The Broadway Melody (1929)

 Harry Beaumont's "The Broadway Melody"


With the inclusion of sound in films with the 1926 hit "The Jazz Singer," Hollywood was attempting to construct a new standard for sound pictures. There were many experiments with the technology from 1926 to 1929. However, MGM commissioned a production of "The Broadway Melody," which was not only one of the first full-sound films but the first full-sound musical, as well. 

The film is about two sisters who work as traveling performers and eventually get a chance to perform on Broadway. One of the sisters, Queenie, gets a big break and the attention of a wealthy love interest. Meanwhile, the other sister, Hank, must reconcile with her own shortcomings and even her romantic partner pursuing her sister Queenie. The theme of the film deals with stardom and the selfish effects that follow. At the beginning of the film, everyone is happy and emotionally bonded. However, once Queenie starts to come into her own, she begins to want nicer things and behaves more selfishly. By the end, everyone has made amends and made do with the hands they are dealt. 

The production of the film was incredibly difficult. Because of the new sound technologies, filming had become painstaking. Because a full-length sound production had never been done before, they used a trial-and-error method of figuring out how to capture everything. Scenes would have to be re-shot over and over again, which resulted in long days and exhausted performers. 

The film was a wide hit. MGM made $1.6 million off of the film, making it the top-grossing film of the year. The film even won the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 2nd annual award show. Retrospectively, many look at "The Broadway Melody" as the film that created the concept and structure of musical films. For this reason, it is considered innovative for its time. Despite this, many who watch the film recognize how cliched and overly melodramatic the picture is. What one must keep in mind is that the film was the first ever full sound production and the first full conceptual Hollywood musical. The cliches are only cliches because of how often we see them in Hollywood musicals since. But it cannot be a cliche if it is the first to create them. "The Broadway Melody" can be credited with creating the Hollywood that we have come to know for the past 90 years.



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