Main Cast: Anita Page, Bessie Love, Charles King, Jed Prouty, Ken Thomson
Release Year: 1929
Country: US
Run Time: 104 minutes
Plot
This landmark MGM backstage musical of the early sound era about broken dreams on the Great White Way features a bevy of standards by the songwriting team of Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown. Freed later became unit producer of the legendary Freed Unit at MGM, which is the reason many of the tunes from Broadway Melody --""You Were Meant For Me"", "Broadway Melody", ""The Wedding of the Painted Doll""-- later appeared in Freed's seminal MGM musical Singin' in the Rain. The nominal story concerns midwestern sister act The Mahoney Sisters --Queenie (Anita Page) and Hank (Bessie Love)-- who come to New York to try to make it big on Broadway. Hank's song-and-dance man boyfriend Eddie (Charles King) has promised the gals a part in the new Broadway revue in which he is soon to appear. When Hank and Queenie come to see him, Hank is pleasantly surprised at the way Queenie has filled out. Soon enough, Eddie is making advances to Queenie. Queenie is attracted to Eddie too, but she doesn't want to steal her sister's boyfriend. So she Queenie takes up with a lecherous playboy, leaving it to Hank to put all the confused love relationships in perspective. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Review
The Broadway Melody was MGM's first all-talking picture. Studio chief Louis B. Mayer had initially dismissed sound films as a fad, but when a tedious semi-documentary, White Shadows in the South Seas, was turned into a box-office bonanza simply by adding a few post-production sound effects, Mayer became committed to the new format and ordered that no expense be spared. The result was a then-unheard-of $4 million success and a Best Picture Oscar. Much of the credit for The Broadway Melody should be given to Douglas Shearer. When producer Irving Thalberg complained that one of the film's biggest musical numbers was too static, he suggested using pre-recorded music, just one of many sound engineering firsts that would be credited to Shearer, who got his job because he was Thalberg's brother-in-law. As with the first year of the Oscars, a five-member "Central Board of Judges" determined the winners. A scandal erupted when Academy founder and vote supervisor Mayer's pet project was picked for the top prize. The rules were quickly changed, and for the third year of the awards and thereafter, Academy members have selected the winners. The Broadway Melody has retained little popularity with current-day audiences, though fans of Singin' in the Rain will likely enjoy seeing the source for many of the film's reference points. Nonetheless, Bessie Love's performance stands out, as do several of the production numbers, most notably "The Wedding of the Painted Doll." ~ Richard Gilliam, All Movie Guide
The Broadway Melody is a 1929musical film and the first sound film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. It was one of the first musicals to feature a Technicolor sequence, which sparked the trend of color being used in a flurry of musicals that would hit the screens in 1929-1930. Today the Technicolor sequence is presumed lost and only a black and white copy survives in the complete film. The film was the first musical released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and was Hollywood's first all-talking musical.
The plot involves the romances of musical comedy stars, set against the backstage hubbub of a Broadway revue. Anita Page and Bessie Love play a vaudeville sister act who have come to New York for their big break on Broadway. Charles King plays the song-and-dance man whose affection for one sister (Harriet alias Hank) is supplanted by his growing love for the younger, more beautiful sister (Queenie). Queenie tries to protect her sister and derail the love triangle by dating a wealthy but unscrupulous "stage door Johnny."
Production
A silent version was also released, for there were still many motion picture theaters without sound equipment at the time. The film featured a musical sequence for "The Wedding of the Painted Doll" that was presented in early two-color Technicolor (red and green). Color would quickly come to be associated with the musical genre, and numerous features were released in 1929 and 1930 that either featured color sequences or were filmed entirely in color.
The film was a substantial success. It was the top grossing picture of 1929, and won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Historically, it is often considered the first complete example of the Hollywood musical. However, the film has since come to be seen as weak, cliché-ridden, and overly melodramatic. Even in 1929, the creaky stereotypes of backstage show biz were something less than fresh. Most believe that the primary reason for its success in the Academy Awards was due to the films with which it competed being equally unimpressive. Filmsite.org describes the 1929 Oscars as follows: "The films nominated for this year's awards were some of the weakest films in the history of American cinema, reflecting the chaos of the transition from silents to sound films."
Sequels
Three more movies were later made by MGM with similar titles, Broadway Melody of 1936, Broadway Melody of 1938 and Broadway Melody of 1940, were released by MGM. Although not direct sequels in the traditional sense, they all had the same basic premise of a group of people putting on a show (the films also had recurring cast members playing different roles, most notably dancer Eleanor Powell who appeared in all three).
The original movie was also remade in 1940 as Two Girls on Broadway. Another Broadway Melody film was planned for 1942 (starring Gene Kelly and Eleanor Powell) but production was cancelled at the last minute. Broadway Rhythm, a 1944 musical by MGM, was originally to have been titled Broadway Melody of 1944.
Influence
The film plays a significant role in the later film Singin' in the Rain, which incorporates music from the film, including "You were meant for me". The Dogway Melody also has many scenes based on the film.
Posters advertising the film as "All talking all singing all dancing" gave rise to the idiom "all singing, all dancing", meaning "full of vitality" or "advanced and/or full-featured".
No nominations were announced prior to the 1930 ceremonies. Love and Beaumont are presumed to have been under consideration, and are listed as such by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Gallery
1929 magazine ad
Poster for the film
Poster for the film
References
^ Bloom, Ken. Hollywood Song: The Complete Film Musical Companion, Vol. 1, 1995. Published by Facts On File, Inc. ISBN 0-8160-2668-8
