Battle of Broadway
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Battle of Broadway
OR:
Battle of Broadway on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

''Battle of Broadway'' is a 1938 American comedy film directed by
George Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (December 31, 1880 – October 16, 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Chief of Staff of the US Army under Pre ...
and written by
Lou Breslow Lou Breslow (born Lewis Breslow; July 18, 1900 – November 10, 1987) was an American screenwriter and film director. He wrote for 70 films between 1928 and 1955. He also directed seven films between 1932 and 1951 and wrote scripts for both ...
and John Patrick. The film stars
Victor McLaglen Victor Andrew de Bier Everleigh McLaglen (10 December 1886 – 7 November 1959) was a British boxer-turned-Hollywood actor.Obituary ''Variety'', 11 November 1959, page 79. He was known as a character actor, particularly in Westerns, and made sev ...
,
Brian Donlevy Waldo Brian Donlevy (February 9, 1901 – April 6, 1972) was an American actor, noted for playing dangerous tough guys from the 1930s to the 1960s. He usually appeared in supporting roles. Among his best-known films are ''Beau Geste'' (193 ...
,
Gypsy Rose Lee Gypsy Rose Lee (born Rose Louise Hovick, January 8, 1911 – April 26, 1970) was an American burlesque entertainer, stripper and vedette famous for her striptease act. Also an actress, author, and playwright, her 1957 memoir was adapted in ...
,
Raymond Walburn Raymond Walburn (September 9, 1887 – July 26, 1969) was an American character actor of stage and screen who appeared in dozens of Hollywood movie comedies and an occasional dramatic role during the 1930s and 1940s. Life and career Born i ...
,
Lynn Bari Lynn Bari (born Marjorie Schuyler Fisher, December 18, 1919 – November 20, 1989) was a film actress who specialized in playing sultry, statuesque man-killers in roughly 150 films for 20th Century Fox, from the early 1930s through the 1940s. ...
and
Jane Darwell Jane Darwell (born Patti Woodard; October 15, 1879 – August 13, 1967) was an American actress of stage, film, and television. With appearances in more than 100 major movies spanning half a century, Darwell is perhaps best remembered for her p ...
. The film was released on April 22, 1938, by
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...
.


Plot

Homer C. Bundy (
Raymond Walburn Raymond Walburn (September 9, 1887 – July 26, 1969) was an American character actor of stage and screen who appeared in dozens of Hollywood movie comedies and an occasional dramatic role during the 1930s and 1940s. Life and career Born i ...
), the president of the ''Bundy Steel Company'' of Bundy, Pennsylvania, sends troublesome employees "Big" Ben Wheeler (
Victor McLaglen Victor Andrew de Bier Everleigh McLaglen (10 December 1886 – 7 November 1959) was a British boxer-turned-Hollywood actor.Obituary ''Variety'', 11 November 1959, page 79. He was known as a character actor, particularly in Westerns, and made sev ...
) and "Chesty" Webb (
Brian Donlevy Waldo Brian Donlevy (February 9, 1901 – April 6, 1972) was an American actor, noted for playing dangerous tough guys from the 1930s to the 1960s. He usually appeared in supporting roles. Among his best-known films are ''Beau Geste'' (193 ...
) to New York City to break up Bundy's son Jack's (
Robert Kellard Robert Kellard, aka Robert Stevens (April 23, 1915 – January 13, 1981), was an American actor who appeared in over 60 films between 1937 and 1951. Early years Kellard was born Robert Dorsey Kellard April 23, 1915, in Los Angeles, California. H ...
) engagement to suspected gold digger Marjorie Clark (
Lynn Bari Lynn Bari (born Marjorie Schuyler Fisher, December 18, 1919 – November 20, 1989) was a film actress who specialized in playing sultry, statuesque man-killers in roughly 150 films for 20th Century Fox, from the early 1930s through the 1940s. ...
). Jack discovers his father's plot, and turns the tables on the brawling steelworkers: he asks gorgeous Linda Lee (
Gypsy Rose Lee Gypsy Rose Lee (born Rose Louise Hovick, January 8, 1911 – April 26, 1970) was an American burlesque entertainer, stripper and vedette famous for her striptease act. Also an actress, author, and playwright, her 1957 memoir was adapted in ...
)--the object of the competitive Big Ben's and Chesty's amorous pursuits—to pretend she's his fiancé, to put the boys off the trail. Trouble ensues when Homer arrives in NYC...and falls for Linda.


Cast

*
Victor McLaglen Victor Andrew de Bier Everleigh McLaglen (10 December 1886 – 7 November 1959) was a British boxer-turned-Hollywood actor.Obituary ''Variety'', 11 November 1959, page 79. He was known as a character actor, particularly in Westerns, and made sev ...
as Big Ben Wheeler *
Brian Donlevy Waldo Brian Donlevy (February 9, 1901 – April 6, 1972) was an American actor, noted for playing dangerous tough guys from the 1930s to the 1960s. He usually appeared in supporting roles. Among his best-known films are ''Beau Geste'' (193 ...
as Chesty Webb *
Gypsy Rose Lee Gypsy Rose Lee (born Rose Louise Hovick, January 8, 1911 – April 26, 1970) was an American burlesque entertainer, stripper and vedette famous for her striptease act. Also an actress, author, and playwright, her 1957 memoir was adapted in ...
as Linda Lee *
Raymond Walburn Raymond Walburn (September 9, 1887 – July 26, 1969) was an American character actor of stage and screen who appeared in dozens of Hollywood movie comedies and an occasional dramatic role during the 1930s and 1940s. Life and career Born i ...
as Homer C. Bundy *
Lynn Bari Lynn Bari (born Marjorie Schuyler Fisher, December 18, 1919 – November 20, 1989) was a film actress who specialized in playing sultry, statuesque man-killers in roughly 150 films for 20th Century Fox, from the early 1930s through the 1940s. ...
as Marjorie Clark *
Jane Darwell Jane Darwell (born Patti Woodard; October 15, 1879 – August 13, 1967) was an American actress of stage, film, and television. With appearances in more than 100 major movies spanning half a century, Darwell is perhaps best remembered for her p ...
as Mrs. Rogers *
Robert Kellard Robert Kellard, aka Robert Stevens (April 23, 1915 – January 13, 1981), was an American actor who appeared in over 60 films between 1937 and 1951. Early years Kellard was born Robert Dorsey Kellard April 23, 1915, in Los Angeles, California. H ...
as Jack Bundy *
Sammy Cohen Sammy Cohen (1902–1981) was an American film actor and comedian. He was one of several popular Jewish comedians acting in films during the late 1920s.Erens p. 91-92 Selected filmography * '' What Price Glory?'' (1926) * '' The Return of Peter ...
as Turkey *
Esther Muir Esther Muir (March 11, 1903 – August 1, 1995) was an American actress on Broadway and in Hollywood films. Early years Born in Andes, New York, Muir had six sisters and three brothers. She began modeling in New York City while still a h ...
as Opal Updyke *Eddie Holden as Svenson *
Hattie McDaniel Hattie McDaniel (June 10, 1893October 26, 1952) was an American actress, singer-songwriter, and comedian. For her role as Mammy in ''Gone with the Wind (film), Gone with the Wind'' (1939), she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, ...
as Agatha *Paul Irving as Professor Halligan *
Frank Moran Francis Charles Moran (18 March 1887 – 14 December 1967) was an American boxer and film actor who fought twice for the Heavyweight Championship of the World, and appeared in over 135 movies in a 25-year film career. Sports career Born ...
as Pinky McCann *
Andrew Tombes Andrew Tombes (29 June 1885 – 17 March 1976) was an American comedian and character actor. Biography The son of a grocer, originally from Ashtabula, Ohio, Tombes was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy. Early in his career, he worked as a v ...
as Judge Hutchins


Reception

Critical reception for ''Battle of Broadway'' upon its initial release was largely positive. In a 1938 review for the film ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' stated "Though it will not be hailed as one of the year's finer historical films and might even be said, despite the riot scenes, to suffer from a ind of timid civilian understatement, the extent of which can only be measured by those who have lived through "the terror" – as we of the Times Square area tend to think of it – "Battle of Broadway" seems to provoke enough of those tolerant, unanalytical audience guffaws to justify its modestly budgeted existence."
DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...
gave a favorable review for ''Battle of Broadway'', writing that it was a "Knockabout farce, energetically handled" and that "By the time the movie wraps up with its third or fourth unapologetic big brawl, ''Battle of Broadways hard-won rough-and-tumble pose becomes positively endearing."


References


External links

* {{George Marshall 1938 films 20th Century Fox films American comedy films 1938 comedy films Films directed by George Marshall American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films