42nd street
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The 42nd Street ( Austrian title : 42nd Street) |
| Original title | 42nd Street |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1933 |
| length | 89 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Lloyd Bacon |
| script |
James Seymour , Rian James |
| production | Darryl F. Zanuck |
| music |
Harry Warren , Al Dubin |
| camera | Sol Polito |
| cut |
Thomas Pratt , Frank Ware |
| occupation | |
| |
42nd Street is a 1933 American drama and revue film by director Lloyd Bacon based on a novel by former Broadway dancer Bradford Ropes. The Austrian premiere took place on May 27, 1934; in West Germany the film musical was first broadcast on television on February 1, 1970.
The stage version from 1980 is based on the film.
action
At the height of the Depression in 1932, Broadway producers Jones and Barry start the musical "Pretty Lady" with the beautiful Dorothy Brock. Dorothy's friend, businessman Abner Dillon, finances the show from the background. Dorothy also meets with her old dance partner and lover Pat Denning, who is unemployed.
The tough and demanding Julian Marsh is hired as a director for the show. The stock market crash of 1929 made him a broken and bitter man. In order to retire from show business, Marsh has to make this show an absolute hit. The casting and rehearsals become tough competition for the performers.
Peggy Sawyer, a newcomer to the stage, is duped by it all. Ann Lowell and Lorraine Fleming, two choir members, take care of them. While Lorraine gets involved with dance choreographer Andy Lee, young leading actor Billy Lawler begins to develop an affection for Peggy. He puts in a good word for her at Marsh.
The rehearsals last five weeks, despite everything Marsh is dissatisfied. The night before the premiere, Dorothy broke an ankle. Abner Dillon wants Marsh to cast Dorothy's role with Ann Lowell, but she doesn't think she's good enough. Instead, she suggests that Marsh take the inexperienced Peggy. Marsh Peggy relentlessly rehearses up to an hour before the premiere. Dorothy wishes her luck, and the show begins.
The show is a complete success. The totally exhausted Marsh leaves the theater through an emergency exit. He's too tired to enjoy his success.
Reviews
“The common story of the happy rise of a little dancer who is allowed to stand in for the star is staged with temperament; the dance scenes are among the most perfect the genre has to offer. "
"Not only glamor and pretty girls are in the foreground, the effects of the depression period on the situation of the ensemble members are shown in - for a musical - extraordinarily realistic pictures."
background
- The budget for the film was $ 439,000. The $ 2.3 million in revenue saved manufacturing company Warner Bros. from bankruptcy.
- Ruby Keeler made her film debut here.
- Mervyn LeRoy was supposed to direct the film. At his instigation, Ginger Rogers got the role of Ann. LeRoy fell ill and had to be replaced by Lloyd Bacon.
- Orry-Kelly, who was awarded 3 Oscars after the Second World War, was responsible for the costumes .
- The unnamed assistant director Gordon Hollingshead won an Oscar as an assistant director and 5 Academy Awards as a director for short films.
- Sound engineer Nathan Levinson was also not mentioned. For his studio Warner Bros. he was nominated not only for this film for an Oscar, but also for two other films. However, Franklin Hansen won for Paramount with In Another Country . Levinson won an Oscar after World War II and was honored with a special Oscar for his development of a special sound editing machine.
- Leo F. Forbstein , who conducts the orchestra here, won an Oscar for best film music after the war.
- The dances were choreographed by Busby Berkeley . He has worked as a choreographer in over 25 films.
- The film was nominated for an Oscar in the categories of Best Picture and Best Sound in 1934 .
- In 1980 the film was rewritten as a Broadway musical, see 42nd Street (musical) . The main roles were played by Jerry Orbach and Tammy Grimes.
Awards
- 1998 admission to the National Film Registry
literature
- Rian James , James Seymour : 42nd Street . Wisconsin / Warner Bros. Screenplay Series. Edited and introduced by Rocco Fumento . Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison 1980, 196 pp., ISBN 0-299-08100-1 or ISBN 0-299-08104-4 .
- Bradford Ropes : 42nd Street . AH King, New York ca.1932, 345 pp.
Web links
- The 42nd Street in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Detailed description and criticism by Tim Dirks (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ cf. Lexicon of International Films 2000/2001 (CD-ROM)
- ↑ cf. Das Große TV Spielfilm Filmlexikon, Volume 6 - area Verlag - ISBN 3-89996-578-7
- ↑ http://imdb.com/title/tt0024034/business