The Broadway Melody (1929) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Director: Harry Beaumont Producers: Harry Rapf, Irving Thalberg, Lawrence Weingarten Cast: Charles King, Anita Page, Bessie Love, Eddie Kane. Awards ceremony: -2nd Academy Awards: April 3, 1930. Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles, California. Other films nominated for Outstanding Picture this year: -Alibi. -The Hollywood Revue Of 1929. -In Old Arizona. -The Patriot. Plot summary: This romantic-comedy-stage musical features two sisters ('Hank' - BESSIE LOVE and 'Queenie' - ANITA PAGE) in New York to look for their big break in showbusiness. Hank's boyfriend (CHARLES KING... more on him later) writes a popular song ('The Broadway Melody') and gives it to a musical director for it to be included in a stage show and tries to include the two girls in the routine, all the while lusting over Queenie. The relationship between the two sisters begins to strain with Eddie's involvement in their lives which leads to an unexpected wedding. Standout scene: I loved the scene in the dressing room where Queenie stands her ground when Hank and Eddie try to manipulate her into doing things their way. Queenie explodes with rage and tells them both exactly what she thinks of them. I was personally cheering at the screen with this! Facts: -The 2nd Academy Awards. -This was 1929's top grossing film. Personal opinion: Eddie is a creep who flirts with his girlfriend's sister and has the audacity to reprimand her when she wants to go out on a date with another guy. A real piece of shit, control freak, hands-on pervert with double standards and a crappy attitude. Seeing him getting a punch in the face from the rival did my heart the world of happiness! And what is it with all the men groping the women all the time? The men are either forcing their hands or mouths on the girls throughout the film, it is so infuriating. There's even an attempted rape scene near the end of the movie too! The stage choreography is bland and unexciting, the musical numbers are repetitive and boring and the camera shots are static for the most part. The director seems to have a thing for women's legs because they seem to be exposed all the time. The opening aerial shot of New York is fantastic but nothing comes close to the lustful scene where the two sisters take off most of their clothes when Queenie takes a bath in their apartment. So much skin on show! A clever ploy to have scantily-clad young ladies on screen to distract the viewer from the mundane and tediously slow plot at times. Below average. Did it deserve the Oscar? NO. Seriously, was this really the best film produced in 1929? Must have been a slow year! 3½/10

Review date: 03 February 2025