The first musical to ever win an Academy Award (let's just point out, it is only the second year of the Academy Awards), Broadway Melody, starring Bessie Love, Anita Page and Charles King and Directed by Harry Beaumont, took home the Best Picture Oscar in 1930. Filmsite.org describes this film as "A cliche ridden backstage film in which two stage struck aspiring chorus girl sisters come to New York's Vaudeville Broadway and both fall in love with the same wily song and dance man".
This was the first musical undertaken by MGM and the first sound film to win the Oscar.
One could say it was the Avatar of it's time (har har har), costing just over $300,000 to make and yet grossing over $4 million which was unheard of in it's time.
Sound films or "talkies" as they were called or, as in this case, "talkie singies" (I made that up) were still considered a passing fad - fools if only they knew.
Not immune to Hollywood nepotism, the Academy came into question when Broadway Melody took home the Oscar considering that two of the five member "Central Board of Judges" which selected the winners, happened to be the M and M of MGM. It was after this that the selection process was entrusted to the Academy members.
Cin - So Nic what'd ya think?
Nic - I will call this douchebag and a dumb blonde. So before woman's liberation took over, was it okay that a guy who said he was going to marry one sister instantly falls in love with the other and the jilted sister is okay with it?
Cin - I wouldn't say she was okay with it. As you recall in the final frame she's wiping away a tear.
Nic - true, I guess she just knew what was best for everyone. What'd you think?
Cin - Well I'm glad you asked. I would like to address something far more interesting than the plot of this film, Nic, which is, it's breakthrough from the silent into talkie world.
Nic - but not the first
Cin - no, but still in that transitionary period.
Nic - yes...and?
Cin - so, interesting in the sense, first of all the sound quality was shaky, some frames would have sound and some have no sound
Nic - If I could interject, because the cameras were so loud they often had to be in sound proof rooms which meant there could be no moving scenes until the boom mic was introduced, anyway do go on...
Cin - So, sound quality, we also had the lovely sign cards (a text frame introducing the next scene) which were a lovely throw back to the silent films and let us not forget the poignant melodramatic acting that fit well with the silent film era but is not as graceful in the newly invented talkie film
Nic- Now would you say that that is reflective of the over all acting style at the time? Being that Stanislavsky's influence had yet to really infiltrate North American theatre?
Cin - Actually I would say it's more reflective of the fact that that style was needed for silent film and they had yet to adapt to the new medium
Nic - Hmm....so intellectual....No hot guys
Cin - ....no....but I will say that the Hank character (played by Bessie Love) had some great moments and she did get nominated for best actress.
Nic - any particular moment?
Cin - (looks away thoughtfully)...I think when she was telling Eddie that she didn't love him...was a good moment...it was layered..
All in all, I am thankful that I did not have to study the other pictures nominated if this won best picture. But interesting, nonetheless, to see a part of cinematic history
Nic - A to the MEN! I'm just curious about the complexity, or lack thereof, of earlier plot lines. Theatre at the time was not void of depth and yet, so far, the first two films seem somewhat....simple?
Cin - ....................yeah
Nic - okay it's late.....
*Speaking of the transition into "Talkies", many actors praised on the silent screen soon found themselves out of a job when the sound pictures took over because of their voices. German actor and first recipient of the Oscar for Best Actor, Emil Jannings, eventually returned to Germany and made Nazi propagandist films while another actor, Karl Dane, from Denmark, who, due to a strong Danish accent, eventually was selling hot dogs outside of the studio that used to employ him. After losing everything, including his wife, he committed suicide.
Even our starlet from the 1929 Oscar winner "Wings", Clara Bow, was discovered to have a strong Brooklyn accent.
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