BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940

Broadway Melody of 1940
MGM, 1940, B/W, 104 minutes, ***
Released February, 1940

Johnny (Fred Astaire) and King (George Murphy) are partners in a dance act. Through a case of mistaken identity, King gets a big break in a new musical (it was Johnny that was supposed to get the break) and Johnny, having nothing else to do without his partner, follows along to help out wherever he can. But when King's big number comes up on opening night, he's passed out drunk. So Johnny has to find some way to save the show.

Good story with some good Cole Porter musical numbers. Highlights include Fred and George singing and dancing "Please Don't Monkey with Broadway" and Fred and Eleanor dancing "Juke Box Dance." But the real showstopper is what may well be the best dance number ever filmed: "Begin the Beguine," with Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell tapping their hearts out on one of the most gorgeous sets ever designed for black-and-white film. As Frank Sinatra says in That's Entertainment!, "You can wait around... but you'll never see the likes of this again!"

Producer: Jack Cummings
Director: Norman Taurog
Screenplay: Leon Gordon and George Oppenheimer
(Original story by Jack McGowan and Dore Schary)
Lyrics and Music: Cole Porter
Musical Direction: Alfred Newman
Musical Arrangements: Roger Edens
Vocal and Orchestration: Edward Powell, Leo Arnaud, Charles Henderson
Dances: Bobby Connolly
Recording Director: Douglas Shearer
Art Director: Cedric Gibbons
Associate: John S. Detlie
Set Decorations: Edwin B. Willis
Musical Presentation: Merrill Pye
Gowns by: Adrian
Men's Costumes by: Valles
Directors of Photography: Oliver T. Marsh, Joseph Ruttenberg
Film Editor: Blanche Sewell

Cast: Fred Astaire [Johnny Brett], Eleanor Powell [Clare Bennett], George Murphy [King Shaw], Frank Morgan [Bob Casey], Ian Hunter [Bert C. Matthews], Florence Rice [Amy Blake], Lynne Carver [Emmy Lou Lee], Ann Morriss [Pearl], Trixie Firschke [Juggler], Additional Cast: Douglas McPhail [Masked Singer], Charlotte Arren [Audition Singer], Herman Bing [Silhouette Artist], Jack Mulhall [George, the Theatre Manager], Vera Vague [Receptionist], Irving Bacon [Soda Jerk], James Flavin [Dancehall Worker], Joseph Crehan [Dancehall Manager], Joe Yule [Dan, the Unemployed Actor], Hal K. Dawson [Grady, the Press Agent], Gladys Blake, George Chandler [The Bride and Groom], William Tannen [Emmy Lou's Friend], The Music Maids [Singing Quartet]

Musical Program: [0:05] Please Don't Monkey with Broadway (sung and danced by Fred Astaire and George Murphy); [0:11] I Am the Captain (sung and danced by Eleanor Powell and Mens Chorus); [0:34] Between You and Me (sung by George Murphy, danced by George Murphy and Eleanor Powell); [0:59] I've Got My Eyes on You (sung and danced by Fred Astaire with a picture of Eleanor Powell); [1:06] Juke Box Dance (instrumental danced by Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell); [1:17] I Concentrate on You (sung by Douglas McPhail, ballet by Eleanor Powell and Chorus Girls; instrumental portion danced by Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell); [1:30] Begin the Beguine (production number: first sequence sung by Lois Hudnett dubbed by Carmen d'Antonin and danced by Eleanor Powell and Chorus Girls; instrumental sequence danced Spanish style to Bolero tempo by Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell; second vocalist sequence sung by The Music Maids; final instrumental sequence tapped by Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell); [1:40] I've Got My Eyes on You (sung by Girls Chorus, danced by George Murphy, Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell)