42nd Street

"The Greatest Musical Hit the Screen Has Ever Known!"

1933 1h 29m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

🔥

93%

CERTIFIED FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

7.3

IMDB

★6.9TMDB · 228🍅93%Rotten Tomatoes●83Metacritic★7.3IMDB · 13,997

ComedyDramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Broadway director Julian Marsh needs just one more hit show so he can retire and recover his health. It looks like he just may pull it off until temperamental star Dorthy Brock breaks her ankle on the eve of the show's premiere and has to be replaced by her understudy Peggy.

“The Greatest Musical Hit the Screen Has Ever Known!”

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Cast

Warner Baxter
Julian Marsh
Bebe Daniels
Dorothy Brock
George Brent
Pat Denning
Ruby Keeler
Peggy
Guy Kibbee
Abner Dillon
Una Merkel
Lorraine Fleming
Ginger Rogers
Ann
Ned Sparks
Barry

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Lloyd Bacon
Writers: Rian James, James Seymour
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

89 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 5.2× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

93 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Lloyd Bacon, shot by Sol Polito. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Al Dubin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Thomas Pratt shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Warner Baxter and Bebe Daniels and George Brent carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Lloyd Bacon directs. Sol Polito behind the camera. Al Dubin scores. Thomas Pratt cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

189 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $0.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3Made its money back 5.2× over at the box office.
493 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
5Directed by Lloyd Bacon, shot by Sol Polito. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Al Dubin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Thomas Pratt shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Warner Baxter and Bebe Daniels and George Brent carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "The Greatest Musical Hit the Screen Has Ever Known!".
10IMDB entry: tt0024034 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 14 themes, including "philadelphia, pennsylvania", "musical", "stage show", "director".