Broadway Melody of 1929

UPC: 883929002474

Studio: Warner Home Video

MPAA Rating: NR   Contains:[Suitable for Children]

Summary: This landmark MGM backstage musical of the early sound era about broken dreams on the Great White Way features a bevy of standards by the songwriting team of Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown. Freed later became unit producer of the legendary Freed Unit at MGM, which is the reason many of the tunes from Broadway Melody --""You Were Meant For Me"", "Broadway Melody", ""The Wedding of the Painted Doll""-- later appeared in Freed's seminal MGM musical Singin' in the Rain. The nominal story concerns midwestern sister act The Mahoney Sisters --Queenie (Anita Page) and Hank (Bessie Love)-- who come to New York to try to make it big on Broadway. Hank's song-and-dance man boyfriend Eddie (Charles King) has promised the gals a part in the new Broadway revue in which he is soon to appear. When Hank and Queenie come to see him, Hank is pleasantly surprised at the way Queenie has filled out. Soon enough, Eddie is making advances to Queenie. Queenie is attracted to Eddie too, but she doesn't want to steal her sister's boyfriend. So she Queenie takes up with a lecherous playboy, leaving it to Hank to put all the confused love relationships in perspective. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Category: Musical

Awards: Best Actress – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Director – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences 10 Best Films – Film Daily

Features: Medley of marvelous musical shorts from the vault: The Dogway Melody, Musicals: Van & Schenck and a gallery of 5 Metro Movietone Revues
Broadway Melody Musicals trailer gallery

Broadway Melody of 1929

Format: DVD

Release Date: 01/08/2008

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Pre-1954 Standard

Audio: DD1 Dolby Digital Mono

Runtime: 100 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Subtitles: English,French,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- The Broadway Melody
1. Credits [1:00]
2. The Broadway Melody (I) [4:14]
3. Queenie and Hank [3:38]
4. Uncle Jed's Offer [4:12]
5. The Broadway Melody (II) [4:53]
6. Audition Sabotage [5:19]
7. A Sister Team [5:16]
8. Backstage Nerves [6:00]
9. The Broadway Melody (III) [4:32]
10. Love Boat [3:40]
11. Raves for Queenie [3:04]
12. It's Not a Date [3:52]
13. Giving Girls a Ring [4:37]
14. You Were Meant for Me [3:51]
15. No Mood to Party [4:31]
16. Truthful Parson Brown [2:58]
17. Birthday Bracelet [3:18]
18. What Queenie Wants [3:44]
19. The Wedding of the Painted Doll [3:42]
20. The Boy Friend [1:54]
21. Lovers' Quarrel [4:12]
22. Fighting for Queenie [4:34]
23. Offer Taken [1:37]
24. Queenie's Choice [4:22]
25. Born Troupers [3:01]
26. Harmony Babies Hit the Road [3:03]
27. Cream in the Can [:59]

Richard Gilliam

The Broadway Melody was MGM's first all-talking picture. Studio chief Louis B. Mayer had initially dismissed sound films as a fad, but when a tedious semi-documentary, White Shadows in the South Seas, was turned into a box-office bonanza simply by adding a few post-production sound effects, Mayer became committed to the new format and ordered that no expense be spared. The result was a then-unheard-of $4 million success and a Best Picture Oscar. Much of the credit for The Broadway Melody should be given to Douglas Shearer. When producer Irving Thalberg complained that one of the film's biggest musical numbers was too static, he suggested using pre-recorded music, just one of many sound engineering firsts that would be credited to Shearer, who got his job because he was Thalberg's brother-in-law. As with the first year of the Oscars, a five-member "Central Board of Judges" determined the winners. A scandal erupted when Academy founder and vote supervisor Mayer's pet project was picked for the top prize. The rules were quickly changed, and for the third year of the awards and thereafter, Academy members have selected the winners. The Broadway Melody has retained little popularity with current-day audiences, though fans of Singin' in the Rain will likely enjoy seeing the source for many of the film's reference points. Nonetheless, Bessie Love's performance stands out, as do several of the production numbers, most notably "The Wedding of the Painted Doll." ~ Richard Gilliam, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Charles King Bibby  Actor 
James Gleason  Actor 
Ray Cooke  Actor 
Nacio Herb Brown  Actor 
Claudine Mawby  Actor 
Claudette Mawby  Actor 
Angella Mawby  Actor 
Harry Beaumont  Director 
Nacio Herb Brown  Composer (Music Score) 
Arthur Freed  Composer (Music Score) 
James Gleason  Screenwriter 
Norman Houston  Screenwriter 
Sarah Y. Mason  Screenwriter 
Harry Rapf  Producer 
Anita Page  Actor 
Bessie Love  Actor 
Charles King  Actor 
Jed Prouty  Actor 
Ken Thomson  Actor 
Edward Dillon  Actor 
Mary Doran  Actor 
Eddie Kane  Actor 
J.E. Beck  Actor 
Marshall Ruth  Actor 
Drew Demarest  Actor 

Country: USA