It’s funny how Busby Berkley imprints himself on a movie. This is directed by Lloyd Bacon. Berkley only choreographed the musical numbers at the end, but he’s better remembered as part of the film. For example, Berkley gets more mentions in the Wikipedia article than Lloyd. I’ve become familiar with the structure of movies like 42nd street. The first 3/4th of it are a bunch of character introductions with some banter and a few productions challenges. It’s really all filler until it gets to the numbers from the fictional stage show, which are intricate and absorbing. Other than Ginger Rogers in a small role, I don’t have much familiarity with the cast, so I didn’t get much out of all the activities before the Berkley numbers. Frankly, I’d rather just watch a movie of wall-to-wall Berkley numbers. I didn’t dislike all the other stuff. They were net neutrals: time fillers. Overall, that makes for a moderately enjoyable movie.
Verdict: Weakly Don’t Recommend
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