The Broadway Melody

The Broadway Melody

Infobox Film
name = The Broadway Melody



caption = original film poster
director = Harry Beaumont
producer = Irving Thalberg Lawrence Weingarten
writer = Edmund Goulding (story) Norman Houston James Gleason
starring = Charles King Anita Page Bessie Love
music = Nacio Herb Brown George M. Cohan Willard Robison
cinematography = John Arnold
editing = Sam S. Zimbalist William LeVanway
distributor = Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
released = February 1, 1929
runtime = 110 min.
language = English
country = USA
budget = $379,000 (estimated)
amg_id = 1:7192
imdb_id = 0019729
preceded_by =
followed_by = Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935)|

"The Broadway Melody" is a 1929 musical motion picture and the first sound film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. It was released on February 1, 1929.

The film was one of the first musicals to feature a Technicolor sequence, which sparked the trend of color being used in a flurry of musicals that would hit the screens in 1929-1930. Today the Technicolor sequence is presumed lost and only a black and white copy survives in the complete film. The film was the first musical motion picture released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and was Hollywood's first all-talking musical.

The film was written by Norman Houston and James Gleason from a story by Edmund Goulding, and directed by Harry Beaumont. Original music for the film was written by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown, including the popular hit "You Were Meant For Me." The George M. Cohan classic "Give My Regards To Broadway" was also given its talkie debut in the film. Bessie Love was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role.

Plot

The plot involves the romances of musical comedy stars, set against the backstage hubbub of a Broadway revue. Anita Page and Bessie Love play a vaudeville sister act who've come to New York for their big break on Broadway. Charles King plays the song-and-dance man whose affection for one sister (Harriet alias Hank) is supplanted by his growing love for the younger, more beautiful sister (Queenie). Queenie tries to protect her sister and derail the love triangle by dating a wealthy but unscrupulous "stage door Johnny."

Production

A silent version was also released, for there were still many motion picture theaters without sound equipment at the time. The film featured a musical sequence for "The Wedding of the Painted Doll" that was presented in early two-color Technicolor (red and green). Color would quickly come to be associated with the musical genre, and scores of features were released in 1929 and 1930 that either featured color sequences or were filmed entirely in color.

Public Reaction

The film was a substantial success. It was the top grossing picture of 1929, and won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Historically, it is often considered the first complete example of the Hollywood musical. However, the film has since come to be seen as weak, cliché-ridden, and overly melodramatic. Even in 1929, the creaky stereotypes of backstage show biz were something less than fresh. Most believe that the primary reason for its success in the Academy Awards was due to the films with which it competed being equally unimpressive. Filmsite.org describes the 1929 Oscars thusly: "The films nominated for this year's awards were some of the weakest films in the history of American cinema, reflecting the chaos of the transition from silents to sound films."

Nonetheless, the movie was so popular, that a sequel ("Chasing Rainbows") was released in 1930.

equels

Three more movies were later made by MGM with similar titles, "Broadway Melody of 1936", "Broadway Melody of 1938" and "Broadway Melody of 1940", were released by MGM. Although not direct sequels in the traditional sense, they all had the same basic premise of a group of people putting on a show (the films also had recurring cast members playing different roles, most notably dancer Eleanor Powell who appeared in all three).

The original movie was also remade in 1940 as "Two Girls on Broadway". Another "Broadway Melody" film was planned for 1942 (starring Gene Kelly and Eleanor Powell) but production was cancelled at the last minute. "Broadway Rhythm", a 1944 musical by MGM, was originally to have been titled "Broadway Melody of 1944".

Awards

Academy Award Wins (1929)

*Best Picture

Academy Award Nominations (1929)

*Best Actress - Bessie Love
*Best Director - Harry BeaumontNote: No nominations were announced prior to the 1930 ceremonies. Love and Beaumont are presumed to have been under consideration, and are listed as such by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

External links

*
* [http://members.aol.com/mgmfanatic/bm29.html Broadway Melody on the Great MGM Musicals site]

###@@@KEY@@@###s-ach


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • The Broadway Melody — Broadway Melody (film) Pour les articles homonymes, voir Broadway Melody. Broadway Melody Amours de danseuses Titre original The Broadway Melody Réalisation Harry Beaumont Acteurs principaux Charles King …   Wikipédia en Français

  • The Broadway Melody — Filmdaten Deutscher Titel Broadway Melody von 1929 Originaltitel The Broadway Melody …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • The Broadway Melody of 1929 — Filmdaten Deutscher Titel: Broadway Melody von 1929 Originaltitel: The Broadway Melody Produktionsland: USA Erscheinungsjahr: 1929 Länge: 110 Minuten Originalsprache: englisch …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • The Dogway Melody — is a 1930 comedy short film that recreates scenes from early musical films, particularly The Broadway Melody.The entire cast are trained dogs with human voiceovers. It was directed by Zion Myers and Jules White and it forms part of the MGM… …   Wikipedia

  • Broadway Melody of 1940 — Infobox Film name = Broadway Melody of 1940 image size = caption = dvd cover director = Norman Taurog producer = Jack Cummings writer = Story: Jack McGowan Dore Schary Screenplay: Leon Gordon George Oppenheimer Uncredited: Walter DeLeon Vincent… …   Wikipedia

  • Broadway Melody of 1938 — Infobox Film name = Broadway Melody of 1938 image size = 215px caption = theatrical poster director = Roy Del Ruth producer = Jack Cummings writer = Jack McGowan starring = Robert Taylor Eleanor Powell music = Nacio Herb Brown (songs music)… …   Wikipedia

  • Broadway Melody of 1936 — Infobox Film name = Broadway Melody of 1936 caption = original film poster director = Roy Del Ruth producer = John W. Considine Jr. writer = Moss Hart starring = Jack Benny Eleanor Powell Robert Taylor Una Merkel Buddy Ebsen music = Nacio Herb… …   Wikipedia

  • Broadway Melody (film) — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Broadway Melody. Broadway Melody Amours de danseuses Données clés Titre original The Broadway Melody Réalisation Harry Beaumont Scén …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Broadway Melody — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Broadway Melody est le nom d une chanson d Arthur Freed et Nacio Herb Brown composée pour le film musical Broadway Melody de Harry Beaumont sorti en 1929 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Broadway Melodie 1940 — Filmdaten Deutscher Titel Broadway Melodie 1940 Originaltitel Broadway Melody of 1940 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”