Strike Up the Band

1940

Strike Up the Band (1940)

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Movie Info

Hey, gang! Let's put on a swell show and call it Strike Up the Band! Yes, it's the irrepressible Mickey Rooney, teamed up again with Judy Garland to show the grownups how to do things right. This time, Rooney wants to organize a high-school band. He hopes to enter a competition being held in Chicago by the great orchestra leader Paul Whiteman; all he needs is two hundred dollars for train fare. To raise the money, Rooney, Garland and company stage a student "mellerdrammer" that in real life would have cost the equivalent of a third-world-nation annual budget. They get the dough, but soft-hearted Rooney turns over the money to the mother of student musician Larry Nunn, who is in desperate need of emergency surgery. It looks hopeless until, luck of luck, Paul Whiteman arrives in Rooney's town. The original George and Ira Gershwin Broadway musical Strike Up the Band was a satire of warfare, with America declaring war on Switzerland in order to corner the chocolate industry. You'll see none of that subversive stuff in this MGM musical; instead, we are treated to such highlights as a George Pal animated sequence involving dancing fruit. It ain't profound, but Strike Up the Band is sure entertaining.

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Cast

Mickey Rooney
as Jimmy Connors
Judy Garland
as Mary Holden
Larry Nunn
as Willie Brewster
June Preisser
as Barbara Frances Morgan
Ann Shoemaker
as Mrs. Connors
Paul Whiteman
as Himself
William Tracy
as Phillip Turner
Margaret Early
as Annie
George Lessey
as Mr. Morgan
Francis Pierlot
as Mr. Judd
Harry McCrillis
as Booper Barton
Sarah Edwards
as Miss Hodges
Elliot Carpenter
as Henry
Virginia Brissac
as Mrs. May Holden
Howard Hickman
as The Doctor
Virginia Sale
as Music Teacher
Milton Kibbee
as Mr. Holden
Mickey Martin
as Boy
Sherrie Overton
as Girl
Margaret Marquis
as Girl
Maxine Cook
as Girl
Phil Silvers
as Pitchman
Billy Wayne
as Clown
Joe Devlin
as Attendant
Don Castle
as Charlie
Enid Bennett
as Mrs. Morgan
Earl Hodgins
as Hammer Concessionaire
Helen Jerome Eddy
as Mrs. Brewster
Harlan Briggs
as Doctor
Richard Allen
as Policeman
Victor Laplace
Jimmie Lucas
as Barker
Jack Albertson
as Barker
Earle Hodgins
as Hammer Concessionaire
Harry Harvey
as Shooting Gallery Concessionaire
Jack Baxley
as Ice Cream Concessionaire
Harry Lash
as Hot Dog Concessionaire
Jack Kenney
as Hot Dog Concessionaire
Roland Got
as House Boy
Lowden Adams
as Butler
Paul Whiteman & Orch.
as Themselves
Margaret Seddon
as Old Lady
Margaret McWade
as Old Lady
Louise LaPlanche
as Student
Lois James
as Student
Charles Smith
as Boy
Helen Seamon
as Student
Mary Jo Ellis
as Student
Naida Reynolds
as Student
Linda Johnson
as Student
Wallace Musselwhite
as Student
Myron Speth
as Student
Douglas Wilson
as Student
Sidney Miller
as Student
Vendell Darr
as Student
Jack Mulhall
as Man
Henry Roquemore
as Man
Leonard Sues
as Trumpet Player
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Critic Reviews for Strike Up the Band

All Critics (2)

Despite the tiresome plot, it's highly entertaining because of the snappy young duo and their big band music.

Aug 7, 2014 | Rating: B | Full Review…
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

One of the most popular Mickey Rooney-Judy Garland teamings of lets put on a show, directed by Busby Berkeley

Jul 23, 2012 | Rating: B | Full Review…
EmanuelLevy.Com
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