42nd Street (1933)
Released by Warner Brothers
Director: Lloyd Bacon
Choreography: Busby Berkeley
Screenwriters: Rian James, James Seymour
Historical context
In 1933, movie musicals were a relatively new phenomenon, the synchronized sound revolution in the industry having occurred only a half-dozen years earlier. Even so, the genre had already become stale. The box office success of 42nd Street helped to revitalize the musical as a commercially viable form.
Director Lloyd Bacon was one of Warner Brothers’ most reliable craftsmen, although not known for infusing his work with visual interest. On the other hand, Busby Berkeley, who directed the dance sequences for the film, was one of American cinema’s most distinctive visual stylists.
When 42nd Street was released, the country was in the depths of the Depression. Franklin Roosevelt had just been elected and was talking about a “new deal,” but relief was still a remote prospect. The grim hardships of the prevailing economic and social conditions are woven into the narrative the film presents.
Narrative context
In what ways does the film make use of stereotypes?
How does the film explore the theme of the importance of employment?
How does the film portray the group dynamic of a theatrical troupe and its relationship to the individuals who make up the troupe?
Although released prior to the strict enforcement of the Production Code’s restrictions on content, this film was not able to treat sexual themes with anything like the frankness of films made in later decades. Even so, sex does figure prominently in the narrative. In what ways does the film allude to sexual liaisons? What does the film suggest about the sexual mores of show business and how do these mores affect the narrative?
How do the musical numbers interact with the narrative?
Many musicals depart from the real world and venture into the realm of the impossible, with such scenes as an everyday person with no musical training suddenly bursting into song, accompanied by an orchestra that is nowhere in sight. Does this film depart from reality in that way?
Aesthetic context
To what extent is this film realistic and to what extent is it formalistic? (refer to your textbook, pp. 2 – 8)
What is the overall effect of the stylistic contrast between Lloyd Bacon’s scenes and Busby Berkeley’s scenes? Does the film hang together as an aesthetic whole?
In what ways might Berkeley ‘s dance numbers be described as surrealistic?
How does the film depict women?
Could Berkeley ‘s staging of the musical numbers be accomplished on an actual stage? How does his departure from the traditional proscenium affect the presentation of the numbers?
Genre context
Which characters in this film might be regarded as stock characters of the “backstage story?”
Why do you suppose the big musical numbers were held to the end of the film rather than being interspersed throughout?
Is this musical an example of the primitive, classical, revisionist, or parody phase of the genre?
Rhetorical context
In what way might this film be said to represent a commentary on the social and economic conditions that prevailed at the time of its release?
What is the film’s attitude toward the nature of success and how it is achieved?
