Babes in Arms

Hey kids, let's put out a box set! Warner Bros. has got a quartet of Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland MGM musicals, TCM has an interview with Rooney, and we can fill the rest with all sorts of archival goodies! The pint-sized ball of fire Rooney was an MGM superstar and one of the top 10 box office stars by 1939. Garland was an up-and-coming starlet with the voice of an angel and the lead in a little Technicolor fantasy called "The Wizard of Oz." The two had practically grown up on the MGM lot, and had already co-starred in two films when they were teamed up for a screen version (and extensive revision) of the Rogers and Hart musical "Babes in Arms" (1939). It's a youth-infused tale of the children of vaudevillians who team up to, yes, put on a show in a barn in their Long Island town, a fundraiser for their out-of-work parents. Busby Berkeley directed the energetic musical, hyperactive Rooney nabbed an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, Garland took home a special juvenile award for performances in "Wizard" and "Babes in Arms" (a smash hit). Rooney, Garland and director Berkeley teamed up for three more musical successes. Mickey is a drum-playing swing band leader and Judy is their vocalist in the swinging "Strike Up the Band" (1940). "Babes on Broadway" (1941) is a pseudo-sequel to "Babes in Arms," with the stars playing show-biz hopefuls in New York. Watch for bits from future stars Donna Reed and Margaret O'Brien, and be wary of an obliviously offensive yet strangely mesmerizing minstrel show performed in blackface. In the Gershwin musical "Girl Crazy" (1943), Mickey is an East Coast college playboy sent to a boy's college in the wild West, where he, naturally, teams up with Judy to put on a show and save the school from closing. Yes, they are conventional shows, all the way down to the big climactic theatrical triumphs, but the firecracker energy of Rooney, the radiance and expressiveness of Garland, and the chemistry of the two in performance give a kick to the sentimental overkill.

The films are featured on four discs in a foldout digipak, kept in a slip-sleeve with a collection of glossy postcard stills (in the "Portfolio") and a hardcover booklet with DVD listings, films notes, art, and the "Bonus Disc," which features "Private Screenings With Mickey Rooney" (an interview conducted by Robert Osborne for TCM), "The Judy Garland Songbook" (featuring 21 musical performances from her movies), and trailers from all 10 films featuring Mickey and Judy. Rooney offers all-new introductions for each film, and historian John Fricke provides commentary on "Babes in Arms" and "Girl Crazy." Each disc also features vintage shorts, cartoons, newsreels, and audio-only supplements, such as radio shows featuring Mickey and Judy and musical outtakes.