Penny Morris and Tommy Williams are both starstruck young teens but nobody seems to give them any chance to perform. Instead, they decide to put up their own show to collect money for a summer camp for the kids.
Direction
Berkeley's bizarro finale with kids in blackface (!) — yikes, but technically wild.
Acting
Garland's 19-year-old voice could power a small city.
Production
That 'ghost light' minstrel number — deeply problematic, undeniably elaborate.
Director
Busby Berkeley
Mickey Rooney
Tommy Williams
Judy Garland
Penny Morris
Fay Bainter
Miss Jones
Virginia Weidler
Jo Conway
Ray McDonald
Ray Lambert
Richard Quine
Morton Hammond
Donald Meek
Mr. Stone
Alexander Woollcott
Alexander Woollcott
Luis Alberni
Nick
James Gleason
Thornton Reed
Emma Dunn
Mrs. Williams
Cliff Clark
Inspector Moriarity
William Post Jr.
Announcer
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was Garland and Rooney's third 'let's put on a show' film in three years — MGM basically had a factory for this exact plot.
The minstrel finale reflects 1941's entertainment norms but was already controversial; Berkeley defended it as 'tradition' while critics side-eyed.
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