Babes in Arms

1939 is considered by many to be the greatest year in Hollywood history, and one of the biggest box office earners of that year was Babes in Arms, directed by Busby Berkeley and starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland. It is the quintessential "Hey kids, let's put on a show!" movies. But I'm not sure it's remembered as well today as other films, and that may be because of a giant black hole in the movie that I'll discuss in a moment.

Rooney won two special Oscars: one as a juvenile in 1938, the other as an honored old-timer in 1982. He was also nominated four times, the first being for Babes in Arms, when he was only 19. At first you wouldn't think this was an Oscar-type role, but when you give it a second thought, you can see what the voters were thinking.

Rooney stars as Mickey Moran, the son of vaudevillians, with greasepaint in his veins. His dad and other entertainers have all bought homes in a quiet suburban Long Island town. But, as we know, vaudeville died out (a phrase "as dead as vaudeville" entered the language). The old folks start a revival tour, leaving the kids at home. A meddling busy-body (Margaret Hamilton, her second such role that year) tries to put the kids in a state work school. Rooney, along with other kids, mounts a show to prove that the younger generation can succeed.

Some of this works pretty well, some does not. Garland is Rooney's girl, and has the lead in the show, until a former child star (June Pressler) puts up the money for the show, and he has to give her the lead. There's lots of talk about never quitting, and being troupers, and the somewhat strange conviction that you should never give up on your show business dreams, even if it means you can't support yourself or your family.

It's all fairly innocuous, cornball fun, except when we see the show. It's a tribute to minstrels, complete with blackface, the full shuck-and-jive deal. It's highly offensive, and I'm sure this is why the film is not on television much. In today's perspective, you watch slack-jawed, like the audience at Springtime for Hitler.

But Rooney is terrific, and it's not the usual Best Actor role. He is, of course, irrepressible, a dynamo of energy. In one scene, he shows his actors how to play a scene, doing impersonations of Clark Gable and Lionel Barrymore (and plays Cleopatra).

This film was based on a Rodgers and Hart musical, but little of their score remains. The most notable song is "Good Mornin'," which was later used to great effect in Singin' in the Rain.