIE NUGENT........ NEW YORK, N.Y. ALLEN JENKING........ NEW YORK, N. Y. HENRY B. WALTHALL.......... SHELBY CITY, ALA. RICHMOND, VA. TOBY. WING Win scscn kes RICHMOND, VA. RENEE WHITNEY.......... CHICAGO, ILL. MAXINE CANTWAY........ CHICAGO, ILL. LORETTA ANDREWS...ST. LOUIS, MO. LYNN BROWNING ...... KANSAS CITY, MO JANE SHADDUCKE........ PORTLAND, ORE. ANN HOVEY........ INDIANAPOLIS, IND. EDNA GALLAGHADN ........... CALIFORNIA MARGARET LA MARR........ CALIFORNIA DONNA ROBERTGB.............. CALIFORNIA LORENA LAWSON.............. MIAMI, FLA. GERAINE GREER..MINNEAPOT[IS, MINN. ALICE JANG. oo... lesccinee CRESTON, IOWA s film, “42nd Street,” boasts—there is little wonder that a “Standing Room Among the notable players in this story of backstage life are, Warner Baxter—whose ry is concerned is one of the best of his career—Ruby Keeler (Mrs. Al Jolson)— George Brent, Dick Powell, Una Merkel, Guy Kibbee, Allen Jenkins, Ginger Rogers, George E. so many others! Not least important in the cast are the 150 gorgeous Hollywood showgirls, who are so much in evidence thrown out before the show in the story got fairly under way. Has Ail Star Cast | Only, it would never have done to let the chorines in on that little secret. The scene worked twice as well by just letting them be themselves. This chorus is one of the features of ‘‘42nd Street,’’ a dramatic production which includes the musical show, taken from Bradford Ropes novel on backstage theatrical life. The dances and ensembles were created and staged by Busby Berkeley,. noted Broadway director. The picture has a notable all-star east, including suc’ players as Warner Baxter, Bebe Daniels, George Brent, Una Merkel, Ruby Keeler, Guy Kibbee, Ned Sparks, Dick Powell, Ginger Rogers and Allen Jenkins. The screen play is by Rian James and James Seymour while special song hits were written by Al Dubin and Harry Warren. Wloyd Bacon directed. The End. That was more difficult. But it has been done before—though rarely. We were acquainted with most of the mechanism of the problem, and were confident of ultimate success. We were, however, faced with a third angle to this production which did not seem so easy. We were faced with the problem of producing a show within our story which was not merely a drama such as our own, incorporating eight or ten people. The drama within our drama was to be the building of a show as great as Ziegfeld’s—a show with music, huge choruses, and unwieldy stage business. How well we succeeded, we leave for the public to say; but there may be some interest in what we contended with for that success. Eleven Stars | We had, first of all, ten stars, The average picture has one, sometimes two, the unusua! picture has three or four. We had ten—Warner Baxter, Bebe Daniels, George Brent, Una Merkel, Ruby Keeler, Ned Sparks, Dick Powell, Guy Kibbee, Ginger Rogers and Allen Jenkins. We had a complete chorus of 150 to put through its various rehearsals and dress rehearsals and final production. We had the task of rehearsing for that ourselves. It incorporated seven song hits, written especially for the production. No Temperament | And in the end, we had, as I have said, our own drama, the story which is ‘42nd Street’’—the powerful and compelling emotional sequences which had caused us to choose the story for production in the first place. We owe the success of the production to the fact that ten stars Not once did we have anything that even resembled ‘‘tem worked as one. perament’’ or a fight for place. We owe it to the fine story by Bradford Ropes and its clean adaptation by Rian James and James Seymour. We owe it to the fact that the dances and ensembles, created and staged by Busby Berkeley were, for, I think, the first time in motion pieture history, created primarily for the camera and not for the stage. They are the most unusual chorus scenes ar! numbers I have ever seen in a motion picture—and I do not say that because the picture is mine. We owe it to the songs and dances composed for us by Al Dubin and They will undoubtedly make musical history. Harry Warren. We owe it, finally, to the most loyal cooperation I have ever had from any company of workers and players. It was the hardest job we ever tackled. But we’re pleased with the result. We hope you will be, too.