Best movie of this year hands down!

Boring

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

I went into my viewing of The Broadway Melody with almost no expectations, due to its constant appearance on "Worst Best Picture Winner" lists. I was more than pleasantly surprised, however, that the film was quite enjoyable. Harry Beaumont's 1929 feature starring Charles King, Anita Page, and Bessie Love holds a couple of distinct places in the history books. The Broadway Melody was the first all "talkie" to win top honors from the Academy, the film also has the honor of being the first musical to win the coveted gold statuette. With The Broadway Melody holding such distinguished honors, it was a must-see for me.Two sisters, Harriet Mahoney, known as Hank (Bessie Love) and the beautiful yet foolhardy Queenie Mahoney (Anita Page) have finally taken their vaudeville act to the big city. With the help of Hank's boyfriend, Eddie Kearns (Charles King) the girls have a part in one of Francis Zanfield's shows. As they settle into their New York apartment, Eddie meets Queenie for the first time and instantly falls in love. Eddie keeps this love to himself, as he had already been in a relationship with Hank. As the sisters make their way around town, Queenie begins to be courted by rivalry producer, Jock Warriner (Kenneth Thomson). While enjoying life in the high society, Queenie is trying to ignore her growing passions toward Eddie, whilst Eddie is attempting to remain faithful to Hank. The trio traverses the love triangle they've created all the while attempting to each break out into Broadway. What a melody!In spite of what the lists proclaim, The Broadway Melody has staying power. Anyone can relate to the story of loving two different people, anyone can relate to chasing a dream and nearly having it in your grasps, and many people can relate to the unfortunate feeling of losing the one you love to someone close to you. Life is a roller coaster best to be lived to music, that is the enduring message of The Broadway Melody; that and the history is enough reason for anyone to see this film.

Interesting drama.Two sisters, Queenie and Hank Mahoney (played by Anita Page and Bessie Love respectively), arrive on Broadway. A friend, Eddie Kerns (played by Charles King), needs them for a number in a musical show. What follows is their struggles to be noticed and make it on Broadway, plus the intrigues, often romantic, that threaten to tear them apart.Quite engaging. Page and Love are great, and every watchable, as the sisters. Has some funny moments too. The banter between the cast and crew during rehearsals, especially the band leader and singers, was great.Don't be put off by the "musical" tag. Most of the music occurs naturally, as part of the shows. There is at least one random singing-instead-of-talking scene though, but at least it's not as bad or prevalent as most musicals.On the negative side, the romantic aspect can be a bit overly and unnecessarily melodramatic though. It often feels like what is represented as intrigue is really not that intriguing. Some parts are just dull, and the ending is bit lacklustre.The Broadway Melody won the 1930 Best Picture Oscar and was thus the third winner of Best Picture. Was the first talking picture to win Best Picture. Is also regarded as the first musical to win Best Picture, though, as mentioned, it is not really a musical, thankfully.

Putting out the obvious Caveat...This one, to be Fair, must be seen Alongside the other Movies of 1929. After doing so, one can Appreciate its Value as the Film is Accomplished and the Cringe Inducements are Minimal.It's Sleek and Deco Decorated, contains a great Number of Ziegfeld type Beauties in Various Forms of Undress, Dressed Up in Outlandish Glittering Costumes. There are other Pre-Code Eye-Poppers at the Apartments and Backstage.The Dialog is Snappy and the Drama Restrains from reaching Melodrama. The Two Lead Actresses/Singers/Dancers (Anita Page and Bessie Love) are Charming and Peppy and show some Unexpected Acting Chops. The Men in this Musical/Drama/Comedy don't fare as well and the Clicks of the Clock have Not Been Kind to Their Kind.Overall, a Winner at the Box Office and at the Academy. The First Sound Best Picture and, Oh Yea, all of those MGM Musicals, This was #1. a First Edition, and First Editions are always Valuable even if they don't have any Other Qualities Other than Being First.This one does have other Qualities, Including Good Leading Ladies, some Catchy and Classic Songs, and an overall Presentation of a New Art Form done in a more than Acceptable Production Combination that is Old and New at the Same Time.Worth a Watch for Film Historians, Fans of Movie Musicals, and as a Time Capsule that was Straddling the Line between the Silents and Sound, and the Roaring Twenties and the Devastating Financial Collapse that Resulted in the Depression. All in that Volatile Year of 1929.

The following are lyrics by Arthur Freed - A million lights they flicker there - A million hearts beat quicker there - No skies of gray on the Great White Way - That's the Broadway Melody.Released in 1929 - The Broadway Melody is a somewhat difficult movie to review since one feels that with every comment they must be reminding the readers that this was one of the very first all-sound pictures to come out of Hollywood.Set against the backstage hubbub of an elaborate Broadway musical revue that's being financed by big-shot, Frank Zanfield, The Broadway Melody's all-too-familiar plot revolves around the romances, the heartaches, and the struggles of certain prominent cast members who are appearing in the show.I found that far too often it became quite clear that the technicians behind the cameras and sound equipment didn't have a full grasp of what to do with this new medium - And, as a result, a number of the scenes came across as being noticeably clunky, disjointed and overlong.It's interesting to note that this film (now 85 years old) predates the Hayes Code, which placed strong restrictions on what could and could not be seen (or heard) in movies.This film does not contain any nudity, but there were a number of scenes where 2 of the female characters were shown in various states of undress, including shots of them parading around indoors in just their undergarments.Even though The Broadway Melody wasn't a particularly good picture, it was interesting to view it in the context of its significance and value in the history of early movie-making.*Trivia note* - Back in 1929 movies generally had 35-cent admission prices. With that in mind - This film grossed nearly $4 million upon its initial release.