The Broadway Melody (AKA The Broadway Melody of 1929)
1929
Release date: 2/1/1929 (L.A. Premiere)
100 Minutes
Director: Harry Beaumont
Story: Edmund Goulding
Dialogue: Norman Houston, James Gleason
Producers: Harry Rapf, Irving Thalberg, Lawrence Weingarten
Cinematographer: John Arnold
Black and White w/a Technicolor sequence
1.33:1 Aspect Ratio
Nomination Year: 1928/1929 2nd Academy Awards Ceremony
Won: Best Picture
Nominations: Best Actress in a Leading Role - Bessie Love; Best Director - Harry Beaumont (Nominees were not officially announced)
Writer's note: In this series I will watch a Best Picture-winning film each week and go a little deeper than my usual reviews. I hope you enjoy my thoughts and perspective. I will, of course, attempt to be sensitive to spoilers for newer films but for these early films I will be writing without regard to spoilers so be forewarned.
One of the pitfalls of casting one's gaze upon older films is that it may be easy or tempting to overlook the fact that what have become clichés in contemporary works were new and uncommon tropes back in the day. The Broadway Melody employs a number of visuals and storytelling devices that are quite common these days, but were completely new ideas when it was first presented.
Consider, for instance, the use of helicopter shots looking down over Manhattan at the start of just about any movie set in New York City. This is a fairly common tactic employed by any number of films from the highs of West Side Story to the lows of Nothing but Trouble. Many see it as a tired, overused approach that sets an immediate tone that the director will be making uninspired and boring decisions. When The Broadway Melody was released, however, helicopter shots were quite rare, and one can only imagine the thrill audiences must have felt in seeing such a storied city in such a unique way.
As with Wings, the central story is built around romantic entanglements and here again, we find a number of elements that would seem played out by today's standards. But the love triangle of "Hank" and Queenie Mahoney, a sister act vying for the attention of the man who has taken on the role of their champion, manager, songwriter, and fellow performer (a quadruple threat!), Eddie Kearns, is quite endearing. While Harriet "Hank" Mahoney has quite the fiery temper and struts onto the stage like she owns it without having really earned her bravado, the pathos is clear and when she loses Eddie in the end we actually do feel for her. More on that later.
First, I would like to look at the production history of this film, as I have always been fascinated by how early works have overcome the hurdles of not having standardized tech like we do. Boom mics were created in 1929 and even with that advancement, one hears about all sorts of early "talkies" that had to be shot and framed with fixes to hide the microphone, like a potted plant on a table between the two actors.
The production of this film suffered quite a few setbacks owing to the fact that it was not just an early talkie but a musical. It took quite a bit of trial-and-error to design sets in such a way that would accommodate microphones. Previously, a director, cinematographer, and art designer only had to concern themselves with where the camera would be placed when creating sets. As a result, movies like the previous year's Best Picture winner, Wings, were able to make the camera ever more mobile, filming in planes and moving the camera in ways that were only starting to become feasible. By adding in sound, while a necessary step towards thrilling audiences and getting bigger box office takes, the art of photographing films was set back at a time when it was cresting a wave of newfound creativity. Just as cameras were starting to be moved on dollies, cranes, and other means, now sound was thrown into the mix and the camera had to go back to being locked down until new innovations could be determined to make both the camera and the mic moveable.
Even so, The Broadway Melody features quite a few dynamic movements, not just of the camera, but of the actors within the frame. The opening scenes of the film feature extremely clever use of editing and sound design. In the opening sequence, set in a rehearsal suite, we are treated to several different acts practicing in their own soundproofed rooms. Cuts to the lobby feature a muddled sound mix where we can hear all the acts at once, but when they cut into each practice room we can only hear that act, whether it's a sultry singer with a single piano, or an entire band with guitars and singers. When we move the scene to a hotel where Queenie and Hank have just arrived, we are treated to a single master shot where the characters enter, walk all around the room and even make use of upstage and downstage. As the actors move about, the camera follows them, and they can be heard just as clearly when they are upstage as when they are downstage. It is moments like this that required such trial and error. Scenes would be filmed, then the set would be retooled for the mics and rebuilt, and then the actors would have to film the scene again. This proved to be a frustrating experience for all involved, as they would have to film the same scene multiple times. But it was worth the frustration, as talkies in general might not have taken off if films like this had not been such a success.
It is worth noting that, while some takes had an orchestra available on-set and songs were played and sung in real-time, this set the standard of pre-recording music and having the actors lip-synch. A Technicolor sequence was also filmed for this but alas has been lost to the ravages of time. That single decision inspired a number of musicals to copycat with a random sequence dropped in full-color. It also served as the template for all the cash-ins that would occur whenever a unique approach would prove itself a hit with audiences.
Another holdover from silent films, interstitial title cards, were retained. As each scene moved location, a fade to black occurred and a title card came up announcing the new location. This actually plays well to the Broadway roots of the film, as theatrical productions by necessity fade to black between scene transitions.
As a unique, original story, and even with the endless repetitions of the main theme, The Broadway Melody is not much more than an excuse to string together a bunch of scenes that culminate in a musical sequence. Seems like Fosse took notes when making All that Jazz, since the songs presented are part of the world, and we see the producer Zanfield (based, no doubt, on theatrical producer Ziegfeld, of Follies fame) wrangling investors. Unlike many musicals where the characters start singing due to an emotional situation and the music swells, all songs, music, etc. are a part of the environment and diegetic sound is almost exclusively employed. The only time that this reality is broken is during the scene at the Mahoney's hotel, when the main theme is reprised complete with guitar, orchestra, and ukulele, despite Eddie and the Mahoney sisters being the only ones in the room.
Even with its central conceit being little more than going from one song to the next, the main story of Hank, Queenie, and Eddie's rise to fame (and subsequent love triangle) is effective and believable. At the start of the film, Hank and Eddie are lovers and have plans and dreams together. Eddie knows Hank from back home but hasn't seen Queenie in years. Upon seeing her again for the first time he does creep on her a bit but Queenie seems to return the feeling. She isn't prepared to reciprocate because she knows it would devastate Hank. So instead, when she starts to get recognized by the investors - and pursued romantically - she gives in to the charms of the likes of Jock Warner. Everyone tells her she should stay away, but she keeps going back for more, despite taking part in more than a few walks of shame.
Hank starts out the film acting like a diva and ordering around producer Zanfield as well as starting feuds with other actresses over minor slights. She hasn't really earned her diva status but feels she deserves a spot in the show. Even as she cares for her sister Queenie she downplays her talents: "Oh, honey, with your looks and my ability, Oh, I wouldn't steer you wrong." Even she thinks all Queenie has going for her is looks, not talent. So when it comes to Queenie being recognized and Hank being overlooked, the cloud of jealousy descends.
Queenie goes through a believable and understandable transformation from wallflower to social climber in a nice bit of role reversal as she is seduced bit-by-bit by the glitz and glamor of Broadway and the jet-set. Near the end of the movie, Queenie admits to her love for Eddie but is afraid to hurt Hank so she goes off with Jock Warner again.
When she realizes this, Hank calls Eddie a coward and urges him to go after Queenie in a very effective and emotionally devastating scene. At the end of the film, Queenie and Hank have reversed roles almost entirely. Queenie is the new "it" girl, and she and Eddie are enjoying success while Hank has started a new act with another girl who looks enough like her to be able to play it off as a sister act. Such is the life in theatre. As Sinatra observed, riding high in April, then shot down in May. But Hank has her own plans to be back on top in June.
This, then, despite being about Broadway, is Hollywood in a nutshell: actors' fame and favor come and go and if you stick around long enough, the actor who was on the outs last year is bound to be a star this year. This is the beauty of the ever-rejuvenating aspects of Hollywood but also a sign of the limited memory of the public because stars who fall due to bad press often get a second chance.
And that, my friends, is a great place to end this lengthy treatise. Second chances are the life's blood of Hollywood and will become a common theme in the classics. Many of the movies I will be looking at in my overview of Best Pictures will be about second chances, so I will be on the lookout for those. I hope you will join me as I take this journey through the history of Hollywood.
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