The Broadway Melody (1929)

A pair of sisters from the vaudeville circuit try to make it big time on Broadway, but matters of the heart complicate the attempt.

Director:

Harry Beaumont

Writers:

Edmund Goulding (story), Norman Houston (dialogue)

Stars:

Bessie Love, Anita Page, Charles King

Won 1 Oscar. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Charles King	...	Eddie Kearns
Anita Page	...	Queenie Mahoney
Bessie Love	...	Harriet 'Hank' Mahoney

Storyline

Hank and Queenie Mahoney, a vaudeville act, come to Broadway, where their friend Eddie Kerns needs them for his number in one of Francis Zanfield's shows. Eddie was in love with Hank, but when he meets Queenie, he falls in love to her, but she is courted by Jock Warriner, a member of the New Yorker high society. It takes a while till Queenie recognizes, that she is for Jock nothing more than a toy, and it also takes a while till Hank recognizes that Eddie is in love with Queenie.

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Plot Keywords:

romantic rivalry | putting on a show | uncle niece relationship | unrequited love | gold digger | 

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Taglines:

Each moment of this great motion picture reveals new miracles of the talking screen (Print Ad-The Dispatch,((Lexington, S.C)) 9 September 1929)

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Genres:

Drama | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

In addition to its many historical firsts, The Broadway Melody (1929) is a full-throttle pre-Code film, its backstage milieu featuring scantily clad chorines, an overtly gay costume designer and an unmistakably lesbian wardrobe mistress.

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Goofs

The guitar player in the song "Broadway Melody" cannot be heard playing until he tilts his guitar slightly (possibly towards the mic).

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Quotes

Eddie Kearns: Hank, did you see Queenie? What's the matter Hank, aren't ya happy? Wasn't Queenie great? Aren't ya proud of her?
Hank Mahoney: Oh, of course, Eddie. I'm glad to see her make good. Oh, but, gee, we ain't never had to get by on our legs before.
Eddie Kearns: Oh, that don't mean nothin', Hank. Those guys are not going to pay ten bucks to look at your face; this is Broadway!
Hank Mahoney: Yeah, "Broad's way!"

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Alternate Versions

Also released in a silent version.

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Connections

Followed by Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935)

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Soundtracks

You Were Meant for Me
(1929) (uncredited)
Music by Nacio Herb Brown
Lyrics by Arthur Freed
Sung by Charles King to Queenie

User Reviews

Not the worst Best Picture

OK, it's very simple. If you want to watch and enjoy this film, you have to put yourself back into 1929. If you're not willing to do that, don't waste your time. If you *are* willing to do that, it's a pretty good film. If the sound or picture seems ancient-- well, not in 1929! If the plot seems old hat-- well, not in 1929! You really do have to put yourself mentally into the time-frame of the time. This was really pretty damn good for 1929.

Of course, part of the enjoyment, today, of watching such a film, is indeed the time-warp you get. It really is interesting to see the movie people groping to find their way in the new era of talkies. Some have mentioned the odd silent-movie-style story-boards that open the scenes. Or the way that the players sometimes get out of focus when they get out of range of the camera. There were some other limitations of the time that I found interesting. Very interesting to note all the silence, when the characters are not speaking, especially when they are just emoting. Today, of course, every such scene would have orchestral back-up music, to tell you how to feel, but obviously nobody had thought of that yet. Or the way that they hadn't really invented the modern notion of a Musical, where people burst into song for no reason. In the one scene here where somebody seems to spontaneously burst into a song describing his feelings to someone else... at the end of the song he explains that he wrote it just for her (thus, it wasn't spontaneous after all).

All in all, not a *great* film, but enjoyable. I gave it six stars, plus an extra one for the historic interest. My one real gripe: I did think that the actress who played Queenie was just terrible. Too often she just didn't sound natural, she sounded like she was reading lines.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 June 1929 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Broadway Melody of 1929

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$379,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min (TCM print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System) Silent

Color:

Black and White Color (2-Strip Technicolor) (one sequence)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1