''Main Street to Broadway'' is a 1953 American romantic musical

comedy-drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

by independent producer Lester Cowan, his final credit, in collaboration with The Council of the Living Theatre, which provided tie-up with a number of well-known

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 ...

names. The backstage story features Tom Morton as an aspiring playwright who hopes to stage a Broadway production, Mary Murphy, as a young lady from

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, and radio-TV humorist Herb Shriner in a rare acting role as a hardware store owner.

Tallulah Bankhead Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (January 31, 1902 – December 12, 1968) was an American actress. Primarily an actress of the stage, Bankhead also appeared in several prominent films including an award-winning performance in Alfred Hitchcock's '' L ...

is featured in a parody sequence of herself. The list of Broadway luminaries also playing themselves, in smaller cameos, includes Ethel Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore (in his last film), Shirley Booth,

Louis Calhern Carl Henry Vogt (February 19, 1895 – May 12, 1956), known professionally as Louis Calhern, was an American stage and screen actor. Well known to film noir fans for his role as the pivotal villain in 1950's '' The Asphalt Jungle'', he was ...

Faye Emerson Faye Margaret Emerson (July 8, 1917 – March 9, 1983) was an American film and stage actress and television interviewer who gained fame as a film actress in the 1940s before transitioning to television in the 1950s and hosting her own talk show ...

, Rex Harrison, Helen Hayes,

Mary Martin Mary Virginia Martin (December 1, 1913 – November 3, 1990) was an American actress and singer. A muse of Rodgers and Hammerstein, she originated many leading roles on stage over her career, including Nellie Forbush in '' South Pacific'' (194 ...

Lilli Palmer Lilli Palmer (; born Lilli Marie Peiser; 24 May 1914 – 27 January 1986) was a German actress and writer. After beginning her career in British films in the 1930s, she would later transition to major Hollywood productions, earning a Golden Glob ...

John Van Druten John William Van Druten (1 June 190119 December 1957) was an English playwright and theatre director. He began his career in London, and later moved to America, becoming a U.S. citizen. He was known for his plays of witty and urbane observation ...

and

Cornel Wilde Cornel Wilde (born Kornél Lajos Weisz; October 13, 1912 – October 16, 1989) was a Hungarian-American actor and filmmaker. Wilde's acting career began in 1935, when he made his debut on Broadway. In 1936 he began making small, uncredited app ...

. Included is New York baseball manager

Leo Durocher Leo Ernest Durocher (French spelling Léo Ernest Durocher) (; July 27, 1905 – October 7, 1991), nicknamed "Leo the Lip" and "Lippy", was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as an infie ...

. Many others are unidentified, such as

Vivian Blaine Vivian Blaine (born Vivian Stapleton; November 21, 1921 – December 9, 1995) was an American actress and singer, best known for originating the role of Miss Adelaide in the musical theater production of ''Guys and Dolls'', as well as appearin ...

, glimpsed in a theater lobby. In one scene, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II create a new song, "There's Music in You", then perform it for their friends, with Rodgers at the piano and Hammerstein singing the vocals.Answers.com
/ref> Mary Martin is later seen rehearsing the song for director Joshua Logan. The black-and-white film, which has a running time of 97 minutes, was directed by

Tay Garnett William Taylor "Tay" Garnett (June 13, 1894 – October 3, 1977) was an American film director and writer. Biography Early life Born in Los Angeles, Garnett attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and served as a naval aviator in Wo ...

, screenplay by Samson Raphaelson, based on a story

Robert E. Sherwood Robert Emmet Sherwood (April 4, 1896 – November 14, 1955) was an American playwright and screenwriter. He is the author of '' Waterloo Bridge, Idiot's Delight, Abe Lincoln in Illinois, Rebecca, There Shall Be No Night, The Best Years of Our ...

, and photographed by James Wong Howe. Sequences were filmed in New York, with shots at the Martin Beck and old Empire theaters (the Empire was set to be demolished the year the film was released). Others as story characters include

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, as a landlady,

Agnes Moorehead Agnes Robertson Moorehead (December 6, 1900April 30, 1974) was an American actress. In a career spanning four decades, her credits included work in radio, stage, film, and television.Obituary ''Variety'', May 8, 1974, page 286. Moorehead was th ...

, Rosemary de Camp,

Arthur Shields Arthur Shields (15 February 1896 – 27 April 1970) was an Irish actor on television, stage and film. Early years Born into an Irish Protestant family in Portobello, Dublin, Shields started acting in the Abbey Theatre when he was 17 years old ...

, and, in a fantasy sequence,

Florence Bates Florence Bates ( Rabe; April 15, 1888 - January 31, 1954), was an American film and stage character actress who often played grande dame characters in supporting roles. Life and career Bates was the second child born to Jewish immigrant par ...

Madge Kennedy Madge Kennedy (April 19, 1891 – June 9, 1987) was a stage, film and TV actress whose career began as a stage actress in 1912 and flourished in motion pictures during the silent film era. In 1921, journalist Heywood Broun described her as "the ...

, Carl Benton Reid,

Frank Ferguson Frank S. Ferguson (December 25, 1906 – September 12, 1978) was an American character actor with hundreds of appearances in both film and television. Background Ferguson was the younger of two children of W. Thomas Ferguson, a native Scottish ...

, and

Robert Bray Robert E. Bray (October 23, 1917 – March 7, 1983) was an American film and television actor known for playing the forest ranger Corey Stuart in the CBS series ''Lassie'', He also starred in ''Stagecoach West'' and as Mike Hammer in the mo ...

Reception

According to MGM records, the film earned $416,000 in the US and Canada and only $28,000 elsewhere.

References

External links

* * {{Samson Raphaelson 1953 films 1950s musical comedy-drama films 1950s romantic comedy-drama films American black-and-white films American romantic comedy-drama films American romantic musical films 1950s English-language films Films about actors Films about theatre Films directed by Tay Garnett Films set in New York City Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1950s romantic musical films 1953 comedy films 1953 drama films 1950s American films