Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935) - full review!
Opens with the title song from the Academy Award winning Best Picture Broadway Melody (1929), sung by Harry Stockwell, but is otherwise unrelated to the earlier film. This one was directed by Roy Del Ruth, with a screenplay by Jack McGowan and Sid Silvers that was based on a story by Moss Hart, who earned the first of his two (unrewarded) Oscar nominations; Harry Conn provided additional dialogue. This Musical did win Oscars for Dave Gould's Dance Direction, for the "I've Got a Feeling You're Fooling" number, and was nominated in the Best Picture category itself. The cast includes Jack Benny as a Walter Winchell-like columnist-radio personality, a tap dancing Eleanor Powell, handsome Robert Taylor as a young Broadway show producer, Una Merkel as his meddling secretary, Silvers as (Benny's) Snoop, Buddy Ebsen (in his screen debut) and his sister Vilma, June Knight as the show's financial backer and wannabe star, Nick Long Jr. as the shaw's director (and Taylor's assistant), Robert Wildhack as an unfunny snoring professor (each of these scenes drag), Paul Harvey as (Benny's) media boss, and Frances Langford as herself - she sings "Broadway Rhythm" (the name of the film's fictional show) and "You Are My Lucky Star", written by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed.
Bert Keeler (Benny) is told by his media boss Scully (Harvey) that his baby announcements won't do anymore, that gossip and 'dirt' is what the public wants, and Keeler better get it if he wants to keep his job. Keeler and Snoop (Silvers) notice that rich young widow Lillian Brent (Knight) is getting cozy with show producer Robert Gordon (Taylor) at a nearby rooftop party, and later learn that she's financially backing his show. When Keeler writes about it, Gordon visits him, punching both he and Snoop in the nose. Irene Foster (Powell) from Albany visits Gordon's office in New York, hoping to see her former high school classmate, but can't get past his secretary Kitty Corbett (Merkel). However, once Kitty hears her (sob) story, and sees that Irene wears Gordon's pin, she's sympathetic and later helps her. Meanwhile, Keeler continues to learn inside dope about Gordon's production from Snoop, who's fond of Kitty, like the fact that Gordon has promised the lead role to Ms. Brent if he can't find a name talent. Keeler and Snoop conspire to create a fictional French sensation, La Belle Arlette (named for a five cent cigar), to dupe Gordon. When Kitty finds out there is no such person, she helps Irene pretend to be Arlette to finally get an audition; Gordon had sent his former sweetheart home to keep her from being irreparably changed by the big city. But there's a problem, there really is a Belle Arlette, who threatens suit by telegram to prevent the use of her name. Naturally, everything is resolved in time for the "Broadway Rhythm" finale, performed in a nightclub by Langford, the Ebsens and Powell, whose character kisses Taylor's in the end.
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