From 1935, we have another in series of musical films (much like the Gold Digger series) starring Jack Benny. A Broadway producer wants to put on a show but he needs the backing of a woman (who also wants to star) to get the show off the ground. Enter an old friend of the producer from out of town, played by Eleanor Powell, who has the kicks needed for the show but since she's not a name, the producer, played by Robert Taylor, is reluctant to cast her. Meanwhile Benny plays a gossip columnist out to make Taylor's life hell since his paper is hoping for the worst to come out of the show's pre-production, even concocting a French actress to be the spearhead of the tumult but when Taylor's assistant gets wind of this, she prompts Powell to assume the guise of the Parisian thespian to get the part. Hitting all the right notes but even for 1936 feeling a bit long in the tooth, this musical works in fits & spurts w/a lot of the comedic going's-on falling flat since we see the set-up & delivery from a long way off. Notable for being an early showcase for Buddy Ebsen's (TV's Barnaby Jones) hoofing skills (along w/his sister Vilma), this is more of smiler than an all out wellspring of good feelings.
Review of Broadway Melody of 1936
