Two Girls on Broadway

"Two Girls on Broadway," made in 1940, is a remake of "Broadway Melody of 1929" and not as much fun. It stars George Murphy, Joan Blondell, Lana Turner, Kent Taylor and Wallace Ford. Murphy is Eddie Kerns, who sells a song, himself, his fiancé and her sister to a Broadway producer. The sisters rush out from the midwest to audition, but the show only wants Pat (Turner) while Molly (Blondell) is given the job of cigarette girl. Molly swallows her pride and watches her sister replace her in a number she used to do with Eddie. Then Eddie realizes that he's also interested in Pat, and she with him.

Nurphy is charming, energetic, and fine dancer, and Blondell is her usual excellent self. But it's hard to keep your eyes off of young, gorgeous, fresh-faced Lana with her gorgeous figure and vivacious personality. She dances with Murphy, and despite being a little stiff in her upper body, she's surprisingly good. Lana really had something in those days. It's no surprise she became a huge star.

The musical numbers are enjoyable. This movie is nothing to write home about, but if you've never experienced the young Lana, this is a great film to see her in.

TWO GIRLS ON BROADWAY (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1940), directed by S. Sylvan Simon, is a lightweight, updated partial remake to the ever popular Academy Award winner of THE BROADWAY MELODY (MGM, 1929). While the update could have been titled BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940, this latest edition as TWO GIRLS ON BROADWAY, based on the original story by Edmund Goulding, is more of a second feature (74 minutes) and showcase for young Lana Turner. Supported by such screen veterans as Joan Blondell and George Murphy, it also displays Turner's rare ability as a singer and dancer, but soon proving her future success in the movies would be in dramatic roles instead.

The story begins in Rome City, Nebraska, where Trooper One, Molly Mahoney (Joan Blondell), runs a dancing school for children along with Trooper Two, her kid sister, Pat (Lana Turner), Dismissing their class to listen to the radio program, "Oddities of the Air," as hosted by Mr. Boyle (Don Wilson), by which Trooper Three, Eddie Kearns (George Murphy), Molly's fiance, happens to be auditioning one of his composed songs with a song and dance. Eddie wins audience approval and a spot in Buddy Bartell's (Richard Lane) upcoming musical show. Telephoning the good news to Molly, he invites the girls to take the next bus out to join him for a possible audition. Upon their arrival, Molly and Pat do a song and dance for Bartell, whose main interest is more on Pat. To keep Pat under his employ, he offers Molly a night club job working as a cigarette girl. Regardless of this humiliation and wanting Pat to succeed in show business, Molly accepts the job. As Pat finds herself becoming more interested in Eddie during dress rehearsals, she decides to spend more time with her sponsor, Chat Chatsworth (Kent Taylor), so not to come between Molly and Eddie's plans for marriage. Problems arise when Molly discovers from Jed Marlowe (Wallace Ford), a reporter friend of hers, that Chatsworth is a womanizer with five ex-wives with intentions on having Pat as wife number six. Others in the cast include Otto Hahn (Ito); Lloyd Corrigan (Judge Hennessey); and Edward Gargan (The Policeman),

The distinction between TWO GIRLS ON BROADWAY and THE BROADWAY MELODY are its acting and production numbers. Though the original 1929 had its merits of success, its over-the-top acting among the leading actresses (Bessie Love and Anita Page) along with brief production numbers consisting of cart-wheels and back flips by ensembles, both weaken the original for contemporary viewers. Blondell, in her role originated by Bessie Love, gives a more natural performance as does Lana Turner's carnation to Anita Page's kid sister performance. For being Turner's movie, it is Blondell who proves herself more of a real trooper than the others.

The production numbers, well choreographed by Bobby Connolly, consisting of "My Wonder One, Let's Dance" (sung by George Murphy); "Broadway's Still Broadway" (dance rehearsal dance with Lana Turner) and reprise of "My Wonderful One, Let's Dance" (performed by Murphy and Turner) are entertaining enough, but not as memorable in scoring as the 1929 original that produced such classic tunes as "You Were Meant for Me." George Murphy, like Charles King, displays good showmanship in the entertainment department, yet it was Murphy who lasted a lot longer as a movie actor than the heavily New York accented Charles King, whose movie career ended in 1930.

As much as TWO GIRLS ON BROADWA Y is not a scene by scene remake to THE BROADWAY MELODY, it does lead to a similar structure to the original. Never distributed on video cassette but available on DVD, both TWO GIRLS ON BROADWAY and THE BROADWAY MELODY can be seen and compared whenever shown on Turner Classic Movies cable television. (**1/2)

George Murphy sells a song to a Broadway producer and a specialty. He brings his old partner and fiancee, Joan Blondell, in from Nebraska, and she hauls along her kid sister Lana Turner. Their specialty is so corny it should have stayed in Nebraska. But Miss Turner does a fine turn with Murphy, and the two of them realize they're in love. What to do about Miss Blondell?

Produced by Jack Cummings, directed by S. Sylvan Simon, camera by George Folsey, and choreographed by Bobby Connolly, this black-and-white musical uses the big, shiny sets from movies like THE GREAT ZIEGFELD and is all right, if not great. The choreography suggests that Connolly must have been thinking of Astaire when he planned it. There's no money wasted in casting big names in support, but there are plenty of players for people who like to spot secondary talent, like Kent Taylor, Wallace Ford, Lloyd Corrigan, Don Wilson, Hillary Brooke, Heinie Conklin, Jimmy Conlin, Dick Elliott, and Franklyn Farnum.

Evidently MGM was grooming Lana Turner to be featured in musicals at this stage of her career. Unfortunately that effort was abandoned, with mixed results. In this conventional backstage romantic triangle, she is a very winning performer, and a surprisingly effective dancer in her three musical numbers (partnered in two by George Murphy and in one by Joan Blondell). Her spirited youthfulness and fresh beauty are put to good use in her role as an innocent small-town girl who (almost) is spoiled by some wily denizens of big, bad Broadway. Joan Blondell plays the protective older sister convincingly, willing to sacrifice her own happiness for that of "the kid." Not many viewers would associate Lana Turner with this type of picture, but, as indicated, she more than holds her own. Too bad that in her pictures, as in her life, she became an "experienced" woman too soon.

I'll be honest, the main reason to watch this film is the gorgeous Lana Turner, who was just 19 years old when she starred in it. It's not her first film, but it was made just as her career was about to take off. Her acting is a little clumsy in places (as is George Murphy's), but it's a delight to see her dancing, and each of her close-ups. The story is a little thin, and has Joan Blondell and Turner as sisters, who come to New York to try to get jobs on stage with Blondell's slick-talking but affable fiancé, Murphy. Unfortunately, between the two of them, it's only Turner they want, and Blondell is relegated to selling cigarettes. Murphy tries to look out for Turner and shield her from a lecherous playboy (Kent Taylor), but then things get worse for Blondell when Murphy starts falling for Turner himself. There are some nice scenes of Blondell sacrificing herself with a brave face; she does the best she can with the material, and her character is a model of class. Unfortunately, there's also an extended scene with a Japanese butler that has some ugly racism on full display. The film wants to be a comedy, a romance, and a musical, and is pretty average at all three. It's concise at 73 minutes, and I liked seeing Turner and Blondell, but if those two aren't of interest, you should probably skip this one.