Broadway Melody of 1940
| Broadway Melody of 1940 | |
|---|---|
1940 Theatrical Poster
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| Directed by | Norman Taurog |
| Produced by | Jack Cummings |
| Written by |
Story: Jack McGowan Dore Schary Screenplay: Leon Gordon George Oppenheimer |
| Starring |
Fred Astaire Eleanor Powell George Murphy Frank Morgan |
| Music by |
Cole Porter Roger Edens Walter Ruick |
| Cinematography |
Oliver T. Marsh Joseph Ruttenberg |
| Edited by | Blanche Sewell |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
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Release date
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Running time
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102 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Broadway Melody of 1940 is a 1940 MGM movie musical starring Fred Astaire, Eleanor Powell and George Murphy. It was directed by Norman Taurog and features music by Cole Porter, including "Begin the Beguine".
The film was the fourth and final entry in MGM's "Broadway Melody" series of films, and is notable for being the only on-screen pairing of Astaire and Powell, who were considered the finest movie musical dancers of their time.
Johnny Brett (Fred Astaire) and King Shaw (George Murphy) are a dance team so down on their luck they're working in a dance hall for no money. Meanwhile, Clare Bennett (Eleanor Powell) is a big Broadway star. Owing to a case of mistaken identity, Shaw is offered the chance to be Clare's dancing partner in a new Broadway show, while it was really Johnny's dancing that producer Bob Casey (Frank Morgan) saw and wanted. The partnership breaks up, but Johnny sticks around to help out Shaw, who lets his newfound success go to his head. Clare eventually realizes that Johnny, and not Shaw, is the better dancer, and she falls in love after having lunch with him. When Shaw gets drunk on opening night, Johnny steps in and saves the show with a brilliant performance, though he lets King think he did it himself. Clare later tells Shaw the truth. Just before the next show, Clare discovers Shaw drunk and Johnny becomes the permanent replacement. After the show, they find out that King was pretending to be drunk so that Johnny would get the job.
Cast notes:
Broadway Melody of 1940 was based on a story by Jack McGowan and Dore Schary. Schary would go on to be head of production (1948) and then president (1951) of MGM until 1956. The film was originally planned to be shot in Technicolor, but because of the unsettled state of Europe due to World War II, MGM decided to stick to black and white.
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