Back to trending
Babes in Arms

Babes in Arms

Comedy · Music · 1939

Mickey Moran, son of two vaudeville veterans, decides to put up his own vaudeville show with his girlfriend Patsy Barton. But child actress Rosalie wants to make a comeback and replace Patsy both professionally and as Mickey's girl.

Movie details

Babes in Arms

“The big musical fun show!”

1939 Comedy · Music 1h 33m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.4 / 10

Community rating

Mickey Moran, son of two vaudeville veterans, decides to put up his own vaudeville show with his girlfriend Patsy Barton. But child actress Rosalie wants to make a comeback and replace Patsy both professionally and as Mickey's girl.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Babes in Arms?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

A Song Is Born

A Song Is Born

Comedy · 1948

The story of seven scholars in search of an expert to teach them about swing music. They seem to have found the perfect candidate in winsome nightclub singer Honey Swanson. But Honey's gangster boyfriend doesn't want to give her up.

Pepe

Pepe

Comedy · 1960

Mario "Cantinflas" Moreno is a hired hand, Pepe, employed on a ranch. A boozing Hollywood director buys a white stallion that belongs to Pepe's boss. Pepe, determined to get the horse back (as he considers it his family), decides to take off to Hollywood. There he meets film stars including Jimmy Durante, Frank Sinatra, Zsa Zsa Gabór, Bing Crosby, Maurice Chevalier and Jack Lemmon in drag as Daphne from Some Like It Hot. He is also surprised by things that were new in America at the time, such as automatic swinging doors. When he finally reaches the man who bought the horse, he is led to believe there is no hope of getting it back. However, the last scene shows both him and the stallion back at the ranch with several foals.

The Cocoanuts

The Cocoanuts

Comedy · 1929

During the Florida land boom, the Marx Brothers run a hotel, auction off some land and thwart a jewel robbery.

The Girl Can't Help It

The Girl Can't Help It

Comedy · 1956

A down-and-out gangster hires a down-on-his-luck agent to make his girlfriend a recording star within six weeks.

The Big Store

The Big Store

Comedy · 1941

A detective is hired to protect the life of a singer, who has recently inherited a department store, from the store's crooked manager.

CB4

CB4

Comedy · 1993

A "rockumentary", covering the rise to fame of MC Gusto, Stab Master Arson, and Dead Mike: members of the rap group "CB4". We soon learn that these three are not what they seem and don't appear to know as much about rap music as they claim... but a lack of musical ability in an artist never hurts sales, does it? You've just got to play the part of a rap star...

Ziegfeld Follies

Ziegfeld Follies

Music · 1945

The late, great impresario Florenz Ziegfeld looks down from heaven and ordains a new revue in his grand old style.

Arlo the Alligator Boy

Arlo the Alligator Boy

Animation · 2021

Upon learning that he is from New York City, a wide-eyed boy, who is half human and half alligator, decides to leave his sheltered life in the swamp and search for his long lost father. A musical adventure.

Footlight Parade

Footlight Parade

Comedy · 1933

A fledgling producer finds himself at odds with his workers, financiers and his greedy ex-wife when he tries to produce live musicals for movie-going audiences.

Sneakerella

Sneakerella

Music · 2022

When El, an aspiring sneaker designer from Queens, meets Kira King, the fiercely independent daughter of legendary basketball star and sneaker tycoon Darius King, sparks fly as the two bond over their mutual affinity for sneakers. With a little nudge from his best friend and a sprinkle of Fairy Godfather magic, El finds the courage to use his talent to pursue his dream of becoming a ‘legit’ sneaker designer in the industry.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Busby Berkeley

Written by

Jack McGowan · Kay Van Riper

Mickey Rooney

Mickey Rooney

Mickey Moran

Judy Garland

Judy Garland

Patsy Barton

Charles Winninger

Charles Winninger

Joe Moran

Guy Kibbee

Guy Kibbee

Judge Black

June Preisser

June Preisser

Rosalie Essex

Margaret Hamilton

Margaret Hamilton

Martha Steele

Grace Hayes

Grace Hayes

Florrie Moran

Court is in session

Put Babes in Arms on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.