Review of The Broadway Melody (1929) by Grant S — 05 Aug 2015
Interesting drama.
Two sisters, Queenie and Hank Mahoney (played by Anita Page and Bessie Love respectively), arrive on Broadway. A friend, Eddie Kerns (played by Charles King), needs them for a number in a musical show. What follows is their struggles to be noticed and make it on Broadway, plus the intrigues, often romantic, that threaten to tear them apart.
Quite engaging. Page and Love are great, and every watchable, as the sisters.
Has some funny moments too. The banter between the cast and crew during rehearsals, especially the band leader and singers, was great.
Don't be put off by the "musical" tag. Most of the music occurs naturally, as part of the shows. There is at least one random singing-instead-of-talking scene though, but at least it's not as bad or prevalent as most musicals.
On the negative side, the romantic aspect can be a bit overly and unnecessarily melodramatic though. It often feels like what is represented as intrigue is really not that intriguing. Some parts are just dull, and the ending is bit lacklustre.
The Broadway Melody won the 1930 Best Picture Oscar and was thus the third winner of Best Picture. Was the first talking picture to win Best Picture. Is also regarded as the first musical to win Best Picture, though, as mentioned, it is not really a musical, thankfully.
This review of The Broadway Melody (1929) was written by Grant S on 05 Aug 2015.
The Broadway Melody has generally received mixed reviews.
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