To get an idea of just how talented a performer Mickey Rooney is, watch his banjo playing in the movie's final number, The Robert E. Lee. At first you may think he's just going through the motions, but he's actually playing the banjo for the last 3 minutes of the movie. His dance numbers are also superb.He was at the height of his popularity when this 1941 movie came out, the #1 Box Office Male Star for 6 years in a row. To say this movie is too sugary, is a cheap shot and you must put it into perspective of when it was made. (The black face number at the end was far from sugary). Rooney dances and imitates Cagney in Yankee Doodle; He does a perfect impersonation of Carmen Miranda in another number and the finale is worth the price of admission. Corny, yes. Talented? precisely.
Review of Babes on Broadway
