2. The Broadway Melody (1929)

Director: Harry Beaumont

Starring: Charles King, Anita Page, Bessie Love

Other Oscar Wins: N/A

Other Oscar Nominations: Best Actress in a Leading Role (Bessie Love), Best Director

Favourite Line: "Those men aren't going to pay ten bucks to look at your face; this is Broadway!" "Yeah, 'Broad's way'."

Anita Page and Bessie Love in The Broadway Melody.

 The Broadway Melody, the second winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture, and the first all-talking musical picture, is visually beautiful and the score is wonderful, but otherwise I felt the film fell short. The story was rather predictable, and most of the acting is rather cheesy and overdone.

The story is about a sister act that comes to New York, looking to become stars on Broadway. With the help of their friend Eddie, a composer, Queenie and Hank manage to get small roles in a show. However, the beautiful Queenie quickly outshines the more plain and very brash Hank, who is cut from the show. Despite their love for each other, the girls find themselves at odds with one another, both with regard to stardom, and also in romance.

I have to say, in all honesty, the music (composed by Nacio Herb Brown, lyrics by Arthur Freed) is the best part of this film. This opinion is probably helped by the fact that I am a huge fan of Singin' in the Rain (1952), and it was very interesting to hear the songs featured in Singin' in the Rain in their original context of The Broadway Melody. For the most part, the dancing is a little messy, but the point of chorus girls at this time was really just to look good anyway, at which they succeeded. One very impressive moment, which was really the standout moment of the whole film for me, was one chorus girl who tap dances while wearing pointe shoes. That was just so incredible, and I can't imagine how difficult, and not to mention painful, that routine would be.

Art by Olly Moss.

As for acting, Bessie Love who plays Hank, was nominated for the Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, and although I think she had some good moments, mostly she did a lot of yelling and bossing people around. I thought that the character of Queenie, played by Anita Page, was a much more interesting character to watch, and she was the only one in the film who I felt never overplayed a moment. She was very truthful in her performance, and she was very interesting to watch.

Overall, The Broadway Melody is a fun and fluffy sort of movie, with nothing too heavy or serious at all, but it was an enjoyable and entertaining piece. Once you get past the huge amounts of cheesy-ness and predictability, it is ultimately just fun.