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This clip is from the finale of “Babes In Arms,” the first of four extremely entertaining, black and white, “Let’s put on a show” musicals Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland made over just a few years.
The context of the clip is what’s fascinating. The year is 1939, two years before Pearl Harbor, so this is not a studio humorously and affectionately saluting a wartime president. In fact, FDR’s New Deal was well into its fifth year but still the Depression raged. Even more interesting is that MGM studio head, Louis B. Mayer, was a staunch and active Republican who opposed FDR and loathed his Big Government solutions.
After five years and no end in sight to the Depression you would think Mayer, who ruled MGM with an iron fist, might use his power over the most effective propaganda tool ever created to undermine Roosevelt, but he didn’t. Certainly, some of his motives were business based, but Mayer also put the interest of the American people above his own. FDR might not have been Mayer’s man and FDR’s policies might not have been Mayer’s policies, but for the good of the people, Mayer understood the nation had to be unified and that we had to believe in ourselves if we were to find our way out of bad times.
Louis B. Mayer was no situational patriot.
Stars coming out in support of their country and president are nothing new. What’s changed is how they do it. The contrast between Mickey and Judy’s rousing number, and this, which only roused the contents of my stomach, is more than just the obvious … like talent.
The success of this seventy year-old musical number is mainly due to its lack of ambition. It knows its place. No one’s trying to change the world on that giant sound-stage. The cast, crew and equipment have all been brought together for the singular purpose of helping Depression-weary audiences forget their troubles for 90 minutes. The agenda is to boost morale. The humble talking point is, “We’re all in this together and we’ll get through it because we are Americans.”
And there’s no “me” coming from Mickey and Judy, which is in stark contrast to the Kutcher video which is pure “me.”
The biggest difference between the two clips, however, can be found in intent. God help “children battling serious illnesses” and victims of “21st Century slavery” if their only hope is that Ashton and Company must move even a half-degree out of their cult of personality to do some real good. Look for checks made payable to “Publicity” and parties disguised as fundraisers. A stark contrast to what the likes of Mickey Rooney (and many stars from that era) were prepared to do.
In 1944, after one deferment to finish a picture and at the height of his fame, Mickey Rooney pulled no strings to get out of the draft and entered the U.S. Army. 21 months later he was honorably discharged.
His career never recovered.
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