"Made on Broadway" is a somewhat different plot from the many comedy romance films Robert Montgomery was making at MGM during the early to mid-1930s. In most of those, he's the dapper playboy or gentlemen that fits one of his Hollywood labels at the time - the best-dressed actor on the set. He's also usually a self-assured and bemused character. Well, he's all of that and more - or, more accurately, to the maximum in this film.
Montgomery's Jeff Bidwell is the most egotistical, proud, self-centered, in-control character one can imagine. It doesn't quite get to the point of grating on the viewer though, and that's only because of some of the other characters and the humor attached to his presence. There's another side to this story, and that's that he has very little scruples. He's THE master fixer of any problem in the Big Apple. He does it all with publicity. He's a wheeler-dealer who knows the ins and outs and all the right people to pull off a cover-up.
Bidwell has politicians, judges, millionaires, contractors, lawyers, reporters, doctors, professors, women and just about anyone with a scandal, crime or problem indebted to him. And their debts are premium fees.
At one time, Bidwell was married, but he and Claire (Madge Evans) divorced because he couldn't stand anyone who could match him thought-wise. There's still something between them, and they are friends and antagonists on and off. But when a new person comes into his life, things start working out differently. Mona Martine (Sally Eilers) is a different con-artist with a mind of her own.
The film is peppered with some snappy lines and occasional antics. But, its light treatment of a murder, and suggestions about various crimes that Jeff is able to cover-up or fix, is a bit of a problem. The film never rectifies that, and that's the only thing that the enforcement of the Hays Code starting the next year would be concerned with. While it's billed as a comedy and drama, I think it would better be labeled comedy and crime. Especially when one considers that a lot of what Bidwell did might be criminal - things like phony alibis, altering scenes of a crime, removing evidence, covering up details, planting phony stories, etc.
The ending is a little bit of a surprise. The title alludes to Jeff's handling of Mona, when he tells Claire that she was his creation. It could also very well be linked to the fact that Broadway was the centerpiece of acting, and that much of Jeff's work was all about directing clients to act with false stories and alibis, and changing and creating crime scenes.
Here are some of the best lines in the film.
Jeff Bidwell, "But she thought she was just as smart as I am. And there isn't a woman in the world, Mike, who has a right to be that conceited."
Jeff Bidwell, "I don't think a little fresh air'd do me any harm." Elmer, the chauffeur, "Sure. Take a chance."
Jeff Bidwell, "Say, listen, lady. There's one thing you gotta learn right here and now. When it comes to lying, don't try to make a chump out of the old master."
Claire Bidwell, "Why do you love her, anyway? Jeff Bidwell, "I don't know. Yes, yes, maybe I do. You see, when she jumped into that river, she was nothing. I dragged her out and I've made her something. Everything that she is, is me. She's my creation. My doing. Maybe it's just a touch of egotism, but she's mine just as much as if I'd made her out of a mud pie."
Jeff Bidwell, "Anyway, you're good. You're the best female blacksmith in the whole anvil chorus."
Claire Bidwell, "It's too bad someone doesn't invent a gun that shoots backwards."
Police Inspector Burke, "Funny how you gun-shy dames always shoot so straight."
Inspector Burke, "Well, I never heard it done better, even when it was true."
Claire Bidwell, "I've never been jealous of any woman. I don't have to be. I've never seen any woman you had that I've had any reason to be jealous of." Jeff Bidwell, "Oh, perfect, eh?" Claire, "Too good for you. You don't want a woman to be on the level. You want all your women to be phony. You want them to adore you, worship you without question or criticism. And if they're not quite stupid enough for that, you want them to pretend. All which means you can't bear the truth about yourself. And you're a liar and....
