It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

.Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

"Strike Up the Band" is another teaming of Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland who are of course put in the position of putting on a show to save a band, a school program for children, a school from closing, etc. You name it. It could be any of those things. Of all the movie musicals that were made in their heyday, these were the most bizarre, meaning while enjoyable and with good music still somewhat beyond belief. They always seemed to defy the odds, getting what they want, albeit with some obstacles along the way. This outing though is not quite as good as others, due to some of the supporting actors' not so subtle acting. Less is more is not an adage used here. In fact, there's nothing subtle here. Ann Shoemaker does give good support as his mother, with a nice speech about being a great man. But the length, its feeling of self-importance, and some awkward moments of corniness hurt its effectiveness. It is very enjoyable with great musical numbers for Mickey and Judy; but there's just so much of everything here, making it two whole hours, including a over-the-top tongue-in-cheek save-the-damsel production in the middle of the movie, lasting 15 minutes itself. I'm sure you'll enjoy it for what it is, but afterwards, you'll feel like you had a workout.

Overlong but fun Mickey & Judy "let's put on a show" musical, directed by the great Busby Berkeley. Drummer Jimmy (Mickey Rooney) and would-be girlfriend Mary (Judy Garland) try to make their high school band a success. Along the way they deal with little personal dramas like Jimmy's mother wanting him to be a doctor, a new girl in town who captures Jimmy's eye, and one of the band members needing an emergency operation. The musical numbers are good, if not particularly memorable. Mickey & Judy are terrific, as always. It's probably pretty corny stuff for those who aren't fans but, if you enjoy these types of movies, I'm sure you'll have a good time with this one.

This is a high energy film about music, talent, success, family, imagination, fun and teenagers growing up in a "typical" Midwestern town of the time. The year is 1940, and the world is on the brink of war. The recovery from the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl in America was in its infancy. The movie studios of Hollywood were in their heyday. MGM was leading in the battle to produce the best musicals, and it had some hot talent in two young stars. Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland were 20- and 18-year-old actors who had proved their talent. Rooney had been in movies since early childhood, and had made a successful transition into older boy roles. He had made "Boys Town," "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," and was a huge success in the Andy Hardy series. Garland's rising star was even more recent. She had some songs in a couple of small musicals and sang two numbers in the 1938 Andy Hardy film, "Love Finds Andy Hardy." Then she made the classic fantasy adventure musical, "The Wizard of Oz." To round out 1939, the two were paired as the leads of a comedy musical and they scored a smashing success in "Babes in Arms." So, MGM had all the proof it needed for future box-office success with this dynamic duo. "Strike Up the Band" had even more going for it than its two stars. Busby Berkeley had directed "Babes in Arms" and got the nod again. But in this film, he inserted some of the extravaganza of music and dance that were his forté. And Arthur Freed brought his considerable resources in music, story and sets as producer. The talent in "Strike Up the Band" isn't only in the music – the performances and numbers headed by Rooney and Garland, or in Paul Whiteman's Orchestra. Rooney and company do a splendid job with a Gay Nineties spoof, ala Vaudeville, that had me laughing out loud a number of times. And a fantasy dream sequence with pieces of fruit as men playing instruments for a dream number show some creative talent in the Freed unit and MGM studio. It's the only example of clay-animation I can think of in early movies. Some 50 years later, Will Vinton and others would make "claymation" much more popular in film and on TV. The chorus lines, great choreography, costumes, and dance and show numbers staged by Berkeley round out this talent spectacular. All-in-all, this is an excellent film that showcases some of the rising stars of the time. It has a big-name band, great imagination, and wonderful musical numbers. And, it's topped off with clever scenes, lots of laughs and tons of energy. As for Rooney's high energy that some may find over the top at times – it was as much a part of the story and movie as all the other pieces that, put together, add up to a very good comedy musical. It's first rate entertainment. Oh, yes – there are a few tender, serious moments, and those fit very nicely.

A delightful high-energy romp. I think Mickey Rooney outshines Judy Garland in this one (but that might be like comparing apples to oranges, which incidentally play a not incidental role in this movie). Mickey plays the piano, the drums, sings, dances, pitches baseballs and jumps over fences and hedgerows....plus he's good to his widowed mother and turns up the "life's a gas" charm at the drop of a hat. Judy is more serious, reflective, and tender, all of which works well in the songs she performs. I could have done without the extended "Snidely Whiplash" melodrama routine, but hey, what's perfect in this world. The teenagers in this movie, however, look like miniature adults, and moreover, some of Mickey's band members look a little long in the tooth. Was there really a time when jazz was the most shocking thing a kid could be interested in?