Original artwork, not a still
Sawyer, you're going out a youngster, but you've got to come back a star!
— 42nd Street · 1933
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It is the backstage pep talk that every later show-business story copied: the nobody pushed on stage to save the production, the director who has nothing left but belief. The line works because it is a promise and a threat in one breath. It is still the go-to line for anyone seeing a newcomer into a big break, and the plot of the understudy who steps in and becomes the star owes this film more than any other.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for 42nd StreetShow the scene
In 1933's 42nd Street, the Broadway musical Pretty Lady is due to open in Philadelphia, but its star Dorothy Brock breaks her ankle the night before. Director Julian Marsh, ill, broke and staking his last show on it, is talked into replacing her with unknown chorus girl Peggy Sawyer and drills her relentlessly until an hour before curtain. Just before she goes on, he gives a last speech telling her that everyone's future depends on her and that she must not fall down, and ends with this line. Peggy does come back a star, and the film closes on Marsh alone outside the stage door, overhearing the audience say so. The American Film Institute later ranked the line number 87 on its list of top film quotations.
Sources (2)
- Wikipedia: 42nd Street (film)PlotReference checked
- Wikiquote: 42nd Street (film)Julian Marsh sectionReference checked
Context reviewed