1928/1929: The Broadway Melody

The second Best Picture winner was "The Broadway Melody," released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1929.  It was also nominated for, but did not win, Best Director (Harry Beaumont) and Best Actress (Bessie Love).

Only the second Academy Awards, and already we have a clunker.  "The Broadway Melody" is the story of the Mahoney sisters (Hank and Queenie), performers from the vaudeville circuit who have come to New York to try to make it on Broadway.  The film is one giant cliche.  Hank ("the smart one") is engaged to Eddie Kearns who is already on Broadway, and imagines he has enough star power to get the sisters parts in the revue he's performing in (he doesn't).  But when the sisters arrive in  New York, Eddie sees Queenie ("the pretty one") for the first time since she was a girl, and is instantly smitten.

When the girls audition for the revue's producer, he is only interested in Queenie.  Queenie says she and her sister will perform for one salary if Hank can be in the show, too.  She also asks Zanfield to pretend that it was Hank's business acumen that convinced him.  This endears her even more to Eddie.

During rehearsals, Hank and Queenie are cut from Eddie's number ("The Broadway Melody").  Meanwhile, another girl falls and is injured, and Queenie is chosen to replace her.  The role is literally nothing more than standing on stage as essentially a set-piece.  No lines, no singing, no dancing, no movement of any kind.  Absurdly, Broadway is captivated by her.  Her "performance" particularly catches the eye of notorious playboy Jock Warriner, who Queenie begins dating in an attempt to deny the feelings she's developed for Eddie.

Anita Page and Bessie Love

Jock buys Queenie her own apartment, and holds a big party for her.  Jock gets amorous, Queenie resists, Eddie confronts Jock, Jock punches Eddie, Eddie and Queenie confess their love for each other and leave the party.

Jump to Eddie and Queenie returning from their honeymoon.  Queenie announces that she's done with show-business and is going to settle down.  The film ends with Hank rehearsing with a new partner, telling her she's sure they'll be on Broadway any day.  The end.

"The Broadway Melody" is a musical, but the music is instantly forgettable.  The dialogue is flat, the characters are cliches, and the story just isn't that compelling.  Given what she had to work with, I will concede that Bessie Love (Hank) gave a solid performance.

I tried to imagine this film through the eyes of the audience of the day.  Curiously, it was the top-grossing film of 1929, and was favorably reviewed.  Perhaps it's because talkies - not to mention musicals - were still so new (a silent version of the film was also released, as not all theaters were equipped with sound equipment).  There was also apparently a Technicolor sequence, but no color prints are still in existence, only black-and-white.  So maybe the combination of talking, music, and color was enough to thrill 1929 audiences.  Or maybe then, as now, the Oscars was an industry popularity contest.

But in 2017, I'd skip "The Broadway Melody" if I were you.