Of
all the wonderful female partners that the legendary Fred Astaire danced
with throughout his career, there was only one whose reputation as a
hoofer rivaled his- and the lady’s name was Eleanor Powell. Back in her
heyday, Powell’s dancing prowess had earned her the title the Queen of
Tap, and for good reason. Watching Powell today, one can still marvel at
the enthusiasm, athleticism and energy of her dancing, not to mention her
charm and beauty that came across on the screen when she was standing
still. As for the teaming of Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell, it was the
kind of cinematic magic that was captured on film only one time in BROADWAY
MELODY OF 1940 ($20). A cinematically elaborate and stylistically
beautiful dance number performed to Cole Porter’s classic Begin
The Beguine climaxes the film and leave the audience wanting more
of this memorable teaming.
In
terms of plot, BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940 doesn’t break any new
ground, and proves to be like many other backstage musicals of the period.
What elevates BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940 above run of the mill is the
dancing of Astaire & Powell, as well as MGM’s typically high
production values and the delightful Cole Porter songs. BROADWAY MELODY
OF 1940 tells the story of dancers Johnny Brett (Astaire) and King
Shaw (George Murphy), who are trying to get their foot in the door on The
Great White Way. While doing a specialty routine at a dancehall, Broadway
producer Bob Casey (Frank Morgan) spots Johnny and thinks that he would
make an ideal leading man Clare Bennett (Powell), who will be starring in
an upcoming musical for the producer.
However,
through coincidence and a case of mistaken identity, it is King who ends
up starring opposite Clare, instead of Johnny. With his former partner’s
best interests still at the forefront, Johnny coaches King through the
rehearsal process, always finding ways to improve his friend’s
performance. Of course, Johnny’s selflessness does come with the benefit
of allowing him to grow closer to Clare, with whom he is smitten.
Complications arise when Clare begins to return Johnny’s feelings,
leaving King the odd man out. The cast of BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940
also includes Ian Hunter, Florence Rice, Lynne Carver, Ann Morriss and
Trixie Firschke.
Warner
Home Video has made BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940 available on DVD in a
black and white presentation that frames the film in its proper 1.37:1
full screen aspect ratio. Considering that the movie is now over six
decades old, the transfer is very, very nice. BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940
isn’t one of those movies that have been digitally restored frame by
frame, but it is obvious that the image has been cleaned up to a some
extent, with only mild scratches and blemishes remaining. Sharpness and
detail are quite respectable, so that one can appreciate the extravagant
sets and costumes. Blacks are pretty velvety, white are crisp and stable,
plus contrast is pretty smooth. There is a noticeable grain structure
throughout the presentation that gives the picture a nice, film like
quality. Digital compression artifacts are a non-issue on this DVD.
BROADWAY
MELODY OF 1940 comes with a Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack that
gets the job done nicely. I found the track to be reasonably pleasant, but
those spoiled by fully digital modern soundtracks, will probably be more
critical. One has to remember it was only slightly more than a decade into
the sound era when BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940 was made, and that
recording technology was still fairly primitive. Therefore, the fidelity
of the musical numbers is rather limited, coming up short in regards to
the higher and lower frequencies. Still, the track has been cleaned up to
remove the most glaring instances of background hiss and surface noise, so
the musical numbers do come across cleanly and undistorted at normal
listening levels. Additionally, dialogue is always completely
understandable. A French language track has also been encoded onto the
DVD, along with English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Music
underscores the basic interactive menus, which feature access to the
standard scene selection and set up features, as well as a few nice
supplements. Cole Porter in Hollywood: Begin the Beguine is
an eight-minute program hosted by Ann Miller that looks back on the
production of BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940. The Big Premiere
is a ten-minute comedy short featuring the kids of Our Gang, who attend a
Hollywood movie premiere. Production notes, cast & crew listing and a
theatrical trailer close out the supplements.
BROADWAY
MELODY OF 1940 is a genuine delight for Fred Astaire, Eleanor Powell
and Cole Porter fans that climaxes with a classic dance number built
around Porter’s Begin The Beguine. If you are a movie buff
or musical fan, BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940 is something that you will
want to add to your collection.
Of
all the wonderful female partners that the legendary Fred Astaire danced
with throughout his career, there was only one whose reputation as a
hoofer rivaled his- and the lady’s name was Eleanor Powell. Back in her
heyday, Powell’s dancing prowess had earned her the title the Queen of
Tap, and for good reason. Watching Powell today, one can still marvel at
the enthusiasm, athleticism and energy of her dancing, not to mention her
charm and beauty that came across on the screen when she was standing
still. As for the teaming of Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell, it was the
kind of cinematic magic that was captured on film only one time in BROADWAY
MELODY OF 1940 ($20). A cinematically elaborate and stylistically
beautiful dance number performed to Cole Porter’s classic Begin
The Beguine climaxes the film and leave the audience wanting more
of this memorable teaming.
In
terms of plot, BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940 doesn’t break any new
ground, and proves to be like many other backstage musicals of the period.
What elevates BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940 above run of the mill is the
dancing of Astaire & Powell, as well as MGM’s typically high
production values and the delightful Cole Porter songs. BROADWAY MELODY
OF 1940 tells the story of dancers Johnny Brett (Astaire) and King
Shaw (George Murphy), who are trying to get their foot in the door on The
Great White Way. While doing a specialty routine at a dancehall, Broadway
producer Bob Casey (Frank Morgan) spots Johnny and thinks that he would
make an ideal leading man Clare Bennett (Powell), who will be starring in
an upcoming musical for the producer.
However,
through coincidence and a case of mistaken identity, it is King who ends
up starring opposite Clare, instead of Johnny. With his former partner’s
best interests still at the forefront, Johnny coaches King through the
rehearsal process, always finding ways to improve his friend’s
performance. Of course, Johnny’s selflessness does come with the benefit
of allowing him to grow closer to Clare, with whom he is smitten.
Complications arise when Clare begins to return Johnny’s feelings,
leaving King the odd man out. The cast of BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940
also includes Ian Hunter, Florence Rice, Lynne Carver, Ann Morriss and
Trixie Firschke.
Warner
Home Video has made BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940 available on DVD in a
black and white presentation that frames the film in its proper 1.37:1
full screen aspect ratio. Considering that the movie is now over six
decades old, the transfer is very, very nice. BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940
isn’t one of those movies that have been digitally restored frame by
frame, but it is obvious that the image has been cleaned up to a some
extent, with only mild scratches and blemishes remaining. Sharpness and
detail are quite respectable, so that one can appreciate the extravagant
sets and costumes. Blacks are pretty velvety, white are crisp and stable,
plus contrast is pretty smooth. There is a noticeable grain structure
throughout the presentation that gives the picture a nice, film like
quality. Digital compression artifacts are a non-issue on this DVD.
BROADWAY
MELODY OF 1940 comes with a Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack that
gets the job done nicely. I found the track to be reasonably pleasant, but
those spoiled by fully digital modern soundtracks, will probably be more
critical. One has to remember it was only slightly more than a decade into
the sound era when BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940 was made, and that
recording technology was still fairly primitive. Therefore, the fidelity
of the musical numbers is rather limited, coming up short in regards to
the higher and lower frequencies. Still, the track has been cleaned up to
remove the most glaring instances of background hiss and surface noise, so
the musical numbers do come across cleanly and undistorted at normal
listening levels. Additionally, dialogue is always completely
understandable. A French language track has also been encoded onto the
DVD, along with English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Music
underscores the basic interactive menus, which feature access to the
standard scene selection and set up features, as well as a few nice
supplements. Cole Porter in Hollywood: Begin the Beguine is
an eight-minute program hosted by Ann Miller that looks back on the
production of BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940. The Big Premiere
is a ten-minute comedy short featuring the kids of Our Gang, who attend a
Hollywood movie premiere. Production notes, cast & crew listing and a
theatrical trailer close out the supplements.
BROADWAY
MELODY OF 1940 is a genuine delight for Fred Astaire, Eleanor Powell
and Cole Porter fans that climaxes with a classic dance number built
around Porter’s Begin The Beguine. If you are a movie buff
or musical fan, BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940 is something that you will
want to add to your collection.