The Broadway Melody Review by Jessica Film Junkie (4.5 Stars)

The Broadway Melody Review by Jessica Film Junkie (4.5 Stars) | MatchFlick

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Movie Details

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Starring:
Charles King, Bessie Love, Eddie Kane, Anita Page, Kenneth Thomson, Edward Dillon, Mary Doran, J. Emmett Beck, Marshall Ruth, Drew Demorest, Jed Prouty

Directed By:
Harry Beaumont

Written By:
Norman Houston, Edmund Goulding

The Broadway Melody (1929)

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Movie Review by Jessica Film Junkie
April 10th, 2007

Juggernaut of Dance and Song

Only the second film to win the Best Picture Oscar, this is the story of two sisters who arrive in New York with the dream of making it big, but are torn apart by the unexpected nature of success.

Anita Page plays Queenie Mahoney, the attractive, but dim-witted half of the Mahoney sisters. She finds that the men of New York will line up for miles to meet her and buy her all kinds of expensive gifts, but all she really wants is her sister's man, Eddie (Charles King).

Eddie is a songwriter who 'writes' the songs 'You Were Meant For Me' and 'Broadway Melody'. He is conflicted by his feelings for the two sisters, having promised himself to Hank, before getting to know Queenie. Eddie is a likeable, but simple guy who can't make up his mind.

And then there is Hank (Bessie Love), the intelligent, talented and shorter Mahoney sister. Hank wants to be a star, but she also wants to marry her beloved Eddie. She is the most complex character in the film and Love gives a tremendous performance (she was nominated for Best Actress). She perfectly portrays the woman with a fire inside, the woman who wants to be more, but is so driven that she can't see what is right in front of her eyes.

This is a very cinematic and artistic film for 1929, the camera perfectly captures the tension of a love triangle with some genius shots where Hank and Eddie and trying to pull Queenie back into their web. Or when Hank realizes that Eddie loves her sister more than her, she places their two photos side by side and stares at them wondering how she went wrong.

Hank is the martyr of this film, but she also shows that a woman can have the strength to stand alone and fight for what she wants, she is a role model without knowing it.

I was shocked by how much I liked this film.

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