1929·Music·1h 41m
6.5
★
The vaudeville act of Harriet and Queenie Mahoney comes to Broadway, where their friend Eddie Kerns needs them for his number in one of Francis Zanfield's shows. When Eddie meets Queenie, he soon falls in love with her—but she is already being courted by Jock Warriner, a member of New York high society. Queenie eventually recognizes that, to Jock, she is nothing more than a toy, and that Eddie is in love with her.
Directed by Harry Beaumont
new york city
dancing
love triangle
show business
musical
tap dancing
singer
singing
black and white
undressing
broadway
pre-code
vaudeville
dressing room
chorus girl
broadway show
dance act
vaudeville company
sisterhood
partially lost film
show girls
sister sister relationship
sisters love
dancing girls
Trailer
IMDB
N/A
Where to Watch
Cast
Anita Page
Queenie Mahoney
Bessie Love
Harriet 'Hank' Mahoney
Drew Demorest
Turpe - Costumer (uncredited)
Edward Dillon
Dillon - Stage Manager (uncredited)
Mary Doran
Flo (uncredited)
James Gleason
Music Publisher (uncredited)
Eddie Kane
Francis Zanfield (uncredited)
Carla Laemmle
Specialty Dancer (uncredited)
Carl M. Leviness
Party Guest (uncredited)
Charlotte Merriam
Flapper in Pearl Necklace (uncredited)
Blanche Payson
Wardrobe Lady (uncredited)
Jed Prouty
Uncle Jed (uncredited)
Crew
Harry Beaumont
Director
Edmund Goulding
Writer
Sam Zimbalist
Editor
Harry Rapf
Producer
Irving Thalberg
Producer
Lawrence Weingarten
Producer
Cedric Gibbons
Art Direction
Douglas Shearer
Sound Recordist
James Gleason
Dialogue
Sarah Y. Mason
Continuity
Douglas Shearer
Recording Supervision
Popular Reviews
96 reviews
Andrew Warren
4.0★ · 02/24/26
1929 Best Picture (2nd Academy Awards)
“Gee, this is elegant, ain’t it.”
The first “talkie” to win Best Picture at the Oscars, The Broadway Melody is known to be one of, if not the worst Best Picture winner of all time. But is it? I can’t really say because I’ve only seen 42 Best Picture winners, but it’s easily at the bottom of my ranking right now.
What makes this film rather lackluster is that this film is just boring. There’s not a single song or dance number in this musical that is memorable or interesting. The film’s writing of its female characters is stereotypical and dry, I’m not even exaggerating, all they do is fight over men for 100 minutes.
While this film is undeniably boring, and not a great film compared to other Best Picture winners, I understand the decision. Released in February 1929, The Broadway Melody feels like an ode to what we called the “roaring twenties”. As boring as it is, I feel the charm of 1920’s New York. And if you know your history, just 9 months later, Wall Street crashed and would mark the end of the Roaring Twenties. So of the 5 films nominated, it felt the Academy was trying to choose the film to best represent the 1920’s, narrowing it down to this film and Hollywood Revue. With the stock market crash only 6 months before the ceremony, a film about broadway and New York seems like the obvious choice.
Featured Lists:
Best Picture Ranked
“Gee, this is elegant, ain’t it.”
The first “talkie” to win Best Picture at the Oscars, The Broadway Melody is known to be one of, if not the worst Best Picture winner of all time. But is it? I can’t really say because I’ve only seen 42 Best Picture winners, but it’s easily at the bottom of my ranking right now.
What makes this film rather lackluster is that this film is just boring. There’s not a single song or dance number in this musical that is memorable or interesting. The film’s writing of its female characters is stereotypical and dry, I’m not even exaggerating, all they do is fight over men for 100 minutes.
While this film is undeniably boring, and not a great film compared to other Best Picture winners, I understand the decision. Released in February 1929, The Broadway Melody feels like an ode to what we called the “roaring twenties”. As boring as it is, I feel the charm of 1920’s New York. And if you know your history, just 9 months later, Wall Street crashed and would mark the end of the Roaring Twenties. So of the 5 films nominated, it felt the Academy was trying to choose the film to best represent the 1920’s, narrowing it down to this film and Hollywood Revue. With the stock market crash only 6 months before the ceremony, a film about broadway and New York seems like the obvious choice.
Featured Lists:
Best Picture Ranked
1929 Best Picture (2nd Academy Awards)
“Gee, this is elegant, ain’t it.”
The first “talkie” to win Best Picture at the Oscars, The Broadway Melody is known to be one of, if not the worst Best Picture winner of all time. But is it? I can’t really say because I’ve only seen 42 Best Picture winners, but it’s easily at the bottom of my ranking right now.
What makes this film rather lackluster is that this film is just boring. There’s not a single song or dance number in this musical that is memorable or interesting. The film’s writing of its female characters is stereotypical and dry, I’m not even exaggerating, all they do is fight over men for 100 minutes.
While this film is undeniably boring, and not a great film compared to other Best Picture winners, I understand the decision. Released in February 1929, The Broadway Melody feels like an ode to what we called the “roaring twenties”. As boring as it is, I feel the charm of 1920’s New York. And if you know your history, just 9 months later, Wall Street crashed and would mark the end of the Roaring Twenties. So of the 5 films nominated, it felt the Academy was trying to choose the film to best represent the 1920’s, narrowing it down to this film and Hollywood Revue. With the stock market crash only 6 months before the ceremony, a film about broadway and New York seems like the obvious choice.
Featured Lists:
Best Picture Ranked
“Gee, this is elegant, ain’t it.”
The first “talkie” to win Best Picture at the Oscars, The Broadway Melody is known to be one of, if not the worst Best Picture winner of all time. But is it? I can’t really say because I’ve only seen 42 Best Picture winners, but it’s easily at the bottom of my ranking right now.
What makes this film rather lackluster is that this film is just boring. There’s not a single song or dance number in this musical that is memorable or interesting. The film’s writing of its female characters is stereotypical and dry, I’m not even exaggerating, all they do is fight over men for 100 minutes.
While this film is undeniably boring, and not a great film compared to other Best Picture winners, I understand the decision. Released in February 1929, The Broadway Melody feels like an ode to what we called the “roaring twenties”. As boring as it is, I feel the charm of 1920’s New York. And if you know your history, just 9 months later, Wall Street crashed and would mark the end of the Roaring Twenties. So of the 5 films nominated, it felt the Academy was trying to choose the film to best represent the 1920’s, narrowing it down to this film and Hollywood Revue. With the stock market crash only 6 months before the ceremony, a film about broadway and New York seems like the obvious choice.
Featured Lists:
Best Picture Ranked
2
Silentluminary
6.0★ · 08/25/25
Surely they didn't think their act was that good, right?
Surely they didn't think their act was that good, right?
1
Castor
4.0★ · 06/16/26
Well... they talk in this one
Well... they talk in this one
Sam
3.0★ · 05/29/26
It’s not their fault, they just invented sound
It’s not their fault, they just invented sound
İbrahim
2.0★ · 04/26/26
İzlemesi işkence gibiydi aq bu kadar klişe bir nasıl oscar kazandı.
İzlemesi işkence gibiydi aq bu kadar klişe bir nasıl oscar kazandı.