Train rides and politics: A look at The 42nd. Street Special

Should you watch The 42nd. Street Special? If you are a fan of pre-code Hollywood or just love watching trains roll through the 1930s, then sure. You will probably hate this if you expect a narrative or even a hint of structure. It is really just a glorified promotional reel that accidentally turned into a piece of history.

There is something inherently unsettling about watching a seven-car train chug across the country just to shill for a movie. It makes the modern press tour look positively understated. You can almost smell the coal smoke and the desperation of the Warner Bros. publicists trying to stay relevant while the country was busy dealing with the Great Depression.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of The 42nd. Street Special (1933) through its definitive frames.

The footage of the train itself is the highlight. It has that rattling, shaky quality that makes you feel like you are standing right there on the platform in some random town in Ohio. The way the crowds gather just to see a few actors and some studio suits is wild. It reminds me a bit of the frantic energy in The Plow Girl, though obviously with less dramatic stakes and more fedoras.

Everything leads up to the inauguration of FDR. It is a weird tonal shift, seeing a commercial campaign collide with a moment of real political history. It’s like watching an ad for a toaster suddenly cut to a war zone. I kept wondering if the people on the train actually cared about the politics or if they just wanted their movie to make a few extra bucks in the capital.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of The 42nd. Street Special (1933) through its definitive frames.

Honestly, the pacing is all over the place. One minute you are looking at a conductor checking his pocket watch, and the next you are staring at a blurred face of someone who probably hasn't been identified in ninety years. It’s messy. I love that, actually.

There is a specific shot of the train pulling into a station that lingers for way too long. The engine just keeps coming and coming. You start to lose track of whether it is an impressive feat of engineering or just a very long, loud vacuum cleaner on tracks. 🚂

Notes from the platform:

• The sheer amount of luggage these people had is baffling.
• Nobody looks like they are having a particularly good time.
• The 1930s fashion is peak, even if the film quality is absolute mush.
• I kept waiting for someone to trip on the tracks, but no such luck.

If you have seen Always Kickin' or other shorts from that era, you know the vibe. It is thin, it is scratchy, and it is entirely self-serving. But there is a pulse to it. It is a living, breathing advertisement that somehow outlived the people who filmed it. Kind of strange to think about that while staring at a flickering screen. 📽️