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), Sarah Y. Mason (continuity)

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	...	Hank Mahoney

Storyline

Harriet 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 Harriet, 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 Harriet recognizes, that Eddie is in love with Queenie.

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Plot Keywords:

singer | wisecrack humor | whistling | sister act | sibling rivalry | 

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Taglines:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's TALKING SINGING DANCING Dramatic Sensation

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Genres:

Drama | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

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)

Gross USA:

$2,808,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,558,000

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first sound film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.

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Goofs

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

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Quotes

Eddie Kearns: Well, let's go and get a bowl of chop suey and we'll rewrite the show!
Hank Mahoney: Well, if you'll write me back in the show, I'd go for a bowl of anything.
Eddie Kearns: Well, you can - get most anything out of a bowl of chop suey.

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Alternate Versions

Also released in a silent version.

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Connections

Spoofed in Broadway Malady (1933)

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Soundtracks

Give My Regards to Broadway
(1904) (uncredited)
Written by George M. Cohan
In the score for the first scene

User Reviews

Has a Beat of Its Own.

The second Best Picture Oscar winner and the very first that used the then-new advent of sound was "The Broadway Melody", a totally under-rated and under-appreciated musical that started a genre which would be dominant well into the late-1960s. It is depression-era New York and two country sisters (Oscar-nominee Anita Page and a very young Bessie Love) come to the city to make it big on Broadway. Of course the competition is stiff and success is not a sure thing by the longest of shots. Page is in love with the star (Charles King) of the show they want to be a part of. King believes he loves Page too, but quickly falls for her younger sister instead. Now the dilemma begins. The problems escalate further as Love becomes a star and begins to run around with socialite Kenneth Thomson (in an appropriately sleazy performance). Will the bright lights of the city destroy Page and Love's relationship forever and what will become of the two men in their lives? "The Broadway Melody" is admittedly a formula-driven film, but it works so much better than most all other soap operas throughout the history of the cinema. The main reason is because of top-notch direction by Oscar nominee Harry Beaumont and the solid performances from the four leads. There is also much dazzle in the production as the sound is revolutionary with lavish dance numbers and many instrumental ensembles. Wonderful cinematography, costume design, set direction and editing complete the film's excellence. Not quite a perfect film, but definitely a worthy Oscar winner that still stands pretty tall nearly 75 years after its initial release. 4.5 out of 5 stars.