Broadway Melody of 1938

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

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.

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.

Okay, so the plot lines on these "Broadway Melody" movies are pretty thin. But the dancing and the music are great! This one has the inimitable Sophie Tucker running a boarding house for out-of-work performers, and Judy Garland as her pre-teen daughter. Judy sings some wonderful songs in this, including "You Made Me Love You," to a fan photo of Clark Gable. And Eleanor Powell -- what a hoofer!

Us that were born post-war tend to forget that some of our 50's heroes had prior talents, and that is just the case with Buddy Ebsen. He was so much a part of my childhood and since, yet hear he is hoofing it with Judy Garland back in 1938 - wow! This film is one of the all-time greats, so if you like a foot-tappin' memorable sequence - just watch Buddy and Judy. You will never forget it!