The Broadway Melody

All the negative reviews put me off watching this for years but I thought I'd finally give it a whirl and discovered something instantly engaging and entertaining. It's no GODFATHER but it's certainly not rubbish.

So why are there so many negative reviews? Being so (relatively) well-know makes it an easier target to shoot down. Lesser known and vastly inferior early talkies such as CHARMING SINNERS or FRAMED slip under the radar and escape such vitriol. Being made in 1928 does obviously make it look old-fashioned but that goes with the territory - it's a 1920s musical with 1920s actors, what do expect? I wonder whether its detractors have seen other films from the late twenties other than M and UN CHIEN ANDALOU? This was never meant to be a work of art, it was just fun: entertainment for the masses. Clearly it's not in the same league as the wonderful GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 but it's actually better than GOLD DIGGERS OF 1937!

For maximum popular appeal it used a well trodden story - two sisters both in love with the same man so don't expect anything remotely original. What I wasn't expecting but got was such a strong emotional story. Bessie Love's performance at the climax of the film is genuinely heartbreaking. It's a remarkably sensitive and nuanced performance with an intensity you wouldn't normally get in a light comedy - extremely well acted. It's a happy ending, she's laughing but for us the viewer, we're almost crying. Unlike the Busby Berkeley classics from the time of The Depression, this was made in the optimistic and progressive late twenties. It is therefore really quite upsetting to know that the plans and dreams of these characters are probably not going to find their happy ending.

If you like films from the early thirties you will like this. It's a lot better than most 1920s talkies, it's a lot better than a lot of early thirties movies too. If you're familiar with old films you'll find it almost impossible to believe how well made and well acted this "first ever" talkie is considering the cinematic trash (including 69 copy-cat musicals in 1929 alone!) that was to follow. Considering nobody really had a clue how to make a talking picture at the start of the year the result is amazing. It has a sweet endearing charm about it, it's emotionally engaging, it's got a building tension, it's fun and sad - what more could you want? Obviously the filming is a quite static, the story is cliched and the songs are horrible but overall it's thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining.

This old musical still works all right as light entertainment, although it's certainly not nearly as spectacular as it apparently seemed to be in its own time. It has likable characters and a story with just enough to keep your attention, which make up for the often creaky pace, bad dialogue, and routine acting. It's also worth watching for Bessie Love, who gives a good performance as an endearing older sister character, which in most places still holds up pretty well.

Because sound movies were still a novelty, it's loaded with singing and dancing numbers that probably seemed impressive to its original audiences. Some of them are still entertaining, while others really just slow things down. For the most part, the script is bad and the acting (aside from Love) is pretty routine, both of which stand out much more now. For example, there is a stretch in the middle of the movie where the characters have essentially the same conversation several times in a row. You still like the characters, but only Love makes hers fully lifelike and sympathetic, at least whenever the weak script gives her any chance to do so. The overall effectiveness of the movie has faded, just as most of today's flashy but empty movies will look dull in 75 years. But at least "Broadway Melody" will probably hold up a little better over time, because it has an innocent energy that most such films today lack.

So, while it is only going to be of interest to those of us who already enjoy older movies, "Broadway Melody" is still decent light entertainment that is mostly pleasant to watch. There are many better films from the era, but if you like old movies and you're looking for something to do for an hour and a half, you could do a lot worse, too.

MGM's "The Broadway Melody" has often been criticized and lampooned, but the film holds up better than its reputation would suggest and has historical, social, and entertainment value that merit its viewing. This musical from the early days of sound won the second Best Picture Academy award and the first that went to a sound film. While its technical accomplishments may have impressed audiences in 1929, they are important today only as they show the hurdles that faced an industry in transition. The sound is harsh, which can be expected from early recording techniques, and, like the struggling technicians comically demonstrated in "Singin' in the Rain," sound created several problems for filmmakers. The camera in "The Broadway Melody" rarely moves, most of the scenes are in long-shot or mid-shot, and occasionally characters blur when they walk out of the camera's focal range. Thus, observant viewers can spot in this movie many of the real situations that faced the studios and directors during the sound transition period in the late 1920's.

Another interesting aspect of "The Broadway Melody" is social. Like the two fliers in "Wings" from the prior year, the two sisters, who form a stage act that they are attempting to bring to Broadway, openly demonstrate affection in a manner that would raise eyebrows today. The two fliers in "Wings" kissed on the mouth, embraced, and openly showed an affection that could only be interpreted as love, although there was nothing sexual implied. Here too, the two sisters kiss on the mouth, sleep together in each other's arms, and embrace more than even two sisters would be permitted to do within current social norms. Again, there is apparently nothing sexual in their affection, only sibling love. Another changing social norm is the shifting role of gays in film, and a clip from this movie was included in "The Celluloid Closet" to illustrate the change over time. The male dresser in "The Broadway Melody" is a blatant stereotype of the sissy, and the derisive remarks and put downs that he endures from other characters would or should not be tolerated today. However, like the Stepin Fetchit characters that illustrate how African-Americans were once treated on film, the sissy depicted here is a valuable lesson in how minorities were once marginalized and derided in the movies.

However, "The Broadway Melody" is of merit not only for historical and social reasons but also for its entertainment value. While the backstage story has become familiar, the plot retains a certain dated interest and is not boring. Some of the songs are familiar from "Singin' in the Rain," where they were sung and performed as well as they ever will be. But nevertheless, hearing these familiar tunes as they were first performed is fun, even if the voices and sound are lacking all around, and the clumsy dance numbers that are often performed to these songs cry out for Busby Berkeley, although they retain a certain clunky charm. While the film is neither the classic that it should be nor the campy dud that its detractors claim, "The Broadway Melody" is definitely worth a look and makes an excellent double feature with "Singin' in the Rain" as a real example of what was spoofed in that musical classic.

I have just watched the Broadway Melody for the second time. I liked the picture very much because it takes one back to a very interesting time in our history. I am fascinated with the period it represents. I liked the dialogue and the music and the dancing and so on. I think that the film is excellent for its time. Many modern viewers will look at the film and think it as poor because of the dated acting and technology. You have to remember it is 1929 not 2004. Central to its appeal for me is the fact the plot is both complicated and simple. The conflicts of affection between the characters is nicely resolved in the end. The simple fact of life is shown in the film. That is to say that all the fame and money in the world is not worth a thing if one is not happy with it.

Most films today depress me very much. I want to be entertained. I don't want to see a bunch of banality. Broadway Melody takes you back to a time when there was true entertainment. I really liked "The Wedding of the Painted Dolls". A lot of precision went into that number.

Even though the occasional subtitle appears like training wheels on a bicycle with The Broadway Melody sound had finally arrived to tell the story of a movie. Though the movies had learned to talk, the players hadn't quite gotten down acting with a microphone instead of exaggerated gestures to make a point.

Everybody was overacting that year, you ought to see Mary Pickford's Best Actress performance in this same year. In fact she beat out Bessie Love who did a very good job as one of the aspiring Mahoney sisters for stardom on the Great White Way.

Bessie Love and Anita Page play the Mahoney Sisters who come to Broadway after being sent for by an old friend Charles King. King's had his eye on Love, but now little sister Page is all grown up. And she's also attracting Broadway wolf, Kenneth Thomson.

Charles King was a popular Broadway leading man of the day, his career going back to 1908 there. Such people as George M. Cohan, Irving Berlin, and Vincent Youmans had songs introduced by him. King had a nice singing and dancing act. He never really took to the big screen, but introducing Broadway Melody and You Were Meant For Me should qualify him for some screen immortality.

The plot is your usual backstage story, but the greatness of Broadway Melody was the singing and dancing. The possibilities of the screen musical hadn't been fully explored, it would take Busby Berkeley to do that in a few years. In its numbers Broadway Melody is a photographed stage musical.

But not a bad one at that. And our second Best Picture Oscar.