BROADWAY SERENADE

Broadway Serenade
MGM, 1939, B/W, 111 minutes, ***
Released April, 1939

Jeanette MacDonald, having just been named "Queen of the Movies" by 22,000,000 filmgoers in a 1939 New York Daily News opinion survey, stars in this elegant and alluring, fun-filled musical. Co-starring leading man Lew Ayres, it's a rich and fitting tribute to the Broadway stage.

Mary and Jimmy are a show biz couple, working the small joints in the Big Apple, hoping for a shot at the spotlights. Coincidentally, they both get a break at the same time; Jimmy earns a chance to pursue his music abroad, while Mary is cast in the road company of a big producer's new show. By the time Mary returns to New York she's already a star, and Jimmy's jealousy over Mary's supposed romance with the producer gets the better of him.

Pulled apart, Mary's star continues to rise, while Jimmy works harder than ever to refine his music and win his sweetheart back. This love story, set against a terrific musical score and packed with one hit song after another, makes Broadway Serenade a powerful, triumphant success.

Produced and Directed by: Robert Z. Leonard
Screen Play by: Charles Lederer
From Original Story by: Lew Lipton, John Taintor Foote and Hans Kraly
Musical Direction: Herbert Stothart
Music by: Herbert Stothart and Edward Ward
Lyrics by: Gus Kahn, Bob Wright and Chet Forrest
"Time Changes Everything" (by) Walter Donaldson and Gus Kahn
Vocal and Orchestral Collaboration: Leo Arnaud, Leonid Raab
"Flying High" and "Madame Butterfly" Numbers staged by Seymour Felix
Finale Number Created and Directed by: Busby Berkeley
Musical Presentation: Merrill Pye
Art Director: Cedric Gibbons
Associate: Joseph Wright
Set Decorations: Edwin B. Willis
Gowns by: Adrian
Men's Costumes by: Valles
Make-Up Created by: Jack Dawn
Recording Director: Douglas Shearer
Photographed by: Oliver T. Marsh
Montage Effects by: John Hoffman
Film Editor: Harold F. Kress

Cast: Jeanette MacDonald [Mary Hale], Lew Ayres [James Geoffrey Seymour], Ian Hunter [Larry Bryant], Frank Morgan [Cornelius Collier, Jr.], Wally Vernon [Joey, The Jinx], Rita Johnson [Judy Tyrrell], Virginia Grey [Pearl], William Gargan [Bill], Katherine Alexander [Harriet Ingalls], Al Shean [Herman], Esther Dale [Mrs. Olsen], Franklin Pangborn [Gene], E. Allyn Warren [Everett], Paul Hurst [Reynolds], Frank Orth [Mr. Fellowes], Esther Howard [Mrs. Fellowes], Leon Belasco ["Squeaker"], Kitty McHugh [Kitty, The Maid], Kenneth Stevens [Singer]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture: "(Broadway Serenade) For Every Lonely Heart" (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:01] Medley of vaudeville numbers: Yip I Addy I Ay! / What You Going to Do When the Rent Comes Round / Hearts Win You Lose / Love's Old Sweet Song (sung and danced by Jeanette MacDonald and Chorus); [0:10] A Tisket a Tasket / Ring Around the Mulberry Bush (just a few bars sung by Jeanette MacDonald) / The Farmer in the Dell (short excerpt sung by Al Shean); [0:12] (Broadway Serenade) For Every Lonely Heart (sung by Jeanette MacDonald); [0:21] (Broadway Serenade) For Every Lonely Heart (excerpt sung by Jeanette MacDonald, interrupted numerous times in Collier's office); [0:24] High Flyin' (excerpt sung by Franklin Pangborn); [0:25] High Flyin' (excerpt sung by Jeanette MacDonald); [0:26] One Look at You (Jeanette MacDonald); [0:33] High Flyin' (production number sung and danced by Jeanette MacDonald, Kenneth Stevens and Chorus); [0:38] One Look at You (Jeanette MacDonald and Kenneth Stevens); [0:44] Montage: scenes from various numbers in Collier's Revue (sung by Jeanette MacDonald and Chorus); [1:01] Time Changes Everything (sung by Mens Chorus); [1:02] Un bel di (from the opera MADAMA BUTTERFLY, sung by Jeanette MacDonald); [1:10] Opera montage: includes excerpts of Italian Street Song, Les Filles de Cadiz and Musetta's Waltz from LA BOHÉME (sung by Jeanette MacDonald); [1:16] One Look at You (sung by Jeanette MacDonald); [1:44] Finale production number: (Broadway Serenade) For Every Lonely Heart (sung and danced by Jeanette MacDonald and Chorus); Numerous short excerpts of other songs througout film