Broadway Melody of 1940 was the only film in which Astaire danced with Eleanor Powell; it may also have been the only film in which he played opposite George Murphy. (I need to check this out.) It was the third in the Broadway Melody reprise series, each of which starred Eleanor Powell. Murphy had beenContinue reading “Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940)”
Category Archives: Eleanor Powell
Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935)
Broadway Melody of 1936 was the first of a series of Broadway Melody films that MGM made to match Busby Berkeley’s successful backstage Broadway series, which by 1936 had already delivered five films and had a sixth (Gold Diggers of 1937) in production. Despite their titles, the Broadway Melodies of ’36, ’38 and ’40 wereContinue reading “Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935)”
Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937)
Variety-show comedies were extremely popular in the 1930s, even before they hit their peak during the war years. They were patterned on vaudeville, music hall, and cabaret stage shows that included a lot of different kinds of acts — hence “variety” — and could be built into spectacular star vehicles in New York, Paris, andContinue reading “Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937)”
Born to Dance (1936)
Born to Dance (1936) is definitely not an undiscovered masterpiece, but it’s a fascinating piece of period cinema. Its director, Roy Del Ruth, was a fine, crafty comedy director, but this film’s direction is craaaazy — and not from genius. Still, amazingly illuminating. Why? Bear with me a while. Years ago, I had an epiphanyContinue reading “Born to Dance (1936)”