''Broadway Melody of 1938'' is a 1937 American musical film produced 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 through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

and directed by Roy Del Ruth. The film is essentially a

backstage musical A backstage musical is a genre of musical with a plot set in a theatrical context that revolves around the production of a play or musical revue. The film's narrative trajectory often comes to a halt one or more times to allow a performance. The so ...

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own dur ...

, featuring high-budget sets and

cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to foc ...

in the MGM musical tradition. The film stars

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 ...

and Robert Taylor and features

Buddy Ebsen Buddy Ebsen (born Christian Ludolf Ebsen Jr., April 2, 1908 – July 6, 2003), also known as Frank "Buddy" Ebsen, was an American actor and dancer, whose career spanned seven decades. One of his most famous roles was as Jed Clampett in the CBS ...

George Murphy George Lloyd Murphy (July 4, 1902 – May 3, 1992) was an American dancer, actor, and politician. Murphy was a song-and-dance leading man in many big-budget Hollywood musicals from 1930 to 1952. He was the president of the Screen Actors Guild fro ...

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

, Sophie Tucker,

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 ...

Robert Benchley Robert Charles Benchley (September 15, 1889 – November 21, 1945) was an American humorist best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor. From his beginnings at ''The Harvard Lampoon'' while attending Harvard University, thro ...

and

Binnie Barnes Gertrude Maud Barnes (25 March 1903 – 27 July 1998), known professionally as Binnie Barnes, was an English actress whose career in films spanned from 1923 to 1973. Early life Barnes was born in Islington, London, the daughter of Rosa Enoy ...

. The film is most notable for young Garland's performance of "

You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want to Do It) "You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want to Do It)" is a popular song from 1913 composed by James V. Monaco with lyrics by Joseph McCarthy. It was introduced by Al Jolson in the Broadway revue ''The Honeymoon Express'' (1913), and used in the 197 ...

", a tribute to

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...

which turned the teenage singer, who had been toiling in obscurity for a couple of years, into an overnight sensation, leading eventually to her being cast in '' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939) as Dorothy.

Plot

Young horse trainer Sally (

) befriends Sonny (

) and Peter (

), who have been hired to look after a horse her family once owned. Concerned for the horse's well-being, she sneaks aboard a train taking the horse and its caretakers to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. En route she meets talent agent Steve Raleigh ( Robert Taylor) who, impressed with her dancing and singing, sets her on the road to stardom and romance blossoms between the two. A subplot involves a boarding house for performers run by Alice ( Sophie Tucker), who is trying to find a big break for young Betty (

Cast

* Robert Taylor as Steve Raleigh *

as Sally Lee *

as Betty Clayton *

as Peter Trot * Sophie Tucker as Alice Clayton *

as Sonny Ledford *

as Caroline Whipple *

as Herman J. Whipple *

as Duffy, P.R. Man *

Willie Howard Willie L. Howard (born December 26, 1977) is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft and played for them for two seasons be ...

as The Waiter *

Charley Grapewin Charles Ellsworth Grapewin (December 20, 1869 – February 2, 1956) was an American vaudeville and circus performer, a writer, and a stage and film actor. He worked in over 100 motion pictures during the silent and sound eras, most notably port ...

as James K. Blakeley *

Billy Gilbert William Gilbert Barron (September 12, 1894 – September 23, 1971), known professionally as Billy Gilbert, was an American actor and comedian. He was known for his comic sneeze routines. He appeared in over 200 feature films, short subjects ...

as George Papaloopas * Robert John Wildhack as The Sneezer

Songs

The majority of songs in ''Broadway Melody of 1938'' were written by

Nacio Herb Brown Ignacio Herbert "Nacio Herb" Brown (February 22, 1896 – September 28, 1964) was an American writer of popular songs, movie scores and Broadway theatre music in the 1920s through the early 1950s. Amongst his most enduring work is the scor ...

(music) and

Arthur Freed Arthur Freed (September 9, 1894 – April 12, 1973) was an American lyricist and Hollywood film producer. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture twice, in 1951 for '' An American in Paris'' and in 1958 for '' Gigi''. Both films were musicals. ...

(lyrics): * " Broadway Melody" (1929) - in opening credits * "You Are My Lucky Star" (1935) - in opening credits * "Follow in My Footsteps" (1937) - sung and danced by George Murphy, Buddy Ebsen and Eleanor Powell (dubbed by Marjorie Lane) * "Yours and Mine" (1937) - sung by Eleanor Powell (dubbed by

Marjorie Lane Marjorie Lane (February 21, 1912 – October 2, 2012) was an American singer of the 1930s who is best known for providing the singing voice of actress Eleanor Powell's characters in the movies ''Born to Dance'' (1936), ''Broadway Melody of 1936'', ...

); danced by Eleanor Powell and George Murphy; danced by Judy Garland and Buddy Ebsen * "Everybody Sing" (1937) - sung by Judy Garland, Sophie Tucker, Barnett Parker and chorus * "I'm Feeling Like a Million" (1937) - sung and danced by George Murphy and Eleanor Powell (dubbed by Marjorie Lane); recorded by Judy Garland but cut from the film * "Your Broadway and My Broadway" (1937) - sung by Sophie Tucker and Charles Igor Gorin, danced by George Murphy, Eleanor Powell, Buddy Ebsen and Judy Garland; recorded by Judy Garland and chorus but cut from the film * "

Broadway Rhythm ''Broadway Rhythm'' (1944) is a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Technicolor musical film. It was produced by Jack Cummings and directed by Roy Del Ruth. The film was originally announced as ''Broadway Melody of 1944'' to follow MGM's ''Broadway Melody' ...

" (1935) - sung by a chorus and danced by Eleanor Powell * "Got a Pair of New Shoes" (1937) - sung by a chorus and danced by Eleanor Powell in the finale * "Sun Showers" (1937) - recorded by Charles Igor Gorin but cut from the film ;Other songs: * " The Toreador Song" (1875) - from '' Carmen'', by Georges Bizet (music) and

Henri Meilhac Henri Meilhac (23 February 1830 – 6 July 1897) was a French dramatist and opera librettist, best known for his collaborations with Ludovic Halévy on Georges Bizet's ''Carmen'' and on the works of Jacques Offenbach, as well as Jules Massenet' ...

and

Ludovic Halévy Ludovic Halévy (1 January 1834 – 7 May 1908) was a French author and playwright, best known for his collaborations with Henri Meilhac on Georges Bizet's '' Carmen'' and on the works of Jacques Offenbach. Biography Ludovic Halévy was born in ...

(libretto), sung by Charles Igor Gorin in the opening scene * "

Some of These Days "Some of These Days" is a popular song, written and composed by Shelton Brooks, published in 1910, and associated with the performer Sophie Tucker. Background Shelton Brooks and "Some of These Days" was brought to Sophie Tucker's attention in 191 ...

" (1910) - music and lyrics by

Shelton Brooks Shelton Brooks (May 4, 1886September 6, 1975) was a Canadian-born African American composer of popular music and jazz. He was known for his ragtime and vaudeville style, and wrote some of the biggest hits of the first third of the 20th century. ...

, sung by Sophie Tucker * "

Largo al factotum "" (Make way for the factotum) is an aria from ''The Barber of Seville'' by Gioachino Rossini, sung at the first entrance of the title character, Figaro. The repeated "Figaro"s before the final patter section are an icon in popular culture of oper ...

" (1816) - from ''

Il Barbiere di Siviglia ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based ...

'' (The Barber of Seville), by

Gioacchino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards ...

(music) and Cesare Sterbini (libretto), sung by Charles Igor Gorin * "

" (1913) - by James V. Monaco (music) and Joseph McCarthy (lyrics) with special lyrics for the "Dear Mr. Gable" segment by

Roger Edens Roger Edens (November 9, 1905 – July 13, 1970) was a Hollywood composer, arranger and associate producer, and is considered one of the major creative figures in Arthur Freed's musical film production unit at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during the "go ...

; sung by Judy Garland

Production

This was the third of the "Broadway Melody" series, and had the working title of ''Broadway Melody of 1937''. When it was released, late in 1937, it was advertised with the tagline ''So new it's a year ahead!''. MGM borrowed Binnie Barnes from

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

for the film.TC
Notes
/ref> The film was in production from late February to 20 July 1937, and was released on 20 August.TC
Overview
/ref> Its initial running time was 115 minutes, compared to the final running time of 110 minutes. Judy Garland's number, "

" has been cited as her first great film success. The song was specially prepared by

for

's 36th birthday as a present, and Garland sang it at the party given by MGM. Producer Louis B. Mayer was so impressed he ordered that it be included in the next possible musical MGM was producing. Following the sensational audience reaction to the song, Garland was rushed into shooting two more films back to back, '' Thoroughbreds Don't Cry'' (1937) and the more musically elaborate ''

Everybody Sing ''Everybody, Sing!'' is a Philippine Musical film, musical game show created, developed, produced and distributed by ABS-CBN, ABS-CBN Entertainment It was hosted by Vice Ganda. The show aired for first season from June 5 to October 10, 2021, ...

'', which was held for later release in 1938. The finale of the film takes place on a giant set upon which neon signs are visible showing the names of famous stage and screen stars. During Sophie Tucker's final number, all of the signs in the background actually change to read "Sophie Tucker" in tribute to her.

Accolades

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists: * 2004: AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs: ** " Dear Mr. Gable (You Made Me Love You)" – Nominated

Box office

According to MGM records the film earned $1,889,000 in the US and Canada and $957,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $271,000.

In popular culture

* A 1937 '' Our Gang'' comedy, ''

Our Gang Follies of 1938 ''Our Gang Follies of 1938'' (later reissued as simply ''Follies of 1938'') is a 1937 American musical short subject, the 161st short subject entry in Hal Roach's ''Our Gang'' (''Little Rascals'') series. Directed by Gordon Douglas as a sequel to ...

'', spoofs the title, concept, and style of ''Broadway Melody of 1938''. *

singing "You Made Me Love You" to a picture of

gets parodied in the 2007 musical film ''

Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundtrack), the film's soundtrack album ** ''Hairspray ...

'' when Link ( Zac Efron) sings to a picture, of Tracy (

Nikki Blonsky Nicole Blonsky (born November 9, 1988) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and internet personality. She is known for playing Tracy Turnblad in the film '' Hairspray'' (2007), for which she won two Critics' Choice Awards and received nominat ...

), who comes to life to sing with him. *

Tom Lehrer Thomas Andrew Lehrer (; born April 9, 1928) is an American former musician, singer-songwriter, satirist, and mathematician, having lectured on mathematics and musical theater. He is best known for the pithy and humorous songs that he recorded in ...

, in a song satirising George Murphy's election to the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

, sang, "Imagine ''Broadway Melody of

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

''". * A song on Genesis' album ''

The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway ''The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway'' is the sixth studio album by the English progressive rock band Genesis. It was released as a double album on 18 November 1974 by Charisma Records and is their last to feature original frontman Peter Gabriel. It ...

'' is entitled "Broadway Melody of 1974".

References

*Green, Stanley (1999) Hollywood Musicals Year by Year (2nd ed.), pub. Hal Leonard Corporation page 73

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Broadway Melody Of 1938 1937 films American black-and-white films Films about musical theatre Films directed by Roy Del Ruth Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1937 musical films American musical films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films