Surprisingly, for a film of its vintage, this got shown as a Saturday matinée on local TV, which is how I first got to watch it in the late 1980s. THE Broadway MELODY, of course, has a lot to answer for: it was not only the first Talkie to win the Best Picture Oscar but the very first Musical – featuring songs by composer Nacio Herb Brown and lyricist Arthur Freed that would be much re-used including the title tune and "Singin' In The Rain" (which, of course, spawned the acknowledged all-time best musical in 1952 produced by Freed himself) – and, similarly, the first of many to revolve around a 'putting-on-a-show' scenario (which would reach its apex in Warners' 42ND STREET [1933]). The musical sequences in this case culminate in the show-stopping "The Wedding Of The Painted Doll", which set the template for elaborate routines later immortalized by choreographer Busby Berkeley. In retrospect, the film's Oscar triumph had a lot to do with its novelty factor since two other competing titles I have watched – the gangster picture ALIBI (1929) and the Western IN OLD ARIZONA (1928) – are clearly superior. Still, though technically it leaves a lot to be desired (the main culprit being Beaumont's bafflingly Oscar-nominated[!] static direction) and bears an equally creaky plot (two small-town sisters attempting to make it big on Broadway both love the same man), THE Broadway MELODY holds plenty of interest even after all these years, particularly as a time-capsule of late 1920s New York (and theater) life. Unfortunately, after a bright first half (the story by Edmund Goulding was co-scripted by James Gleason – who also appears, uncredited, as himself!), the film bogs down into talky (and repetitive) melodrama: nevertheless, the two female leads (Anita Page and Oscar-nominated Bessie Love) are both appealing and quite good. The same, however, cannot be said of their male counterpart (Charles King) or, for that matter, the heavily stereotyped supporting characters and bit parts: the girls' stuttering manager uncle, the millionaire playboy constantly drooling over Page, the gay costume designer
though I personally found the impresario's legion of 'yes men' (including a drunkard dubbed "Unconscious") rather amusing. In conclusion, MGM would follow this up with 4 more Broadway MELODY movies over a 15-year period, of which I have only watched one earlier this year.
Bonus Shorts:
GUS VAN AND JOE SCHENCK: THE PENNANT WINNING BATTERY OF SONGLAND (N/A, 1929) **; THE DOGWAY MELODY (Zion Myers and Jules White, 1930) **; METRO MOVIETONE REVUE #1 (Nick Grinde, 1929) *1/2; METRO MOVIETONE REVUE #2 (Nick Grinde, 1929) *1/2; METRO MOVIETONE REVUE #3 (Nick Grinde, 1930) *1/2; METRO MOVIETONE REVUE #4 (Nick Grinde, 1930) *1/2; A MOVIETONE DIVERTISSEMENT (N/A, 1928) *1/2
Accompanying THE Broadway MELODY (1929) on Warners' DVD is a cluster of even more primitive Talkie musical shorts and one canine(!) spoof. The former are simply a ragbag collection of song'n'dance routines – annoyingly shot with a camera firmly fixed in the stalls – by stars of the day no one remembers anymore; the same can be said of the host(s) who introduce the numbers: two feature the rather effeminate Harry Rose and two more the baby-faced and would-be wisecracking Jack Pepper, with both getting in on the action at some point (the latter's shtick even incorporates some weird vocal inflections!). It is useless to catalogue any highlights because there are none – which explains my ultra-low ratings for the lot. For the record, A MOVIETONE DIVERTISSMENT, which preceded the others, would be re-issued as METRO MOVIETONE REVUE #7; this and the Gus Van/Joe Schenck (one of the two has a deep voice, making for a fair Al Jolson-type crooner) short are, er, the shortest because they get down to business and do away with the redundant intros entirely. As for THE DOGWAY MELODY, it is downright eccentric: apparently, there were a number of these comedies featuring canines in human attire, and this one obviously sums up the plot of that first musical (a Best Picture Oscar winner, no less) in about 15 minutes. While the idea may be amusing at first, it wears thin very quickly and, somehow, I could not help wondering what the dogs had to go through in order to act in such an unnatural manner!
Bonus Shorts:
GUS VAN AND JOE SCHENCK: THE PENNANT WINNING BATTERY OF SONGLAND (N/A, 1929) **; THE DOGWAY MELODY (Zion Myers and Jules White, 1930) **; METRO MOVIETONE REVUE #1 (Nick Grinde, 1929) *1/2; METRO MOVIETONE REVUE #2 (Nick Grinde, 1929) *1/2; METRO MOVIETONE REVUE #3 (Nick Grinde, 1930) *1/2; METRO MOVIETONE REVUE #4 (Nick Grinde, 1930) *1/2; A MOVIETONE DIVERTISSEMENT (N/A, 1928) *1/2
Accompanying THE Broadway MELODY (1929) on Warners' DVD is a cluster of even more primitive Talkie musical shorts and one canine(!) spoof. The former are simply a ragbag collection of song'n'dance routines – annoyingly shot with a camera firmly fixed in the stalls – by stars of the day no one remembers anymore; the same can be said of the host(s) who introduce the numbers: two feature the rather effeminate Harry Rose and two more the baby-faced and would-be wisecracking Jack Pepper, with both getting in on the action at some point (the latter's shtick even incorporates some weird vocal inflections!). It is useless to catalogue any highlights because there are none – which explains my ultra-low ratings for the lot. For the record, A MOVIETONE DIVERTISSMENT, which preceded the others, would be re-issued as METRO MOVIETONE REVUE #7; this and the Gus Van/Joe Schenck (one of the two has a deep voice, making for a fair Al Jolson-type crooner) short are, er, the shortest because they get down to business and do away with the redundant intros entirely. As for THE DOGWAY MELODY, it is downright eccentric: apparently, there were a number of these comedies featuring canines in human attire, and this one obviously sums up the plot of that first musical (a Best Picture Oscar winner, no less) in about 15 minutes. While the idea may be amusing at first, it wears thin very quickly and, somehow, I could not help wondering what the dogs had to go through in order to act in such an unnatural manner!