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: George Murphy
Public Deb No. 1 (1940)
Public Deb No. 1 is a very odd movie. Most of the world must think so, too, because it’s very hard to find. There’s at least one youtube upload of it, but it’s a horrible dupe from a VHS. My college library says it’s only available in 16mm film, and from only one source, theContinue reading “Public Deb No. 1 (1940)”
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)”
Little Miss Broadway (1938)
Little Miss Broadway isn’t one of Shirley Temple’s best movies. She had already made most of her classic films, and she’s beginning to grow out of her preternatural kawaii cuteness. Those earlier films are full of invention and energy, and she seems uncannily natural no matter what she’s required to do. The story of LittleContinue reading “Little Miss Broadway (1938)”