BROADWAY MELODY OF 1936/1938 (MGM 1936/37) Warner Home Video
The predigested and formulaic nonsense encompassed in
the Broadway Melody series - first launched by MGM in 1930 as
their ‘all singing/all dancing’ musical pastiche - should not diminish
the many happy returns audiences have been reaping from this short-lived movie
franchise ever since. To be certain, the middle two films in this 4-film compendium
gave MGM’s Eleanor Powell – billed as ‘tops in taps’ – a glorious excuse to
take to the floor and do what she did best – hypnotize us with the supple
allure of her fluid body in perpetual motion. I adore Eleanor Powell. Although her
career was relatively brief (she only made 14 movies before retiring from the
screen), with virtually all of them indistinguishable in plot, and, outside of
her spellbinding footwork, to spark only a passing interest in any
retrospective beyond some snowy night in front of the fire, or, on a rainy
afternoon, when no other outing or activity will suffice, Metro wisely
recognized the salable quality to these musical outings was on what Powell
could do with her feet. And thus, she emerged, perpetually coiffed and
manicured, curiously – and usually – to sport a man’s tuxedo, dripping in
spangles, and, a top hat – her Dietrich-like androgyny in clothes doing
virtually nothing to conceal her feminine charms from the camera; a glycerin smile
and gorgeous long eyelashes, her smartly turned out fingernails, loosely
clutching the lapels of her coat as she struck a pose for the camera.
The first and last installments of Broadway
Melody have long been available on DVD. Now, Warner Home Video gives us
the middle two acts in this franchise in one 2-disc collector’s set. The plots
are suspiciously alike. Roy Del Ruth’s Broadway Melody of 1936 casts
Powell as whimsical charmer, Irene Foster. Irene’s an idealist and a dreamer
whose one aspiration is to make a success on Broadway. With practically no
experience, her dreams seem impossible fancy at best. Across town, director
Robert Gordon (Robert Taylor at his most impossibly dashing) is having a heck
of a time convincing potential backers his new show is a winner. It’s a tough
sell, all right…that is, until Bob’s ace in the hole materializes in the form
of a rich young widow, Lillian Brent (June Knight) who takes an immediate,
non-professional interest in the handsome Gordon as potential husband #2.
Lillian agrees to fund the exercise in its entirety with the caveat she
headlines the show on opening night. Bob agrees. After all, Lillian can both
sing and dance – talents she proves in the delightfully insincere musical
extravaganza ‘I’ve Got A Feeling You’re Foolin’ performed as a rooftop
casino ‘buck and wing’ with hordes of dancers and furniture that appears to
materialize from out of the floor.
In another part of town, newspaper hound, Bert Keeler
(Jack Benny) gets wind of Bob and Lillian’s arrangement, taking his poisoned
pen to task to deflate Bob’s dream show and expose their would-be romantic
relationship that seems to hint of stage-door Johnny-isms yet untold. Irene
proves to be the proverbial fly cast into this artistic ointment. A former
classmate of Bob’s, Irene arrives with all the fresh-faced eager charm of an up
and comer. Furthermore, she is ten times the musical talent Lillian will ever
be and Lillian knows it. Masquerading as a French star – for reasons so
ridiculous they are best left for the first-time viewer to discover – Irene lands
the lead in Bob’s show. But where will Bob be if Lillian decides to pull out at
the last moment? Blindingly all-star, with a spectacular finally to the tune ‘Broadway
Rhythm’ – sung by Francis Langford and danced by practically everyone else,
with its pièce de résistance, Powell, wildly spinning about the dance floor,
trailed by a gavotte of tuxedo-clad men, walking sticks in hand, Broadway Melody of 1936 is a gargantuan
escapist amusement to be seen and enjoyed for some time. Powell and Taylor have
marvelous on-screen chemistry, and the quality of the production numbers that
pad out this thimble of a plot, cobbled together by Harry W. Conn, Moss Hart, Jack
McGowan, Sid Silvers is serviceable. MGM, and production designer, Cedric Gibbons
have pulled out all the stops for an utterly ravishing ‘in-house’ affair.
With registers ringing around the world, it was
inevitable that another Broadway Melody would be in the works.
And so, it was: Roy Del Ruth’s follow-up, Broadway Melody of 1938
(released in 1937 and billed as “we’re ahead of schedule.”). Coming, as
it did, rapidly on the heels of its predecessor, in content and style Broadway
Melody of 1938 seems a rather rushed affair by direct comparison; the one
big standout, Judy Garland (who has absolutely nothing to do with the plot), on
whose slender teenage-shoulders rests two production numbers that undoubtedly
generate the biggest impact. Garland, signed by MGM in the early ‘30s, but
relegated to minor effect until a loan out to 2oth Century-Fox mid-decade for Pigskin
Parade (1936) proved what a major talent she could be if marketed properly,
necessitated L.B. Mayer ordering screenwriter Jack McGowan to find ways of
feathering in the suddenly popular, if pint-sized star, into these otherwise pedestrian
proceedings. So, Garland sings two ditties: the first, a rousing audition
number in the front offices of a talent agency, ‘Everybody Sing’ – in which
Garland encourages Sophie Tucker (as her character’s aunt) and Barnett Parker (as
a stuffy social secretary) to partake of her pleasure, and, a delightful finale
in which the diminutive Garland dances with hoofer, Buddy Ebsen. The picture’s
most iconic moment belongs to Garland too, singing a revamped version of ‘You
Made Me Love You’ with a preamble, ‘Dear Mr. Gable’ – especially written
by Roger Edens for Garland’s benefit. Clearly, Mayer knew what he had in
Garland, as she easily remains the centerpiece of this picture, even if none of
the machinations of the plot are centered on her character.
Plot wise: producer, Stephan Raleigh (Robert Taylor
again) is set for a stage smash with financial backer, Herman J. Whipple
(Raymond Walburn) and unknown starlet, Sally Lee (Eleanor Powell).
Unfortunately for all concerned, Whipple’s sister, Caroline (Binnie Barns)
insists on security for the project – hence, only a star talent at the helm
will do. Determined to help Steve produce his own show, Sally purchases a race
horse she trains for the Derby with the aid of two ex-Vaudevillians; Sonny
Ledford (George Murphy) and Peter Trot (Buddy Ebsen). The horse wins and, with
the prize money accrued, plans are set into motion for Steve and Sally’s big
Broadway debut. A mixed bag of artistic offerings follows: the screenplay
digressing from this romance angle into a sort of Ziegfeld follies-ish showcase
for Garland; herein, cast as the precocious Betty Clayton – a singing dynamo
looking for her big break. Betty’s Aunt Alice (Sophie Tucker) is determined to
see her niece become a star.
True to the conventions of the series and the musical
genre, happy endings are in store all around. Steve and Alice fall madly in
love by the final fade out. Initially, Garland was slated to reprise the ballad
‘Yours and Mine’ - heard earlier, presumably sung by Taylor and Powell
(their vocals, actually dubbed) – for the film’s big finale. For reasons of
time constraint, this reprise was excised and eventually destroyed, although
the audio portion of it survives and proves another illustration of Garland’s
unique singing talent. Garland does appear briefly in the show’s finale,
tapping with Ebsen against a delightfully overdone art deco backdrop, depicting
the Great White Way. As with its predecessor, Broadway Melody of 1938
was a sizable hit for MGM, prompting the studio to gamble with the franchise
one more time in 1940. Curiously, when the idea was re-assembled yet again,
none of the principles who had made the first 3-installments were invited back
to partake of the exercise; MGM, instead, using the opportunity to market the
picture as Fred Astaire’s first movie since having left RKO and his screen-teamings
with Ginger Rogers.
Warner Home Video’s DVD is fairly impressive. The
B&W image on both films has been given a considerable upgrade since its old
LaserDisc release – particularly Broadway Melody of 1936 which appears
to have had significant restoration work on both its video and audio: result –
superior in virtually all respects to Broadway Melody of 1938, which
contains more age-related dirt and a less refined image overall. Contrast
levels are beautifully realized on both movies. Blacks are deep and solid.
Whites are pristine. Fine detail is evident throughout on BM ’36
and slightly less so on BM ‘38. Extras are confined to a few
short subjects. The audio on both is Dolby Digital 1.0 mono but has been
restored with minimal hiss. Recommended.
FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best)
Broadway Melody of 1936 4
Broadway Melody of 1938 3
VIDEO/AUDIO
Broadway Melody of 1936 4
Broadway Melody of 1938 3.5
EXTRAS
2
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