''Broadway Melody of 1936'' is a musical film released by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

in 1935. In New York, the film opened at the Capitol Theatre, the site of many prestigious MGM premieres. In New York, the film opened at the Capitol Theatre, the site of many prestigious MGM premieres. It was a follow-up of sorts to the successful ''

The Broadway Melody ''The Broadway Melody'', also known as ''The Broadway Melody of 1929'', is a 1929 American pre-Code musical film and the first sound film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. It was one of the first musicals to feature a Technicolor seq ...

'', which had been released in 1929, although, there is no story connection with the earlier film beyond the title and some music. The film was written by Harry W. Conn, Moss Hart, Jack McGowan and Sid Silvers. It was directed by Roy Del Ruth and starred

Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century wit ...

Eleanor Powell Eleanor Torrey Powell (November 21, 1912 – February 11, 1982) was an American dancer and actress. Best remembered for her tap dance numbers in musical films in the 1930s and 1940s, she was one of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's top dancing stars du ...

, Robert Taylor, June Knight,

Frances Langford Julia Frances Newbern-Langford (April 4, 1913 – July 11, 2005) was an American singer and actress who was popular during the Golden Age of Radio and made film and television appearances for over two decades. She was known as the "GI Nightinga ...

, Sid Silvers, Buddy Ebsen and

Vilma Ebsen Vilma Ebsen (February 1, 1911 – March 12, 2007) was an American musical theatre and film actress best known for dancing in Broadway shows and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals in the 1930s with her brother Buddy Ebsen. Ebsen was born in Belleville ...

(in their film debut). It was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film and is the only categ ...

Plot

Irene Foster (

) tries to convince her high school sweetheart, Broadway producer Robert Gordon ( Robert Taylor), to give her a chance to star in his new musical, but he is too busy with the rich widow ( June Knight) backing his show. Irene tries to show Gordon that she has the talent to succeed, but he will not hire her. Things become complicated when she begins impersonating a French dancer, who was actually the invention of a gossip columnist (

, parodying

Walter Winchell Walter Winchell (April 7, 1897 – February 20, 1972) was a syndicated American newspaper gossip columnist and radio news commentator. Originally a vaudeville performer, Winchell began his newspaper career as a Broadway reporter, critic and ...

Cast

as Bert Keeler *

as Irene Foster * Robert Taylor as Robert Gordon * Una Merkel as Kitty Corbett * Sid Silvers as Snoop Blue * Buddy Ebsen as Ted Burke * June Knight as Lillian Brent *

as Sally Burke * Nick Long, Jr. as Basil Newcombe *

Robert John Wildhack Robert John Wildhack (August 27, 1881 - June 20, 1940) was an American illustrator and comic, who was known on stage, screen and radio for various monologues purporting to analyze sneezes, snores, and hunting. Biography He was born on August 27, ...

as Hornblow (credited as Robert Wildhack) *

Paul Harvey Paul Harvey Aurandt (September 4, 1918 – February 28, 2009) was an American radio broadcaster for ABC News Radio. He broadcast ''News and Comment'' on mornings and mid-days on weekdays and at noon on Saturdays and also his famous ''The Rest o ...

as Scully *

as herself * Harry Stockwell as himself ;Cast notes This was Powell's first leading role, and her first film for MGM. She would appear in the next two entries in the Broadway Melody series: '' Broadway Melody of 1938'' and '' Broadway Melody of 1940''. (These films were not related to each other in terms of storyline.) This also marked Ebsen's film debut. Though she was dubbed in this film by Marjorie Lane, Eleanor recorded "You Are My Lucky Star" with Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra (Victor 25158). Don Wilson, Jack Benny's regular announcer on ''The Jack Benny Program'', is not credited in ''Broadway Melody of 1936'', but his presence in the movie is evident at the beginning where he is the radio show host.

Soundtrack

* "Broadway Rhythm" (1935) ** Music by Nacio Herb Brown ** Lyrics by Arthur Freed ** Performed by

** Performed by Buddy Ebsen,

, June Knight, Nick Long Jr., and

* "You Are My Lucky Star" (1935) ** Music by Nacio Herb Brown ** Lyrics by Arthur Freed; Played during the opening credits ** Performed by Frances Langford and chorus ** Performed by Eleanor Powell (dubbed by Marjorie Lane) and chorus ** Performed by Roger Edens and Eleanor Powell ** Performed by Robert Taylor and chorus * "Broadway Melody" (1929) ** Music by Nacio Herb Brown ** Lyrics by Arthur Freed ** Performed by Harry Stockwell * "I've Got a Feelin' You're Foolin'" (1935) ** Music by Nacio Herb Brown ** Lyrics by Arthur Freed ** Sung by June Knight, Robert Taylor and chorus ** Performed by June Knight, Nick Long Jr., and chorus ** Performed by

* "Sing Before Breakfast" (1935) ** Music by Nacio Herb Brown ** Lyrics by Arthur Freed ** Performed by Buddy Ebsen, Vilma Ebsen, and Eleanor Powell (dubbed by Marjorie Lane) * "All I Do Is Dream Of You" (

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

version) (1934) ** Music by Nacio Herb Brown ** Lyrics by Arthur Freed * "On a Sunday Afternoon" (1935) ** Music by Nacio Herb Brown ** Lyrics by Arthur Freed ** Performed by Buddy Ebsen and Vilma Ebsen * "The Old Folks at Home (Swanee River)" (1851) ** Written by Stephen Foster ** Performed by Roger Edens

Accolades

The film was nominated for three Oscars at the

8th Academy Awards 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number o ...

: Best Picture, Best Writing (Original Story), and Best Dance Direction, winning the last one. As this film is the second in a film series (though not a direct continuation), it could be viewed as the first "sequel" to ever be nominated for Best Picture. The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists: * 2004: AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs: ** "You Are My Lucky Star" – Nominated

Box office

According to MGM records, the film earned $1,655,000 in the US and Canada and $1,216,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $691,000.

References

*Green, Stanley (1999) Hollywood Musicals Year by Year (2nd ed.), pub. Hal Leonard Corporation page 48

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Broadway Melody Of 1936 1935 films 1935 musical films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1930s English-language films Films about musical theatre American black-and-white films Films directed by Roy Del Ruth American musical films 1930s American films