Broadway Melody of 1936

Broadway Melody of 1936
Broadway Melody of 1936
	original film poster
Directed by	Roy Del Ruth
Written by	Harry W. Conn; Moss Hart; Jack McGowan; Sid Silvers
Produced by	John W. Considine Jr.
Starring	Jack Benny; Eleanor Powell; Robert Taylor; Una Merkel; Frances Langford; Sid Silvers; Buddy Ebsen; Vilma Ebsen
Cinematography	Charles Rosher
Edited by	Blanche Sewell
Music by	Nacio Herb Brown
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release dates	August 25, 1935 (New York City); September 18, 1935 (Los Angeles);
Running time	101 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$1,062,000
Box office	$2,871,000

Broadway Melody of 1936 is a musical film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1935.^[1] In New York, the film opened at the Capitol Theatre, the site of many prestigious MGM premieres. It was a follow-up of sorts to the successful The Broadway Melody, which had been released in 1929, although, there is no story connection with the earlier film beyond the title and some music.

The film was written by Harry W. Conn, Moss Hart, Jack McGowan and Sid Silvers. It was directed by Roy Del Ruth and starred Jack Benny, Eleanor Powell, Robert Taylor, Frances Langford, Sid Silvers, Buddy Ebsen and Vilma Ebsen (in their first film debut). It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Plot

Irene Foster (Eleanor Powell) tries to convince her high school sweetheart, Broadway producer Robert Gordon (Robert Taylor), to give her a chance to star in his new musical, but he is too busy with the rich widow (June Knight) backing his show. Irene tries to show Gordon that she has the talent to succeed, but he will not hire her. Things become complicated when she begins impersonating a French dancer, who was actually the invention of a gossip columnist (Jack Benny).

Cast

Jack Benny as Bert Keeler
Eleanor Powell as Irene Foster
Robert Taylor as Robert Gordon Template:Nb10
Una Merkel as Kitty Corbett
Sid Silvers as Snoop Blue
Buddy Ebsen as Ted Burke
June Knight as Lillian Brent

Vilma Ebsen as Sally Burke
Nick Long Jr. as Basil Newcombe
Robert John Wildhack as Hornblow
Paul Harvey as Scully
Frances Langford as herself
Harry Stockwell as himself

Cast notes: This was Powell's first leading role, and her first film for MGM. She would appear in the next two entries in the Broadway Melody series: Broadway Melody of 1938 and Broadway Melody of 1940. (These films were not related to each other in terms of storyline.) This also marked Ebsen's film debut. Though she was dubbed in this film by Marjorie Lane, Eleanor recorded "You Are My Lucky Star" with Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra (Victor 25158).

Soundtrack

"Broadway Rhythm" (1935)
- Music by Nacio Herb Brown
- Lyrics by Arthur Freed
- Performed by Frances Langford
- Performed by Buddy Ebsen, Vilma Ebsen, June Knight, Nick Long Jr., and Eleanor Powell
"You Are My Lucky Star" (1935)
- Music by Nacio Herb Brown
- Lyrics by Arthur Freed; Played during the opening credits
- Performed by Frances Langford and chorus
- Performed by Eleanor Powell (dubbed by Marjorie Lane) and chorus
- Performed by Roger Edens and Eleanor Powell
- Performed by Robert Taylor and chorus
"Broadway Melody" (1929)
- Music by Nacio Herb Brown
- Lyrics by Arthur Freed
- Performed by Harry Stockwell
"I've Got a Feelin' You're Foolin'" (1935)
- Music by Nacio Herb Brown
- Lyrics by Arthur Freed
- Sung by June Knight, Robert Taylor and chorus
- Performed by June Knight, Nick Long Jr., and chorus
- Performed by Frances Langford
"Sing Before Breakfast" (1935)
- Music by Nacio Herb Brown
- Lyrics by Arthur Freed
- Performed by Buddy Ebsen, Vilma Ebsen, and Eleanor Powell (dubbed by Marjorie Lane)
"All I Do Is Dream Of You" (French version) (1934)
- Music by Nacio Herb Brown
- Lyrics by Arthur Freed
"On a Sunday Afternoon" (1935)
- Music by Nacio Herb Brown
- Lyrics by Arthur Freed
- Performed by Buddy Ebsen and Vilma Ebsen
"The Old Folks at Home (Swanee River)" (1851)
- Written by Stephen Foster
- Performed by Roger Edens^[3]

Accolades

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

2004: AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs:
- "You Are My Lucky Star" – Nominated^[4]

Box Office

According to MGM records the film earned $1,655,000 in the US and Canada and $1,216,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $691,000.^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b Brown, Gene (1995). Movie Time: A Chronology of Hollywood and the Movie Industry from Its Beginnings to the Present. New York: Macmillan. p. 125. ISBN 0-02-860429-6. In New York, the film opened at the Capitol Theatre, the site of many prestigious MGM premieres.
^ ^a ^b ^c The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
^ Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935) - Soundtracks
^ "AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-07-30.

External links

Broadway Melody of 1936 at IMDb
Broadway Melody of 1936 at the TCM Movie Database
Template:Amg movie

[Brown125-1] Brown, Gene (1995). Movie Time: A Chronology of Hollywood and the Movie Industry from Its Beginnings to the Present. New York: Macmillan. p. 125. ISBN 0-02-860429-6. In New York, the film opened at the Capitol Theatre, the site of many prestigious MGM premieres.

[Mannix-2] The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.

[3] Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935) - Soundtracks

[4] "AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-07-30.

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