Broadway Melody of 1936 (1929)

Broadway Melody of 1936 benefits from writer Moss Hart's insider view of stage life, though the movie is little more than an handsomely mounted excuse for MGM to produce yet another glossy musical extravaganza. The film features pleasant performances from Robert Taylor and Eleanor Powell, though it's Jack Benny, as a thinly disguised version of Walter Winchell, who has many of the story's best moments. The tunes are fresh, and Dave Gould's Oscar-winning choreography shines, particularly on "I've Got a Feeling You're Fooling." As was often the case in the mid-1930s, MGM could afford to assemble an all-star team behind the camera: director Roy Del Ruth, songwriters Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown, musical director Alfred Newman, and sound engineer Douglas Shearer. Producer John Considine wisely chose to dress his leading ladies in gowns from Adrian, giving the production a glossy, high-class look. ~ Richard Gilliam, All Movie Guide