Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Calum Hutton It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Lee Eisenberg The first talkie to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards has an oft-used plot - people try to become famous amid complications - but it's not a bad movie. I'm not a fan of musicals, and many things about "The Broadway Melody" come across as dated. I guess that one has to try and imagine watching the movie when it first got released. It got released before the Hays Code got established, so some of the scenes look a bit risqué for the era (it even feels silly to write that sentence in an era when one can simply look for porn on the internet). The movie's a mildly fun look at 1920s music.* Most notably, the movie ushered in decades of musicals. Some of the musicals are among the most irritating movies.Anyway, this movie's okay just as long as you don't interpret it as the most serious type of movie. Accept it as plain old entertainment and you'll probably like it. As for me, my favorite movies from old Hollywood are gangster movies, horror movies, and slapstick comedies (especially the Looney Tunes cartoons).*Nowadays, probably the most famous 1920s song is "Midnight, the Stars and You", which featured prominently in "The Shining".

LeonLouisRicci Putting out the obvious Caveat...This one, to be Fair, must be seen Alongside the other Movies of 1929. After doing so, one can Appreciate its Value as the Film is Accomplished and the Cringe Inducements are Minimal.It's Sleek and Deco Decorated, contains a great Number of Ziegfeld type Beauties in Various Forms of Undress, Dressed Up in Outlandish Glittering Costumes. There are other Pre-Code Eye-Poppers at the Apartments and Backstage.The Dialog is Snappy and the Drama Restrains from reaching Melodrama. The Two Lead Actresses/Singers/Dancers (Anita Page and Bessie Love) are Charming and Peppy and show some Unexpected Acting Chops. The Men in this Musical/Drama/Comedy don't fare as well and the Clicks of the Clock have Not Been Kind to Their Kind.Overall, a Winner at the Box Office and at the Academy. The First Sound Best Picture and, Oh Yea, all of those MGM Musicals, This was #1. a First Edition, and First Editions are always Valuable even if they don't have any Other Qualities Other than Being First.This one does have other Qualities, Including Good Leading Ladies, some Catchy and Classic Songs, and an overall Presentation of a New Art Form done in a more than Acceptable Production Combination that is Old and New at the Same Time.Worth a Watch for Film Historians, Fans of Movie Musicals, and as a Time Capsule that was Straddling the Line between the Silents and Sound, and the Roaring Twenties and the Devastating Financial Collapse that Resulted in the Depression. All in that Volatile Year of 1929.

mikegordan This is yet another Best Picture winner that would come to define Oscar as being style-over-substance, except the Musical Genre's no longer as popular as it once was (okay, Chicago did win, but that's for another review). This, however, is an interesting piece.For starters, during the eligibility period of the 2nd Academy Awards (late 1928-mid 1929) was a period in time where Hollywood was transitioning from silent to talkies. Thanks to some advancements in technology, we got the speakers, the recorders, and sound stages, many of which due to Broadway. And speaking of Broadway, what better way to show off the talkie trend than to give us a Broadway-like musical? Only Broadway Melody went a step further and even introduced Technicolor for the very first time in cinematic history (though only in a limited number of musical sequences, many of which didn't survive).So where does this film fall? Well, for the time, it certainly had a lot more to brag about for its accomplishments than most talkies did. But like a ton of other films from that time period that made the technological leap, it suffers from several of the faults that Hollywood was just not accustomed to at the time. The acting became uncomfortably awkward, the Technicolor looked really grainy and hideous-looking, the sound quality was very poor, and it simply became a lavish luxury.The story and the characters are completely forgettable as well. I just saw this movie on NetFlix, and I can't remember a thing about anybody or anything that went on. This is a primary example of giving us a half-baked story with cardboard cutouts as a means to showing off its technological advancements.So yeah, while its history is interesting, the movie itself is just an embarrassing bore. A lot of people may defend this film by saying that it simply didn't age well, and to "try viewing it from when it first came out," but this excuse simply isn't going to fly. Maybe if the story and characters were engaging, even with the embarrassing performances and dated technology, I may cut the film some slack. But the intent of the Oscars that year speaks for itself; Best Picture was the only Oscar it won that year, and it won for the spectacle alone. Even if that was because there were only 7 categories, the Oscar ceremony in subsequent years (with only 2 exceptions) will prove that there's no excuse for its lack of quality.It may not be the worst film to win Best Picture, but again, I can only recommend this film to those that are interested in learning of the Academy's humble roots. If you don't care about Oscar, then I'd seriously skip it. I will give it a generous--yet deserving, 4 out of 10.

Louis Orren "The Broadway Melody" certainly has the obvious handicap to holding up; in that, it's 82 year old; but it still is a worthwhile view for lovers of either film, theater, music, or particularly musical theater. I, being passionate about all of those would be an ideal candidate to watch it. Thus with my appreciation for nostalgia no matter how ancient it may become, should be a prime target for this film today if there are any targets for it. Nevertheless, even as a nostalgic piece, the film still makes it off of others issues besides its writing. The plot is nothing stellar, the characters work well into the plot but aren't incredibly complex, and some of the outcomes can feel too contrived. Even for 1929, the film makes it off of novel breakthroughs for its time such as its catch music and its appropriate integration of music into the story.If the "Broadway Melody" deserves credit for nothing else, it deserves credit for bringing musical theater genre to film. It is even mildly disputable as to whether everyone would consider it a musical today or not. It naturally implements songs into the story, but the use of songs lacks the escapist element necessary to a true musical. Christopher Walken describes Gene Kelly as a master of performance who sang when he didn't feel words were strong enough spoken, and danced when words were meaningless. The songs in this film are all during scenes in which they show the film is about is being performed or when the writer of the songs is presenting his songs to someone openly. There are certainly no musical numbers that play on the obvious plot hole musical theater should lend itself to, leaving audience members asking how every person surrounding knows how to perfect perform in sync with each other. Most of the songs are solo songs anyway, with brief duet, trio, or chorus moments perhaps. It is basically a musical to the same extent that "The Great Ziegfeld" is or to the extent that "Topsy Turvy" is an operetta. Regardless of the implementation however, that songs illustrate the characters and pace the film nicely. The songs don't necessarily expand the plot the way musicals' songs generally should, but they do elevate characters' revelations at points, especially Eddie's lament to Queenie. Perhaps however, it was to the film's credit that it didn't immediately switch to true escapism when the movie was made. Musical theater escapism is always very tricky in cinema. Creating an atmosphere in which the audience really feels like the characters are singing and thus the viewers can feel attached to the moment is quite difficult in the more realistic setting film frequently calls for. Such handicaps have especially been prominent with film occasional exceptions such as Chicago in recent years, but the live-action musical theater scene has not been a too marketable since the 1960's in light of such difficulties."Broadway Melody" does not have a bad plot, but it does not have a particular novel one either. The plot allows conceivable conflict, but works little at all more your generic hallmark writing ploy. Film may have been still fairly new in 1929, but theater sure was not. The plot does not have the excuse of its outdated platitudes. Hank and Queenie Mahoney are sisters who have been doing a successful vaudeville duo act for a while now until Hank's boyfriend Eddie Kearns writes them both into his new show, "The Broadway Melody", getting them the chance to become stars in the big apple itself. As it turns out however, the real woman Eddie is in love with is Queenie, not Hank especially as Queenie becomes a bigger and bigger star on the stage. As Queenie becomes successful enough, a sleazy agent name Jack Wariner makes a pass at her, evidently using her to promote himself. While Queenie knows he's using her, she can't bring herself to express her true feelings for Eddie and cause conflict between herself and her sister. The outcome is nothing stellar; in fact, there are some details I will not spoil the movie and reveal, but that make the outcome less than masterful.This film is entertaining with enough going for it to fill 100 minutes of your life. The songs are catchy, the characters are likable, and the cast gives appropriate treatment to each conflict and resolution. The writing is nothing to shout about all though. The script is essentially an excuse to implement Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed's numbers. To the extent that it brought musical theater to cinema and broadened the potential of sound, it is a valiant effort to film history. It is thus, worth seeing for lovers of film or musical theater if not for the sake of marvelous entertainment, that sheer indulgence at the very least.