A guide to films that express social realism or escapism; and a guide to culturally important films that may reveal a character's thoughts, dreams, or motivations.
Image from 42nd Street from filmschoolrejects.com at https://filmschoolrejects.com/beginners-guide-to-busby-berkeley/
Directed by
Babes in ArmsLearning that his parents are in financial straits, the son of a famous vaudeville team rounds up all the stage kids and puts on a lavish show to raise money. The future looks rosy until a hurricane washes the whole enterprise away on opening night.
Call Number: DVD MOVIE BABES
ISBN: B07HGBXHPF
Publication Date: 1937
Babes on BroadwayOne of the famous old musicals that combines captivating music and lavish production numbers by the master, Busby Berkeley. The story is the standard tale of two struggling Broadway hopefuls, and is filled with 16 song and dance numbers.
Call Number: DVD MOVIE BABES
ISBN: B07HGJG85X
Publication Date: 1941
DamesA musical comedy film about an eccentric multimillionaire who hates musicals, his granddaughter who stars in them, and their friends & family members caught in the middle. Includes dances choreographed by Busby Berkeley.
Call Number: DVD MOVIE DAMES
ISBN: B00406UJWE
Publication Date: 1934
For Me and My GalMusical comedy about a vaudeville song-and-dance team who buck tough times and World War I on their way to success in show business.
Call Number: DVD MOVIE FOR
ISBN: 9780790789675
Publication Date: 1942
Gold Diggers of 1935A musical comedy film about various hotel employees & quirky rich folks, set in a fictional New Hampshire resort.
Call Number: DVD MOVIE GOLD
ISBN: B000E0OE2Q
Publication Date: 1935
Strike Up the BandJimmy and Mary are two talented high school students ready and eager to climb the ladder of success. He's a band leader and she's his lovelorn singer. Together they sing and dance their way to the top, with a few bumps along the way.
Call Number: DVD MOVIE STRIKE
ISBN: B07HGBRJSJ
Publication Date: 1940
Take Me Out to the Ball GameSinging, dancing baseball players Dennis Ryan and Eddie O'Brien find their friendship tested when both fall for the new, female owner of their team.
Call Number: DVD MOVIE TAKE
ISBN: 9781419867729
Publication Date: 1949
Image form Dames from tr10023.com at http://www.tr10023.com/?tag=ruby-keeler&paged=2
Choreographed by
42nd StreetThe movie musical that introduced the choreography of Busby Berkeley, 42nd Street also contains the classic plot involving a tyrannical director, egotistical leading lady, and wide-eyed ingenue, all set to a standout musical score.
Call Number: DVD MOVIE 42ND
ISBN: B000E0ODZY
Publication Date: 1933
Footlight ParadeCagney stars as Chester Kent, a diligent musical comedy director who is continually warding off snoopers hired by his competitors to steal his ideas. When his latest show is cancelled in favor of a talking picture, he turns to staging musical prologues to play before the features in moviehouses.
Call Number: DVD MOVIE FOOTLIGHT
ISBN: B000E0OE1M
Publication Date: 1933
Gold Diggers of 1933A musical comedy film about an aspiring songwriter, four single actresses, and the staging of a new musical play on Broadway. Includes dances choreographed by Busby Berkeley.
Call Number: DVD MOVIE GOLD
ISBN: B000E0OE2G
Publication Date: 1933
Whoopee!A musical sparked by Cantor's performance as a hyper-hypochondriac come West for a cure. He offers to give a ride to Sally, a woman in love with a Native American of mixed descent, who is running from an unwanted wedding with another man. But everyone thinks that they have eloped and they pursue the couple. Features some of Busby Berkeley's most fanciful choreography.
Call Number: DVD MOVIE WHOOPEE!
ISBN: B00CA4S308
Publication Date: 1930
Ziegfeld GirlDiscovery by Flo Ziegfeld changes a girl's life but not necessarily for the better, as three beautiful women find out when they join the spectacle on Broadway: Susan, the singer who must leave behind her ageing vaudevillian father; vulnerable Sheila, the working girl pursued both by a millionaire and by her loyal boyfriend from Flatbush; and the mysterious European beauty Sandra, whose concert violinist husband cannot endure the thought of their escaping from poverty by promenading her glamor in skimpy costumes.
Call Number: DVD MOVIE ZIEGFELD
ISBN: 9780790789897
Publication Date: 1941
Image from Footlight Parade from tumblr.com at driveintheaterofthemind.tumblr.com
Image from Dames from tr10023.com at http://www.tr10023.com/?tag=ruby-keeler&paged=2
Image from 42nd Street from giphy.com at https://gph.is/2Hfkdwe
Image from Whoopee from carensclassiccinema.wordpress.com at https://carensclassiccinema.wordpress.com/2014/11/22/whoopee-1930-and-mr-skitch-1933/
Image from Footlight Parade from giphy.com at https://gph.is/1sDbfRB
Image from Fashions of 1934 from filmschoolrejects.com at https://filmschoolrejects.com/beginners-guide-to-busby-berkeley/
Image from Footlight Parade from britannica.com at https://www.britannica.com/biography/Busby-Berkeley