Musical Stars
| 20th Century Fox: A Good Ship |
| The Roar Heard Over the Rainbow: MGM's Star Voices |
Although billed fourth and fifth on the star list for the film Flying Down to Rio (1933), RKO's Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers found stardom with the release of this film. The playful chemistry between the two became an instant success with Depression-afflicted audiences. 
RKO's design in making this film was to compete with the popular Busby Berkeley films of the time. Following Flying Down to Rio the dancing team established its successful prototype with The Gay Divorcee in 1934. The archetype the film created for the pair is as follows: Mistaken identity prevents Rogers from falling in love with Astaire whom has already fallen in love with her. As they dance, however, their courtship develops and all previous misunderstandings are resolved. This series continued in films such as Top Hat, Swing Time and Shall We Dance. This successful formula, as well as Warner's Busby Berkeley films, were the most popular during the first half of the 1930's - MGM took over the second half with the talented Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney and the singing duet of Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald.
In 1935, Shirley Temple became Fox's leading star at the box-office. Her films rendered large profits and were relatively cheap to make, thus allowing for a nice studio profit. She made twenty-four films for the studio - almost all being song and dance inspiring comedies. These comedies often dealt with the vitality and hope vested in the youth of the depression-era. Examples are Curly Top, Dimples and the Little series. 
In The Littlest Rebel (1935) Shirley Temple was paired with one of her favorite dance partners - Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. One of the most successful African American actors of the day, "Bojangles" became famous for his talented dance skills, although hardly allowed to achieve the stardom that white actors could enjoy, "Bojangles" talents did not go completely unrecognized. In the movie Swing Time, Fred Astaire pays a tribute to "Bojangles" as he dances to "Bojangles of Harlem" in blackface (the first and only time Astaire performs in blackface in his film career).
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-Roger Ebert |
The Roar Heard Over the Rainbow: MGM's Star Voices
MGM became the leading wizard for musical production in the latter half of the 1930's. 
Among its most famous films of the time stands The Wizard of Oz with Judy Garland and an amazing cast of characters. Judy Garland was not the only star that the studio had to boast of however; its star role also included Mickey Rooney and the singing pair of Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald. Judy and Mickey starred in several musicals together, such as Babes in Arms and Babes on Broadway, offering a dose of adolescent promise to their Depression-escaping audiences. 
Starring together for the first time in Naughty Marietta, Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy became the successful singing counterpart to RKO's Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Dubbed "America's Singing Sweethearts" the Eddy and MacDonald partnership offered a sweet escape for audiences during the depression.
| Star Promotion | Musical Stars |