The Barkleys of Broadway (1949)

A successful but constantly-feuding husband and wife musical comedy team threatens to break up when the wife entertains an offer to become a serious actress.

Director:

Charles Walters

Writers:

Betty Comden (original screenplay), Adolph Green (original screenplay)

Stars:

Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Oscar Levant

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Fred Astaire	...	Josh Barkley
Ginger Rogers	...	Dinah Barkley
Oscar Levant	...	Ezra Millar
Billie Burke	...	Mrs. Livingston Belney
Gale Robbins	...	Shirlene May
Jacques François	...	Jacques Pierre Barredout (as Jacques Francois)
George Zucco	...	The Judge
Clinton Sundberg	...	Bert Felsher
Inez Cooper	...	Pamela Driscoll
Carol Brewster	...	Gloria Amboy
Wilson Wood	...	Larry

Storyline

Josh and Dinah Barkley are a successful (though argumentative) musical-comedy team, yet Dinah chafes as Galatea to her husband's Pygmalion. When serious playwright Jacques Barredout envisions her as a great dramatic actress, Dinah is not hard to persuade.

---

Plot Keywords:

astaire and rogers | reference to trilby | reference to svengali | telephone call | charity benefit | 

---

Taglines:

M·G·M's New Technicolor Musical Hit

---

Genres:

Comedy | Musical

---

Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

1 September 1949 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

You Made Me Love You

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$2,325,420 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mahlon Hamilton made an uncredited appearance as a doorman. He had been making movies for decades, and in 1919 starred as Jarvis Pendelton in Daddy-Long-Legs (1919). Six years after this film Fred Astaire went on to play the same role.

---

Goofs

The "Shoes With Wings On" number could not have been presented on a stage. The dancers controlling the shoes would have been visible. The "invisible" dancers could only be done with optical effects. Notice that you cannot see the inside of the shoes.

---

Quotes

Josh Barkley: Well, gotta go put on the old feed bag!
Dinah Barkley: What kind of talk is that? "Gotta go put on the old feedbag!"
Josh Barkley: Can I help it if that guy brings out the gangster in me?

---

Connections

Referenced in Here's Lucy: Ginger Rogers Comes to Tea (1971)

---

Soundtracks

Angel
(1945) (uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Played when Josh and Dinah are getting food at the party

User Reviews

Fred and Ginger in Glorious MGM Technicolor

THE BARKLEYS OF Broadway was originally written to reunite Fred Astaire and Judy Garland after their smash hit EASTER PARADE; however, Judy was having a lot of health problems at the time and was unable to do the film, which paved the way for Ginger Rogers to reunite with her former film partner for the first time in ten years and for the first time in color. Sadly, this would also be their last film together but it is quite the send off for these dancing legends. The film, written by Betty Comden and Aldoph Green (SINGIN IN THE RAIN)follows a Broadway song and dance team named Josh and Dinah Barkley, who are at the peak of their careers, but Dinah feels like she's suffocating from Josh's Svengali-like grip on her career and decides she wants to become a serious actress. Of course, this story does parallel what happened with Astaire and Rogers ten years earlier when Rogers yearned to become a dramatic actress and actually won an Oscar the following year for KITTY FOYLE. The road to their inevitable reunion is predictable (and as for Ginger's interpretation of some French play, the less said the better)but the team;s dancing is still spectacular even after ten years away from each other. Their comic duet in Scottish kilts "Me One and Only Highland Fling" is a delight and Fred's solo "Shoes with Wings On" is brilliant, even though realistically, this number would be physically impossible to do in a theater as it is presented here, but I digress. And their final dance to "They Can't Take That Away From Me" is one of the loveliest pas de deuxs ever filmed. Not up to par with SINGIN IN THE RAIN or THE BAND WAGON, but classy entertainment with that beloved MGM gloss.