42nd Street

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42nd Street

1933

1h 29m

Musical

Comedy

Drama

Romance

Music

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

26 Reviews

74%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

When revered Broadway director Julian Marsh (Warner Baxter) falls on hard times with both his health and his finances, he helms an ambitious musical as a final production before his retirement. His lead actress, Dorothy Brock (Bebe Daniels), is torn between two loves--the show's wealthy backer, Abner Dillon (Guy Kibbee), and the earnest but penniless actor Pat Denning (George Brent) --while aspiring young performer Peggy Sawyer (Ruby Keeler) waits in the wings, hoping for her big break.

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Critics Consensus

Bubsy Berkeley does it again in 42nd Street, a brilliant depression-era romp with stellar musical numbers and impeccable choreography.

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Richard Brody

The New Yorker

04/14/2020

Modern musicals start here, and Busby Berkeley's genius bursts into full flower.

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Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

10/16/2007

This 1933 film is the best known of the Warner Brothers Depression-era musicals, though it doesn't compare in dash and extravagance to later entries in the cycle.

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Mordaunt Hall

New York Times

08/08/2006

4.5/5

The liveliest and one of the most tuneful screen musical comedies that has come out of Hollywood.

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

03/17/2025

3/10

The title tune remains memorable (as does the parting shot), but this pioneering product-of-its-time no longer possesses much filmic power.

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Tony Sloman

Radio Times

07/09/2024

5/5

A masterpiece, not merely for its racy dialogue and lavish costumes, or for its now-classic "newcomer goes on instead of indisposed star" plot, but also for affording kaleidoscope choreographer Busby Berkeley a chance to show off in such superb numbers.

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Pare Lorentz

Vanity Fair

06/05/2019

Oddly enough, in 42nd Street, Warner Baxter is a rather convincing stage director, Bebe Daniels has a surprisingly good voice and a fair sense of comedy, and the dancing and song routines are introduced with some imagination.

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Bookies B

@BookiesBeat Jan 4

Not as good as the book, but movies rarely if ever are. The plot is rushed; several characters are mashed together and, as a result, end up underdeveloped. Julian Marsh is the king of producing musical comedies, but here he is doubling as the impatient dance taskmaster Andy Lee, while Lee's character is essentially left in the background with little to do. Marsh has been given an illness of no substance. So much of the interesting parts were left out for uninteresting parts. The 'love triangle' involving Peggy Sawyer, Pat, and Terry, and for some reason Billy is so hurried and disjointed you end up not caring about any of them. Also, the actress who plays Peggy was a poor choice since she lacks the charm of a small-town girl trying to make it in show business. Brock's conceited diva being transformed into a sympathetic figure merely served to sanitise a story about the hardships and drama of backstage theatre.

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Leaburn O

@RT35452347 Nov 19

I quite enjoyed this classic Broadway flick. It’s an obvious but heartwarming story. Not too many twists in the plot but a short film with a happy ending. I fast forwarded the boring singing bits as usual but other than the final quarter of an hour there was thankfully minimal of that fluff. Watched on DVD.

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Teddy B

@RT38636458 04/01/2024

The performances, writing, and musical numbers shine. Although, the musical numbers are only utilised near the end, which could be a disappointment for fans of Busby Berkeley's impeccable choreography.

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Autumn M

@RT26919073 05/07/2023

42nd is a delightful early musical from Busby. The dialogue is witty and the choreography was simply amazing. 42nd street is a musical about putting on a musical, but somehow it felt more refreshing than other show business musicals. Recommended

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Joshua H

@JoshuaHawes 03/09/2023

Due to it being an old not everything lands as it originally did and it dosen't feel like a musical till near the end but there are some fun moments.

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CodyZamboni Z

@CodyZamboni 11/20/2022

Entertaining drama comedy musical, l liked most the backstage details of putting on a show, And I enjoyed the impressive big show numbers at the end

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Lloyd Bacon

Director

Ruby Keeler

Peggy Sawyer

Warner Baxter

Julian Marsh

Bebe Daniels

Dorothy Brock

George Brent

Pat Denning

Dick Powell

Billy Lawler

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Synopsis

When revered Broadway director Julian Marsh (Warner Baxter) falls on hard times with both his health and his finances, he helms an ambitious musical as a final production before his retirement. His lead actress, Dorothy Brock (Bebe Daniels), is torn between two loves--the show's wealthy backer, Abner Dillon (Guy Kibbee), and the earnest but penniless actor Pat Denning (George Brent) --while aspiring young performer Peggy Sawyer (Ruby Keeler) waits in the wings, hoping for her big break.

Director: Lloyd Bacon
Producer: Darryl F Zanuck
Screenwriter: Bradford Ropes, Rian James, James Seymour, Whitney Bolton
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Home Vídeo, Warner Bros.
Production Co: Warner Brothers
Genre: Musical, Comedy, Drama, Romance, Music
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 9, 1933, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 18, 2010
Runtime: 1h 29m
Sound Mix: Mono

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