Seeing The Broadway Melody for the first time for historical interest and to see whether it really was down there as one of the worst Best Picture winners, it wasn't as bad as I'd heard it cited to be. It is a long way from perfect, the editing is sloppy which hinders the choreography(which sometimes was dull, small-scale and stagy), much of the supporting cast overact(Jed Prouty is especially annoying) and Anita Page's- as charmingly photogenic as she is- acting doesn't seem very natural at all. However, while not Best Picture worthy it is not one of the worst films ever made, not by a long shot. The costumes are just lovely and the sets are good as well. The dialogue is snappy(the orchestra is trying to drown me out line is very funny), the story while slow at times does have a simple nostalgic fun and charm to it and Page is very photogenic as said already. Charles King has a beautiful voice, he isn't the best of actors either but he's charming and not annoying. The choreography wasn't hugely impressive, but it does have some good moments, choreographically the best number by a landslide is Wedding of a Painted Doll. The Broadway Melody is competently directed, but Best Director worthy, not so sure. The best aspects of The Broadway Melody are the songs and the performance of Bessie Love, the only assets that come across as truly outstanding. The songs are marvellous, The Broadway Melody and You Were Meant for Me are classics. And Love is just terrific as Queenie, she does so much with the character and was more than deserving of her Oscar nomination. In conclusion, not a great film but better than it's made out to be. 6.5/10 Bethany Cox
Review of The Broadway Melody
