From my Facebook archives, February 28, 2015:
A major benefit of watching a number of classic Hollywood musicals over the last couple years is having discovered the films starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland. They did four such MGM musicals in the late '30s and early '40s, and the legendary Busby Berkeley directed three of them.
All had similar plots, but the stars are so charming and the musical numbers so fun that I wish there were more. The only flaws, albeit significant ones, are routines in two of the films (Babes in Arms and Babes on Broadway) that are done in heavily-caricatured blackface, which are quite jarring to see.
Strike Up the Band, 1940, was the second of the four and the final one for us to see. And it is another winner. Mickey shows that he is a skilled drummer along with his many other talents, and Judy as usual is extremely compelling and sings wonderfully in her unique way. And there's some very enjoyable big band swing music thrown in, which I particularly enjoy.
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