X
- 1929
- Passed
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
- 1 h 40 m
- 1929
- Passed
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
- 1 h 40 m
Summary A pair of sisters from the vaudeville circuit try to make it big time on Broadway, but matters of the heart complicate the attempt.
Directed By: Harry Beaumont
Written By: Edmund Goulding, Norman Houston, James Gleason, Earl Baldwin
- 1929
- Passed
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
- 1 h 40 m
- 1929
- Passed
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
- 1 h 40 m
The Broadway Melody
66
User Score
Available after 4 ratings
tbd
Where to Watch
Summary A pair of sisters from the vaudeville circuit try to make it big time on Broadway, but matters of the heart complicate the attempt.
Directed By: Harry Beaumont
Written By: Edmund Goulding, Norman Houston, James Gleason, Earl Baldwin
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 9 Critic Reviews
66
56% Positive
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
44% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 9 Critic Reviews
66
56% Positive
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
44% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Zowie! What a picture! Humor, drama, romance, action, thrill! And how!
The film, directed by Harry Beaumont, is considered the first-ever musical, creating a template that is still followed nearly a century later.
Time has marched on for the second ''best-picture'' Oscar winner, but this is still a seamy story about two Midwestern sisters (Bessie Love and Anita Page) singing, hoofing and (in Page's case) teasing their way to success. [24 Feb 1989, p.3D]
The staging is wooden, the story insipid, and the dialogue sequences mostly painful, but the film’s integration of song, dance, and story (“100% All Talking! 100% All Singing! 100% All Dancing!”) was a clear narrative advance over the music pictures being released by Warner Brothers and Fox, and the score is great.
When talkies were new, this was the musical that everyone went to see.
First musical to win Academy Award reeks of mothballs, but is undeniably the basis of perhaps a hundred others. At least there's an old curiosity shoppe charm and a few classic tunes.
Anyone approaching it today will find it horribly dated, badly produced, and filled with uninspired musical numbers and over-the-top performances. This is the kind of movie that turns off children of today's generation from titles made during the early talkie era.
User Reviews
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Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 1 Win & 3 Nominations
