''Broadway Melody of 1940'' is a 1940 MGM film musical starring

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

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

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 ...

(Astaire's first male dancing partner on film). It was directed by

Norman Taurog Norman Rae Taurog (February 23, 1899 – April 7, 1981) was an American film director and screenwriter. From 1920 to 1968, Taurog directed 180 films. At the age of 32, he received the Academy Award for Best Director for '' Skippy'' (1931). He i ...

and features music by

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

, including " Begin the Beguine". The film was the fourth and final entry in MGM's "Broadway Melody" series of films, and is notable for being the only on-screen pairing of Astaire and Powell, who were considered the finest film musical dancers of their time.

Plot

Johnny Brett (

) and King Shaw (

) are a dance team so down on their luck that they work in a dance hall for no money. Meanwhile, Clare Bennett (

) is a big

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

star. Owing to a case of mistaken identity, Shaw is offered the chance to be Clare's dancing partner in a new Broadway show, when Johnny's dancing was really what producer Bob Casey ( Frank Morgan) saw and wanted. The partnership breaks up, but Johnny still helps out King, who lets his newfound success go to his head. Clare eventually realizes that Johnny, not King, is the better dancer, and she falls in love after having lunch with him. When Shaw gets drunk on opening night, Johnny steps in and saves the show with a brilliant performance, though he lets King think he did it himself. Clare later tells King the truth. Just before the next show, Clare discovers King drunk again, and Johnny becomes the permanent replacement. After the show, they find out that King was pretending to be drunk so that Johnny would get the job.Brenner, Pau
Description (Allmovie)

Cast

as Johnny Brett *

as Clare Bennett *

as King Shaw * Frank Morgan as Bob Casey * Ian Hunter as Bert C. Matthews * Florence Rice as Amy Blake, Casey's Secretary * Lynne Carver as Emmy Lou Lee * Ann Morriss as Pearl Delonge * Trixie Firschke as Juggler * Herman Bing as Silhouettist (uncredited) Cast notes: *

Mel Blanc Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for comedy r ...

appears, uncredited, as a panhandler.

Musical numbers

*"Please Don't Monkey with Broadway" - words and music by

, sung and danced by Fred Astaire and George Murphy *"All Ashore" - words and music by Roger Edens, sung by Eleanor Powell, one of the few times she was ever shown singing with her own voice rather than being overdubbed. *"Between You and Me" - words and music by Cole Porter, sung by George Murphy, danced by Murphy and Eleanor Powell *" I've Got My Eyes on You" - words and music by Cole Porter, sung and danced by Fred Astaire *"Jukebox Dance" - words and music by Walter Ruick, danced by Eleanor Powell and Fred Astaire. Powell later said this number was her favorite out of all her filmed dances. *"

I Concentrate on You "I Concentrate on You" is a song written by Cole Porter for the 1940 film '' Broadway Melody of 1940'', where it was introduced by Douglas McPhail. Notable recordings * Franck Amsallem - ''Amsallem Sings'' (2009) * Fred Astaire - ''The Astaire St ...

" - words and music by Cole Porter, sung by Douglas McPhail, danced by Eleanor Powell and Fred Astaire *" Begin the Beguine" - words and music by Cole Porter, sung in two styles as part of the final musical piece in the film. The song is first sung in dramatic style by mezzo-soprano Lois Hodnott (who was also used to dub the vocals for screwball soprano Carmen D'Antonio in the comedy audition sequence ''Il Bacio'' in the middle of the movie) on a "tropical" set, with Powell, joined by Astaire dancing in side-by-side, their choreography drawing heavily on flamenco dance. Later, after it is sung in what was then contemporary jazz style by The Music Maids, Astaire and Powell

tap dance Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perf ...

to a

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

accompaniment; the sequence includes a passage in which they tap dance with no musical accompaniment. The big-band/jazz segment was featured in the 1974 documentary '' That's Entertainment!'', which noted in the narration that this dance was the last of MGM's big black-and-white production numbers. *" I've Got My Eyes on You" (instrumental and choral reprise) - danced by Fred Astaire, Eleanor Powell and George Murphy

Production

''Broadway Melody of 1940'' was based on a story by Jack McGowan and

Dore Schary Isadore "Dore" Schary (August 31, 1905 – July 7, 1980) was an American playwright, director, and producer for the stage and a prolific screenwriter and producer of motion pictures. He directed just one feature film, '' Act One'', the film bi ...

. Schary would go on to be head of production (1948) and then president (1951) of MGM until 1956. The film was originally planned to be shot in Technicolor, but because of the unsettled state of Europe due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, MGM decided to stick to black and white.TC
Notes
/ref> The film was the fourth and final entry in MGM's loosely connected ''Broadway Melody'' series, which began with the original ''

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 ...

'' released in 1929, and was followed by ''

Broadway Melody of 1936 ''Broadway Melody of 1936'' is a musical film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 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 ...

'' and '' Broadway Melody of 1938''. The films were unconnected except for the use of the song "Broadway Melody" (the 1940 entry did not feature the number, although a bit of it can be heard over the film's opening credits), and the fact that Powell starred in the 1936, 1938 and 1940 entries, playing different roles in each. A fifth ''Broadway Melody'' film was planned for release in the early 1940s, pairing Eleanor Powell with

Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American actor, dancer, singer, filmmaker, and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...

, but production was cancelled at the rehearsal stage. Another production was to have been called ''Broadway Melody of 1944'' but was instead renamed '' Broadway Rhythm''. The 1940 entry is considered Powell's last major successful film, as she would go on to appear in a succession of only moderate hits before retiring from the screen several years later. It has the distinction of being the first non-documentary film featuring Powell to be released on DVD. Fred Astaire had just left RKO, and ''Broadway Melody of 1940'' was his first film for MGM since his small part in 1933's '' Dancing Lady''. Astaire was reportedly slightly intimidated by Powell, as she was considered one of the few female dancers capable of out-performing Astaire. According to Powell in her introduction to the book, ''The MGM Story'', the feeling was somewhat mutual. Powell recalled finally saying to Astaire, "Look, we can't go on like this. I'm Ellie; you're Fred. We're just two hoofers," after which, they got along well, and rehearsed so much they wore out their pianist.Fristoe, Roge
"Broadway Melody of 1940" (TCM article)
/ref> ''Broadway Melody of 1940'' was in production from early September until late November 1939. The set for the "Begin the Beguine" number cost $120,000 to construct. It utilized a sixty-foot multi-paneled mirror mounted on a revolving track to change backgrounds. The film is alluded to in

satirist This is an incomplete list of writers, cartoonists and others known for involvement in satire – humorous social criticism. They are grouped by era and listed by year of birth. Included is a list of modern satires. Under Contemporary, 1930-196 ...

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 ...

's song "George Murphy", about the

dancer Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

becoming a

United States senator 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 po ...

: :Think of all the musicals we have in store, :Imagine: ''Broadway Melody of Nineteen Eighty-Four''.

Accolades

"Begin the Beguine" was nominated for the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Lead ...

's 2004 list AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs, while the film was nominated for the 2006 AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Broadway Melody Of 1940 1940 musical films 1940 films American black-and-white films Films about musical theatre Films directed by Norman Taurog Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films set in New York City American musical films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films