NOTES: Re-made (in a considerably cleaned-up version) by MGM in 1940 as "Two Girls On Broadway: with Lana Turner, Joan Blondell and George Murphy.COMMENT: Bessie Love brings Hank to vibrant life. This was her only acting nomination in a screen career that started with a bit part in "The Birth of a Nation" (1915) and continued right through to 1983. It takes talent indeed to so effectively portray a feisty vaudeville artist with such a grossly exaggerated opinion of her own ability. When the Ziegfeld-like character peremptorily decides to cut her number, our sympathies are all with him. He's dead right. Her act might go over okay in Hicksville, but on Broadway it signally lacks class, style and even a touch of elementary pizazz. Yes, Bessie's is a brilliant performance indeed, requiring just the right balance between aspiration and actuality. Although superbly calculated, her go-getting Hank almost always seems too natural and true-to-life. It's only when she breaks down and tearfully erases the make-up that artifice appears to get in the way. Oddly, this was the only scene that NYT critic Mordaunt Hall liked. That's sure a good example not only of the way acting styles change but of the way they impact upon and engage an audience. My daughter won't watch any movies made before 1935. She doesn't like the acting. "People don't talk like that in real life!" she claims. That's very true. But it also happens to be equally true of today's movies and television. The acting styles are totally different, yes. But our friends and neighbors still don't talk that movie way in real life. We just imagine they do!Anita Page, Hollywood's reigning love goddess of 1929 (only Greta Garbo received more fan mail), remains an unqualified delight. She looks the part, she acts the part, and even her scratchy, uncultured voice is just perfect. Like Miss Love, she was unable to capitalize on her role. You can no more make a career portraying beautiful, untalented showgirls than you can feisty, untalented hoofers. Miss Page retired from films in 1936. Sixty years later, however, she made a comeback, appearing in Sunset after Dark (1996), The Crawling Brain (2002), and Bob's Night Out (2004).Oddly, the one genuine vaudeville talent in our star trio, Charles King, (he of the ingratiating voice and charismatic manner), had the shortest Hollywood career of all. He made his debut in this film, then joined Marion Davies in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's disastrous "Five O'clock Girl" which executive producer William Randolph Hearst halted and scrapped when he didn't like the rushes. A bad omen. King never repeated his success in Broadway Melody. He played himself in a brief appearance in The Hollywood Revue (1929), then starred in Climbing the Golden Stairs, Chasing Rainbows, Remote Control, Oh Sailor Behave (all 1930) and Ladies Not Allowed (1932). And that was it. Seven films. Count them. He died in 1944. To add insult to injury, King's film credits are often confused with those of that delightfully moronic, stiff-as-a-board, cult western heavy, Charles King, whose legendary incompetence has charmed generations of fans (including me).Director Harry Beaumont, a veteran of the silents, managed the transition to sound with elegance and style whilst most of his contemporaries were floundering. Yet in a few short years, his career was virtually over (though he continued making the odd "B" movie now and then right up to 1947).Studio head Louis B. Mayer was determined not to be outdone or outshone by any other studio. If audiences wanted the novelty of sound, M-G-M was going to sock it to them in truck-loads. And, wow! What a track! Whilst the visuals are not always as innovative, catchy or emotionally rousing as the sound, oddly the only real visual disappointment lies in the Technicolor insert, "The Wedding of the Painted Doll". Miles removed from a Busby Berkeley number, the choreography is too static to garner much audience interest, especially in current prints where the number is disappointingly presented in washed-out black-and-white. DVD available through Warner Home Video. Quality rating: 9 out of ten.

I loved "Broadway 36", "Broadway 38", and " Broadway 40" largely due to the wonderful, beautiful talented Eleanor Powell. Since she didn't become known until the mid 30s, this first " Broadway" along with other reasons was not quite as terrific. Wonderful Judy Garland also added shining glory to "Broadway 38", and Fred Astaire showed his bright talent in " Broadway 40".This movie, since it was made in 1929, was a very obvious early projector job. The pictures and color were very white washed out and unclear. I could never get that good of a look at the girls' faces unless it was a closeup shot. But because these pictures were such a new invention at the time, I still give everyone in the film good credit. After all, compared to just a couple years earlier, talkies were a brand new sensation. Kudos to the film industry all the same. The two girls, Anita Paige and Bessie Love were kinda charming in their roaring 20s style way. They seemed to be flapper girls, I think a lot of the girls shown in this film were flappers, I could tell by those long flat dresses, the not too long hair, and those flapper hats they all wore. I read that the late 1920s had the highest percent of flappers, higher than the early 20s and definitely higher than after 1930 when the flapper age ended. Anita and Bessie, through their old pal Charles King, got a chance to audition at a Broadway theater. The director (Mr.Zanfield, an obvious play on Ziegfeld) almost only let in Anita until she sweet talked Zsnfeild into allowing them both in. I liked the song Anita and Bessie started dancing to together on stage before they were interrupted by the Mr.Zanfield. It was cute and charming. I also liked a couple of the songs the chorus girls danced to, "Wedding of the painted doll" and "Broadway melody"(which was heard several times including from Charles to the girls in their hotel room). During the chorus number to " Broadway melody ", one of the girls did this neat tap dancing which looked like it was extremely hard to do, she kept doing fast little jumps completely on the end of her toes while she used her other foot to tap out different rhythms. There was a long subplot of Bessie and King getting very upset with Anite for ignoring them while she was going to the speakeasies and hooking up with one of Zanfeild's henchmen. Like I said, this film as a whole was not as good as the other Broadway melodies but I'd just like to look at it as a work in progress.

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.

Putting out the obvious Caveat...This one, to be Fair, must be seen Alongside the other Movies of 1929. After doing so, one can Appreciate its Value as the Film is Accomplished and the Cringe Inducements are Minimal.It's Sleek and Deco Decorated, contains a great Number of Ziegfeld type Beauties in Various Forms of Undress, Dressed Up in Outlandish Glittering Costumes. There are other Pre-Code Eye-Poppers at the Apartments and Backstage.The Dialog is Snappy and the Drama Restrains from reaching Melodrama. The Two Lead Actresses/Singers/Dancers (Anita Page and Bessie Love) are Charming and Peppy and show some Unexpected Acting Chops. The Men in this Musical/Drama/Comedy don't fare as well and the Clicks of the Clock have Not Been Kind to Their Kind.Overall, a Winner at the Box Office and at the Academy. The First Sound Best Picture and, Oh Yea, all of those MGM Musicals, This was #1. a First Edition, and First Editions are always Valuable even if they don't have any Other Qualities Other than Being First.This one does have other Qualities, Including Good Leading Ladies, some Catchy and Classic Songs, and an overall Presentation of a New Art Form done in a more than Acceptable Production Combination that is Old and New at the Same Time.Worth a Watch for Film Historians, Fans of Movie Musicals, and as a Time Capsule that was Straddling the Line between the Silents and Sound, and the Roaring Twenties and the Devastating Financial Collapse that Resulted in the Depression. All in that Volatile Year of 1929.