Lee Eisenberg
The first talkie to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards has an oft-used plot - people try to become famous amid complications - but it's not a bad movie. I'm not a fan of musicals, and many things about "The Broadway Melody" come across as dated. I guess that one has to try and imagine watching the movie when it first got released. It got released before the Hays Code got established, so some of the scenes look a bit risqué for the era (it even feels silly to write that sentence in an era when one can simply look for porn on the internet). The movie's a mildly fun look at 1920s music.* Most notably, the movie ushered in decades of musicals. Some of the musicals are among the most irritating movies.Anyway, this movie's okay just as long as you don't interpret it as the most serious type of movie. Accept it as plain old entertainment and you'll probably like it. As for me, my favorite movies from old Hollywood are gangster movies, horror movies, and slapstick comedies (especially the Looney Tunes cartoons).*Nowadays, probably the most famous 1920s song is "Midnight, the Stars and You", which featured prominently in "The Shining".
MikeMagi
The first question you ask yourself after watching "The Broadway Melody" is how in heaven's name did this movie win an Oscar? But as several contributors have pointed out, the transition from silent movies to talking pictures was only a year or so old and the film's big, splashy musical numbers were a revelation. The plot doesn't make much sense but it doesn't have to. Smart, spunky Bessie Love and her naive sister, Anita Page, hit New York, get signed for a show by a thinly disguised Florenz Ziegfeld and fall for the same guy, song-and-dance man Charles King. Meanwhile, Bessie is trying to protect her sister from an over-age lothario who wants to lure her into the sack. Okay, it was 1929. But within two years, the first of Warner Bros. Gold Diggers movies would put "The Broadway Melody" to shame. Think, for example, of the haunting power of the "Gold Diggers" finale, "My Forgotten Man." Maybe that's an indication of how far the movies shot ahead within a few short years. Or maybe it suggests that "Broadway Melody" wasn't much, even for its time.
grantss
Interesting drama.Two sisters, Queenie and Hank Mahoney (played by Anita Page and Bessie Love respectively), arrive on Broadway. A friend, Eddie Kerns (played by Charles King), needs them for a number in a musical show. What follows is their struggles to be noticed and make it on Broadway, plus the intrigues, often romantic, that threaten to tear them apart.Quite engaging. Page and Love are great, and every watchable, as the sisters. Has some funny moments too. The banter between the cast and crew during rehearsals, especially the band leader and singers, was great.Don't be put off by the "musical" tag. Most of the music occurs naturally, as part of the shows. There is at least one random singing-instead-of-talking scene though, but at least it's not as bad or prevalent as most musicals.On the negative side, the romantic aspect can be a bit overly and unnecessarily melodramatic though. It often feels like what is represented as intrigue is really not that intriguing. Some parts are just dull, and the ending is bit lacklustre.The Broadway Melody won the 1930 Best Picture Oscar and was thus the third winner of Best Picture. Was the first talking picture to win Best Picture. Is also regarded as the first musical to win Best Picture, though, as mentioned, it is not really a musical, thankfully.
Python Hyena
Broadway Melody (1929): Dir: Harry Beaumont / Cast: Bessie Love, Anita Page, Charles King, Eddie Kane, Jed Prouty: Musical that began it all even after The Jazz Singer established the talkies. It regards a big event that will happen with two young women. They wish to embark upon a Broadway career, which leads to the obvious conclusion. It establishes the musical structure but shot like a 30 minute sitcom. Harry Beaumont establishes the feel and excitement of the Broadway process with dance numbers that carry through. This is an early musical and although hardly the best of its kind it establishes the feeling and celebration as to how musicals would advance. Both women are played with amusing enthusiasm by Bessie love and Anita Page whose attitudes shape the whole experience. Supporting players are not quite as broad and fall under predictable clichés that can deflate any charm the film had sustained. Charles King plays the main male lead whom will become a reason of tension when romantic notions set in and threaten the girls. Eddie Kane is also featured amongst the stereotypes. The film is about making it in the business of entertainment and the pressure that accompanies that pursuit. With that said the film is fun with charming musical numbers yet it isn't without its limitations. What it does do is stand as a landmark musical that would influence the genre. Score: 6 / 10
AD
