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	Broadway Melody of 1940 Fred Astaire, Eleanor Powell MGM (Video & DVD), 1995 average customer review:based on 37 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

From the minute you hear the familiar tune being sung by an exotic siren, you are lulled to a breathtaking black & white world of mirrored-floors, starlit ceilings, giant foil palm trees, very deco Egyptian-esque female dancers and Eleanor Powell and Fred Astaire. The number is "told" in two parts: the first being a more Spanish style of dance, with a Latin tempo, and the two dancers dressed in beautiful costumes, especially Eleanor's flowing pleated gown. The second half of "Begin the Beguine" is a total 1940 Big Band swing number introduced by an Andrews Sisters-like quartet. Fred and Eleanor come tapping out in modern day clothes and perform a swing tap number that is truly astounding. Pure fluid movement. What is so appealing is they look like they are loving every minute of it! Their precision and synchronization will leave you breathless.

But wait, there's more! The film also has these musical numbers, too: "Don't Monkey with Broadway", "All Ashore", "Between You and Me", "I've Got My Eyes on You", "Jukebox Dance" and "I Concentrate on You". The story may not be that good, but who cares? There are some special features, notably a short documentary narrated by Ann Miller about the making of the film.

RUN, don't walk to your nearest DVD store and get "Broadway Melody of 1940"!

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if you have a tapper at home; don't miss this movie

Right after watching this, my wife and I called our (now) 14 yo dancer in to see it. She in turn had her dance buddies watch it the next time they were over. The look of amazement on ALL of our faces as we watched some of the best there ever was worth the price of admission. Like the commercial says; DVD player; $200, DVD; $15, Watching your daughter work ten times harder on her tapping-priceless.


"Begin the Beguine" again and again and again....

This film is tons of fun!

It's not a masterpiece along the lines of "The Wizard of Oz" or "Meet Me in St. Louis." Some may think it inferior to such MGM glitz as "The Ziegfeld Girl" (which is dazzling and a milestone in the careers of Lana Turner and Judy Garland).

But it is what it is and entertaining and joyful make up a lot of that.

It's the first and only time that MGM paired tap queen Eleanor Powell with Fred Astaire (fresh at MGM from some dazzling films at RKO with Ginger Rogers). Nevertheless, the unique pairing produced one of the great musical moments in film history (more below).

It's also unique in that it's one of the few times Alfred Newman, longtime 20th Century-Fox music department head and master composer/conductor (he's possibly one of the greatest conductors EVER) supervised a musical film at another studio prior to taking over at Fox in 1940. Newman previously supervised the music, along with Roger Edens, for MGM musicals "Born to Dance", and "Broadway Melody of 1936", plus various films for both Fox and Samuel Goldwyn.

The plot, today, seems typically trite for that period. Astaire, a great hoofer in a lousy gig, has a crush on Powell, a big Broadway star. He sneaks in to her shows to see her do a production number when he's not performing with his partner, George Murphy. One night, as he and Murphy are dancing, a bumbling fool of a Broadway angel -- adeptly portrayed by Frank Morgan -- sees the two tappers and gets real excited about the prospect of forwarding Astaire to auditions to co-star with Powell in a new show. Astaire, trying to help his buddy out, and having mistaken Morgan for a bill collector, gives Morgan his buddy's name when they meet. Later, it's Murphy who gets a call to go audition and Astaire helps get him ready. Murphy lands the role and his head swells, and Powell learns that it's Astaire who...and on and on and lots of backstage drama ensues until magic time.

George Murphy is endearing in this film -- both as a wannabe tough guy and as a sensitive slob afraid of failure. Murphy had risen to "leading man" status in a number of MGM "B" pictures, and I sense (rightly or wrongly) a bit of 'make-or-break' urgency in his portrayal that I attribute to his finally getting a leading role in a big MGM musical with Powell and Astaire. To me, he seems more comfortable when he's playing tough with Astaire than he does when he's actually singing and dancing with Powell (who probably intimidated him as she was a much bigger star than he).

Morgan's character has a buddy, too -- a white chinchilla cape that seems to have quite a history on the shoulders of starlets he either dates or encounters during the film.

The music is Cole Porter and it's miraculous.

The overture is amazing. The pacing of the music must have been a great challenge to the musicians that made up the MGM orchestra of the late 30s and early 40s (it was not the world-class outfit that Johnny Green would pull together at the end of the decade). From the opening notes, you get a sense of great urgency -- all the pictures about NYC and Broadway you ever saw all rolled into one hyperkinetic several minutes of music.

Astaire and Murphy totally nail the "Don't Monkey With Broadway"
number and it's a wonderful routine! While the number was meant to be typical of the entertainment to be found in NYC at that time, you still have that paradox of "would Astaire really have been dancing for peanuts"? Just like you had to ask, "Wasn't Liza just too good to be performing in that little cabaret"?

The audition number between Murphy and Powell -- "Between You and Me" -- is MGM glitzy and glamorous with a heavy dollop of kitsch...all the ramps for sliding and jumping and twirling (to show off the costume, dontcha know). The sincere looks between Powell and the suddenly shy and nervous Murphy are well worth a grin.

Eleanor Powell was not a great actress. She was, however, a brilliant tap dancer. Today, some wouldn't have kind things to say about her dancing style, especially going from tap to toepoint. But the fact remains that she was a MAJOR star at MGM and Astaire thought her amazingly gifted (sadly, she didn't have his creative flair for invention). Eleanor danced pretty much the same way in each film, with her signature backdrop-handtouch to the floor. She had a tiny voice, but a beautiful face with a gorgeous smile and she made the world seem magical.

She did everything asked of her...with smiles and determination and earnestness.

The "I've Got My Eyes on You" number Astaire does on the empty stage, using Powell's powder puff as his dancing "partner" is inspired. And he and Powell give us a glimpse of what's coming when they do that little tap number at the outdoor cafe.

But let's be absolutely clear about the merits of this film. Its place in cinema (musical) history is assured with the finest tap dancing display ever committed to film...and possibly ever created for any medium...and that is the "Begin the Beguine" number toward the end of the film. It's a jazzy arrangement and Astaire and Powell -- reflected in a black shiny floor -- tap their hearts out in one of the most dazzling terpsichorean displays of athleticism and art ever seen. It's an AWESOME number.

The earlier artsy stuff is a little too cute (along with the meant-to-be-sincere delivery of lines by Powell in those backstage moments as Astaire worries with Murphy). "I Concentrate on You" has been better served in many other films, so it's operatic presentation here should not be mourned.

But it's more than made up for by the glittering delights and leaps to delirium provided by Astaire and Powell AND Murphy when they're tapping.

The film was a major effort and preserves a moment in film history that will never be equalled.

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Underappreciated

The art direction in this movie is incredible. It is one of the ultimate "New York as nightlife fantasyland" films (like the 1936 Melody, and Astaire's own "Swing Time"). The DVD replicates the silky B&W images just fine, especially the finale, which looks incredible on a big screen TV. Though Astaire tended to blow this off as "one of those big Metro things", it is a fun movie with a cool Big Band feel and a dream soundtrack, and Eleanor Powell is a revelation--it's too bad she isn't as well known today. Though the silly harlequin ballet doesn't really belong, I'll still take this over the pretentious MGM musicals of the 50s.

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Great dance numbers, one after another

Sure, the story is light, but it provides some chuckles and bridges the musical numbers together with minimal fuss. All of the dance and production pieces, by the way, range from great to jaw-dropping amazing. Though there are a few complaints about the picture quality among these reviews, I found the visual quality to be nearly perfect, and absolutely devoid of the scratches and bad splices that often mar old films on DVD. After all, what's a little minor flickering in one or two scenes in a 60-plus year old film, if everything else is basically shiny and new looking? The DVD is rounded out by some nice extras, though the inclusion of the "Our Gang" episode is a head scratcher. It really has nothing to do with "Broadway Melody of 1940" other than the fact that it's about the Little Rascals putting on their own generic "big premiere" and the movie itself takes place in a world where producers daily plan for their next big premiere on Broadway. Still, one really can't complain, as you get a nice package of stuff on this DVD for a modest cost.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, page 6, 7, 8

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