Broadway Melody of 1938

Eleanor Powell, Robert Taylor, Buddy Ebsen and Robert Wildhack reunite for "Broadway Melody of 1938," not to be confused with "Broadway Melody of 1936" which is better. The 1938 film also stars Sophie Tucker, Judy Garland, Robert Benchley and Binnie Barnes.

Taylor is now a producer named Steve instead of Robert, and Powell is newcomer to Broadway Sally Lee. Instead of knowing Steve from Albany, she now comes from a farm. Wildhack is doing scientific work on sneezing instead of snoring this time, and Buddy Ebsen still dances but has actually quit show business. The plot concerns the usual getting the money for a Broadway show, with horse racing thrown in for good measure.

The musical numbers are nowhere near as good as in the past, but we do have the young Judy singing her "You Made Me Love You" to Mr. Gable and "Some of These Days" belted out by Sophie Tucker. At 15, Garland had a very mature voice and was adorable. What a gift.

It was also a rare treat to see Sophie Tucker. Here she plays Judy's mother and runs a rooming house for actors. Charles Igor Gorin plays an opera singing barber and sings the Toreador Song and Largo al factotum very well. As you'll see, the horse thinks so too.

Taylor looks fabulous and provides the eye candy and Powell's dancing is great. There are some cute bits in the movie as well. The finale is absolutely enormous. Good fun.

Eleanor Powell dances in a tuxedo to "Broadway Rhythm," Judy Garland sings "You Made Me Love You" to a photograph of Clark Gable, and Sophie Tucker sings her signature song, "Some of These Days." Then Tucker joins Garland for "Everybody Sing," and we hear that "Happy Days Are Here Again." This is another history lesson in the famous tunes of the times and the unforgettable performers who gave them to us in song and dance. --Musicals on the Silver Screen, American Library Association, 2013

This is like the other "Broadway Melody" films in that it is fun, likable and lightweight with a story that mixes music, comedy and romance. Included in the comedy are two odd-ball characters who have single-scene routines, one of them (the man who analyzes sneezes) a repeat from the BM of 1936 film.

Everyone's character is nice in this movie except for Binnie Barnes' role of "Caroline Whipple." Eleanor Powell and George Murphy sing and dance and a young Judy Garland sings - just what we'd all except. I didn't find any of the songs in here that good but they weren't awful, either.

This may be a musical but the music wasn't the appeal for me: it was the nice characters in the film that made you feel good just watching them.

My suspicions are running high that the lavish budget and extravagance of "Broadway Melody of 1938" were practice made in order to disguise the age old Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney premise "Come on, let's put on a show!", away from the typical country town backyard setting, for Broadway itself in a dressed up version of a simplified recyclable plot.

It's hard to believe that Judy Garland, a dark brunette starry eyed fifteen year old as a supporting novelty prop, hence the almost non-explained entrance into the "Melody" movie, later became a threat to Eleanor Powell, the female equivalent of Fred Astaire. Despite her lack of purpose, as the daughter of a boarding house proprietress for struggling actors, Judy manages to sing up a storm with her first big hits, "Dear Mr Gable", originally sung to the King himself before its inclusion in the film, "Everybody Sing", so popular that one of her films the following year was renamed after the song, sing a bit of "Yours and Mine" in the opening credits, and a dance in a toilet roll crinoline white dress with Buddy Ebsen.

However, "Broadway Melody of 1938" was Judy Garland's earliest feature film foray at MGM, and not surprisingly for a dynamic triple threat performer of her talents, steals the show.

Horses, gambling bets, sneezing experts, owners of a frighteningly large number of dogs and simply a hell of a lot of people with budding talent all contribute to the movie's conflicting story and the famous show business line, "The show must go on" in order for Robert Taylor's Broadway producer character to finance his latest hit production, called ironically enough, "Broadway Melody".

As a dancing spectacular showcase for the brilliant talents of Eleanor Powell, the routines featured are no disappointment, notably "Follow in my footsteps", in the company of the champion racehorse on a traveling train, and the sensational George Murphy/Powell dance "I'm Feeling Like a Million". Finally, the charismatic cast is rounded up by Sophie Tucker, as Judy's mother, singing a great rendition of her special song "Some of these days".

In all, like all the movies in the "Melody" series, this isn't exactly "Singin' in the Rain", but it certainly did a lot for the audiences of the Depression era, hungry for the lavish, fun musicals, and is certainly quite a surprising pleasant musical piece for your own enjoyment.

Rating: 8/10

The story of Broadway MELODY OF 1938 is not so much zany as just simply bizarre. Raised on a horse farm where she also somehow learned to sing and dance, Eleanor Powell goes to New York in search of fame and fortune on the Great White Way, where she meets (a) George Murphy and Buddy Ebsen, two horse trainers who are also dancers; (b) Robert Taylor, a producer determined to star her in his new show; and (c) one of the horses from her farm. When the horse comes up lame, Eleanor rescues him--and before too long it becomes necessary for the horse to win the big race in order to finance the show!

Eleanor Powell was MGM's great dancing star of the era, George Murphy was one of the screen's most reliable hoofers, and Buddy Ebsen was renowned as a character actor with an eccentric dance style--all three have tremendous star quality and they generate several charming moments. But today the film is chiefly recalled for two supporting players: Sophie Tucker and Judy Garland.

Sophie Tucker had been a great stage star for more than 20 years when this film was made, and MELODY offers one of her rare screen appearances: with her no-nonsense, no-holds-barred style, she leaves little doubt about why she was so celebrated--especially when she launches into her signature song "Some of These Days." Garland, on the other hand, was just really beginning her film career, a slightly chunky teenager with a great big voice--and after putting it through the bullseye with a knockout performance of "Everybody Sing" she nailed the audiences of the day with her famous version of "You Made Me Love You," sung to a photograph of Clark Gable. It was the stuff dreams are made of, and from that moment on her film career was straight up all the way.

The stars knock themselves out to make it fun, and very often it is. But as a whole, it never really seems work in a consistent sort of way. When all is said and done, Broadway MELODY OF 1938 is the sort of show that you watch for certain scenes rather than for the show itself, which is considerably less than the sum of its parts. Recommended for 1930s musical fans, but even they will likely find very thin stuff indeed.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer