The Broadway Melody (1929)

THE BROADWAY MELODY  (1929)  ¢ ¢ ¢
    D: Harry Beaumont
    Bessie Love, Anita Page, Charles King, Jed Prouty,
    Kenneth Thompson, Edward Dillon, Mary Doran
A sister act from the sticks lands in New York, determined to make it on Broadway. They get there, learning a few hard lessons along the way. This was MGM's first real talkie, and the first sound film to win the Academy Award for best picture. It's all kind of overwrought and obvious, but the scale's impressive, and Bessie Love earned an Oscar nomination playing the more clear-headed of the two sisters. Movie musicals would get a lot more lively over the next few years, as sound cameras became more mobile, and especially after the arrival of Busby Berkeley.