In this installment of Comparing Cinema Classics, we meet two young stars who put on a show.
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. William Powell and Myrna Loy. Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. Doris Day and Rock Hudson. These are all popular movie couples from the Golden Era of Hollywood. One successful screen pair which is often overlooked, however, is Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland.
As two of MGM’s most popular adolescent stars in the late 1930s, Garland and Rooney became fast friends offscreen as well. They made nine movies together over a period of over 10 years. Of these, three are backyard musicals, which are often affectionately dubbed “let’s put on a show” movies.
‘Babes in Arms’ (1939)
“Babes in Arms” solidified Rooney and Garland as a winning musical team. It wasn’t their first film together, but it was the first time that the 18 and 16 year-old performers truly starred as the leads in a film. It also was an opportunity for Rooney to prove his acting skills outside of the Andy Hardy series. It was based on the 1937 Broadway hit of the same name by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, but the plot changed significantly. Only a few of the original songs made it to the screen. Several of the more famous tunes from this show are heard just as background music.
