Conquistadores de Broadway

I'll be honest, the main reason to watch this film is the gorgeous Lana Turner, who was just 19 years old when she starred in it. It's not her first film, but it was made just as her career was about to take off. Her acting is a little clumsy in places (as is George Murphy's), but it's a delight to see her dancing, and each of her close-ups. The story is a little thin, and has Joan Blondell and Turner as sisters, who come to New York to try to get jobs on stage with Blondell's slick-talking but affable fiancé, Murphy. Unfortunately, between the two of them, it's only Turner they want, and Blondell is relegated to selling cigarettes. Murphy tries to look out for Turner and shield her from a lecherous playboy (Kent Taylor), but then things get worse for Blondell when Murphy starts falling for Turner himself. There are some nice scenes of Blondell sacrificing herself with a brave face; she does the best she can with the material, and her character is a model of class. Unfortunately, there's also an extended scene with a Japanese butler that has some ugly racism on full display. The film wants to be a comedy, a romance, and a musical, and is pretty average at all three. It's concise at 73 minutes, and I liked seeing Turner and Blondell, but if those two aren't of interest, you should probably skip this one.

Joan Blondell and Lana Turner co-star with future US Senator George Murphy in Two Girls On Broadway. The three are from Rome City, Nebraska and Murphy is in New York to try and hit it big again as he's been somewhat at liberty since vaudeville declined. The women who are sisters operate a dance studio in Nebraska and Blondell was once Murphy's dance partner.

Murphy pulls off quite a con game but gets a big break with an appearance Richard Lane's nightclub and he parlays it for Blondell and Turner to come east. Now it's Turner who is Murphy's partner and Blondell gets work as a cigarette girl.

It's all looking good, but there's a Broadway wolf in the picture. Kent Taylor is a Tommy Manville type who's already been to the altar 8 times. He zeroes in on Turner who goes along because while she likes Murphy she doesn't want to hurt her sister. It all gets straightened out in the end as it always does.

I think a lot of you will recognize some sets from The Great Ziegfeld which makes it look like this film is more expensive and lush than it is. Wallace Ford has an interesting role as a Broadway Winchell like columnist which would be true to life since Winchell was a performer before he took up journalism. He knew Blondell and Murphy from vaudeville days.

Nacio Herb Brown, Arthur Freed and Roger Edens wrote My Wonderful One Let's Dance as part of the score and if it sounds familiar you're thinking of Cole Porter's Riding High. Porter really could have sued over that one.

Two Girls On Broadway showcases its star's talents well. Murphy was quite a hoofer before he went into Republican politics.

As much as I utterly adore Joan Blondell and think she was excellent in this, I have to say that the original, THE BROADWAY MELODY (of 1929) had more oomph, more heart and despite its technical limitations is the better version.

This more light-hearted remake of the very first Oscar winner is typical of the slick, polished style which MGM movies had in the forties, even in their B pictures. Obviously the acting in this is more natural, although every sane person will take an instant dislike to George Murphy whose cocky performance is more than irritating and even less genuine than Charles King's in the original. The production is of course not even on the same scale as in the first picture when they were just learning how to make talking pictures but interestingly the songs in this version are just as terrible as in the first one.

MGM made this film was a showcase their new star, Lana Turner which meant that Joan Blondell was relegated to playing second fiddle to her. She's the less glamorous, less sexy sensible older sister - almost a maternal role. Undaunted by 'reaching a certain age' (34!) she raises to the challenge and gives a very genuine and sensitive performance.

The role of the older sister in this version is more caring and a lot more mature than when Bessie Love played it. She's almost too nice to be true. No doubt because of her acting experience, Joan seems more confident and believable as the self-sacrificing sister but Bessie Love exhibited a real sense of vulnerability and tenderness which gave that very early talkie ten times as much emotional impact. Bessie Love's performance was truly heartbreaking and as disloyal it sounds to lovely Joan, Bessie played this character better.

Similarly, Anita Page's younger sister was raw, immature and gave the impression that she had no idea whatsoever what was happening to her. Her rabbit in the headlights portrayal exactly captured that of a naive girl from the sticks diving head first into a hedonistic cynical world she had no control over. Lana Turner is very sweet and innocent but seems a little too worldly wise. Although she was a better actress, in that role, Anita Page came across with much more authenticity.

Even though the original was made before The Depression, it felt like a more dangerous and grimy world that the sisters found themselves in. If you watch old films, New York in 1940 has a very familiar feel about it which makes this 'new' version a lot less interesting. It's not just because it's sad to see Joan Blondell upstaged by her replacement that I didn't enjoy this as much as the original, I think the actual reason is that the first film was fresh and so much more emotional.

It's a much better film than the one it was remaking, although perhaps too streamlined. The core trio of Lana Turner, Joan Blondell, and George Murphy was a definite improvement over Bessie Love and whoever the other two actors were. I don't quite know what LIFE Magazine meant by calling Turner a "glamour-plus girl," but it was clear, even in her feature film debut, that she had more going for her than looks. George Murphy was fine. The emotional core of the story, though, is Joan Blondell and she showed quite a bit of depth in what could have been a thankless supporting role. By this point in her career, she was beginning to settle into more matronly parts, but it really seemed like she gave it her all. Overall, I found this to be quite good, although a little more music wouldn't have hurt.

Evidently MGM was grooming Lana Turner to be featured in musicals at this stage of her career. Unfortunately that effort was abandoned, with mixed results. In this conventional backstage romantic triangle, she is a very winning performer, and a surprisingly effective dancer in her three musical numbers (partnered in two by George Murphy and in one by Joan Blondell). Her spirited youthfulness and fresh beauty are put to good use in her role as an innocent small-town girl who (almost) is spoiled by some wily denizens of big, bad Broadway. Joan Blondell plays the protective older sister convincingly, willing to sacrifice her own happiness for that of "the kid." Not many viewers would associate Lana Turner with this type of picture, but, as indicated, she more than holds her own. Too bad that in her pictures, as in her life, she became an "experienced" woman too soon.