Broadway Melody of 1938

Director: Roy Del Ruth Roy Del Ruth

Overview

A Broadway producer desperately seeks backing for his show, and his prayers are answered when the star's horse wins a race. This third Broadway Melody film features Robert Taylor, Eleanor Powell and a few well-known performers including fifteen-year-old Judy Garland, Buddy Ebsen and others.

Product Details

Release Date:	04/14/2020
UPC:	0883929713233
Original Release:	1937
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono, Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:52:00
Sales rank:	28,754

Special Features

Oscar-Winning Short That Mothers Might Live ; Classic Cartoon Pipe Dreams; Audio-Only Bonuses:? Outtake Songs,; Alternate Audio Cues, Good News of 1938 Radio Program and Leo Is on the Air Radio Promo; Theatrical Trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Eleanor Powell	Sally Lee
Sophie Tucker	Alice Clayton
Judy Garland	Betty Clayton
George Murphy	Sonny Ledford
Binnie Barnes	Caroline Whipple
Buddy Ebsen	Peter Trot
Charles Igor Gorin	Nicki Papaloopas
Raymond Walburn	Herman Whipple
Robert Benchley	Duffy, Raleigh's P.R. Man
Willie Howard	The Waiter
Charley Grapewin	James K. Blakeley,James K. Blakeley
Robert Wildhack	The Sneezer
Billy Gilbert	George Papaloopas
Barnett Parker	Jerry Jason
Helen Troy	Emma Snipe
Carole Landis	Bit Part
Robert Taylor	Actor
Nacio Herb Brown	Composer
Arthur Freed	Composer

Technical Credits

Jack McGowan

Sid Silvers

Roy Del Ruth	Director
Jack McGowan	Screenwriter
Sid Silvers	Screenwriter
Jack Cummings	Producer

Editorial Reviews

History was in the making with Broadway Melody of 1938, though few at the time were aware of it. It's not that Melody was any great shakes material-wise. The story is old hat and trite, another let's-put-on-a-show-but-how-will-we-raise-the-money rehash, with a racehorse subplot thrown in so they could stake some claim to "originality." The characterizations are paper thin, the dialogue is often pedestrian and much of the comedy is forced. The score is better, a hodgepodge of some very good and some not-exactly-a-classic. But if Melody overall is only a middling musical, it has a skyrocket in it in the form of 15-year-old Judy Garland, who received a lot of deserved notice for knocking one out of the ballpark with her "Dear Mr. Gable/You Made Me Love You," which even decades later still packs a punch. She has other bright spots as well, including a winning turn with Buddy Ebsen and a couple of choruses of "Everybody Sing" that are pure charm; but it's the "Gable" number that launched her into the cinema firmament. But Melody has more than Garland; there's some more fantastic singing from Sophie Tucker, good hoofing from Ebsen, a nice comic bit from Robert Benchley and some first class, frequently amazing Terpsichore from Eleanor Powell. If the material is not first class, the performers certainly are.