Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Strike Up the Band Blu-ray Movie Review

Barely a spare.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III June 30, 2020

Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney co-starred in four musicals together, and Strike Up the Band is...well, one of them. While not without a few obvious flaws, there's enjoyment to be had in just about any production led by the talented Busby Berkely, a prolific dance choreographer who made the transition to film director just seven years earlier. Some of Strike Up the Band's sporadic song breaks and bigger choreographed moments are standouts, but its central love triangle runs a distant third. Two-thirds of the triangle includes wholesome high schoolers Jimmy Connors (Rooney) and Mary Holden (Garland); he's a drummer with boundless energy and big musical dreams, and she's a singer who just can't get him to return her obvious advances. Jimmy's only got his sights set on one thing right now: a big competition in Chicago sponsored by famous band leader Paul Whiteman (playing himself) with a $500 cash prize.

It sounds like fertile ground for a decent musical, albeit an obvious (and commercially successful) attempt to recreate the lightning-in-a-bottle success of 1939's Babes in Arms, also directed by Berkeley and starring the young duo. But as paper-thin as its story is, Strike Up the Band drags on for nearly two full hours and feels like every minute. Though not without more than a few memorable moments and predictably decent songs, Strike Up the Band even comes up a little short in the latter department: sure, there are genuine highlights like the sweet and playful "Our Love Affair" and the rousing "Drummer Boy", but others like "Do the La Conga" have either aged terribly or feel like padding. Strike Up the Band's non-stop bravado also ends up working against it as the film wears on: Rooney is obviously the main culprit, but the song-and-dance performances from both are often so overzealous that it's almost painful to watch.

Full disclosure: I say this as both a newcomer to the film and a general non-fan of Mickey Rooney (although even a Grinch can appreciate his obvious knack for performance), but if you love his reckless charm then Strike Up the Band will go down easier. It still feels like his least essential pairing with Garland, as the other three -- herded together on DVD in the aptly-named Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland Collection back in 2007 -- have better plots, better songs, or both. Yet Berkeley's direction feels confident even in its most indulgent moments, Garland is as magnetic as ever, and a number of great supporting performances liven things up in unexpected places. There's even a pretty impressive musical fruit sequence that necessitated one of cinema's most bizarre opening credits: "Fruit Models", which were created by sculptor Henry Rox and wonderfully animated by future seven-time Oscar nominee George Pal.

Although the whole of Strike Up the Band still feels like less than the sum of its parts, those with a soft spot for vintage musicals should certainly give it a go. As usual, Warner Archive makes the most of things with another great Blu-ray; it's led by a top-tier A/V presentation and a host of DVD-era extras that make for a well-rounded disc overall.

Strike Up the Band Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Warner Archive Collection's press release for Strike Up the Band indicated a new 4K restoration but did not specify the source material, which usually means "best surviving elements" -- often a combination of two or more, even. Either way the end result is as seamless and film-like as you'd expect from one of the best studios in the business, who once again deliver an outstanding 1080p transfer that breathes new life into this 80-year-old production. Density is very strong overall, with many scenes showcasing the silvery grain structure of typical restorations involving original nitrate negatives; fine detail and textures are both fantastic in close-ups and wide shots alike. Contrast levels and shadow detail also look great with very few instances of black crush or blooming -- even the most dimly-lit scenes hold up respectably well. As a whole, the transfer is extremely clean with no major signs of dirt, debris, or other damage, while WAC's typically excellent disc authoring ensures a very high bit rate and no compression-related issues or excessive noise reduction. Simply put, it's more great work that should absolutely thrill fans of classic cinema.

Strike Up the Band Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Likewise, the DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix offers a very pure presentation of the original one-channel audio source, which is almost completely free of any discernible age-related wear and tear. Dialogue and background effects are balanced very well with a surprisingly robust dynamic range, while all of the diegetic musical performances -- including those performed by Paul Whiteman and his orchestra, as well as composer Roger Edens' stirring original score -- sound crystal clear and quite powerful at times. It plays like a product of its time period, but Strike Up the Band is right in line with the best classic catalog titles from this era and die-hard fans will be extremely pleased with the results.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the film and are formatted perfectly with no sync issues.

Strike Up the Band Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with poster-themed cover art. The DVD-era extras were originally created as part of the multi- disc Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland Collection released by Warner Bros. in 2007.

• Song Selection - Direct access to 16 songs and major music breaks from the film including multiple versions of ""Strike up the Band", "Our Love Affair" , "Do the La Conga" (which roughly translates to "Do the The Conga"), "Come Home, Father", "A Man Was the Cause of It All" "Drummer Boy", and more.

• Introduction by Mickey Rooney (3:16)

• Wedding Bills (3:42) - A 1940 MGM comedy short featuring Pete Smith.

• Romeo in Rhythm (8:17) - This music-heavy 1940 MGM animated short was directed by the prolific Rudolf Ising with rowdy voice work by Mel Blanc and Billy Mitchell.

• "Do the La Conga" Stereo Version (6:01)

• Audio-Only Extras - These include a "Leo is on the Air" radio promo, the "Millions for Defense" radio special with Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, plus a 1940 Lux Radio Theater broadcast with Rooney and Garland.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:47) - This rousing promotional piece can also be watched online here, as well as the full three-minute opening scene and another clip, all lovingly restored in HD.

Strike Up the Band Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Busby Berekely's lively but lukewarm Strike Up the Band is an understandable attempt to cash in on the success of Babes in Arms, a musical released the previous year also starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland. Sadly it can't quite measure up to that film in both song selection and story, as the paper-thin plot is stretched pretty thin over a two-hour period. (It's not even as memorable as the next chapter in this unofficial series, 1941's Babes on Broadway, which featured a minstrel show during the finale.) But it's still a decent time despite the trademark hyperactive showmanship of Rooney, and die-hard fans of both him and Garland will unabashedly enjoy themselves. Warner Archive Collection's Blu-ray, on the other hand, will please everyone: the A/V presentation is predictably great and a handful of DVD-era bonus features are on board too. Recommended, but new fans should probably try before they buy.