''Two Girls on Broadway'' is a 1940

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as brea ...

directed by S. Sylvan Simon and starring

Lana Turner Lana Turner ( ; born Julia Jean Turner; February 8, 1921June 29, 1995) was an American actress. Over the course of her nearly 50-year career, she achieved fame as both a pin-up model and a film actress, as well as for her highly publicized pe ...

and

Joan Blondell Joan Blondell (born Rose Joan Bluestein; August 30, 1906 – December 25, 1979) was an American actress who performed in film and television for 50 years. Blondell began her career in vaudeville. After winning a beauty pageant, she embarked on ...

. The film is a remake of ''

The Broadway Melody ''The Broadway Melody'', also known as ''The Broadway Melody of 1929'', is a 1929 American pre-Code musical film and the first sound film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. It was one of the first musicals to feature a Technicolor seq ...

'' (1929).

Plot

Molly Mahoney (

) forms a vaudeville act with her fiancé Eddie Kerns (George Murphy). Working at a local dance school, she longs to become a star performing on Broadway. Eddie persuades her to leave town for New York City, and after their arrival, Eddie debuts on the radio with his so-called singing canaries. Although the canaries are unable to sing, Eddie is not, and following an impressive debut he is offered a job at the station. He convinces co-worker Buddy Bartell (Richard Lanez) to grant Molly and her little sister Pat (Lana Turner) an audition. What promised to be a big opportunity turns into the start of noticeable tensions between the sisters, when Bartell announces he wants to team Eddie and Pat. Molly, meanwhile, is offered a degrading job selling cigarettes. Instead of complaining, Molly swallows her pride and allows Pat to take the limelight meant for her. Meanwhile, wealthy and often-married playboy 'Chat' Chatsworth (Kent Taylor) falls for Pat and starts flirting with her. After a while, Molly finds out about Chat's wild past through her gossipy friend Jed Marlowe (Wallace Ford), and tries to warn her sister. Her worries turn out to be unnecessary, though, as Pat feels more attracted to Eddie. She does not want to hurt Molly's feeling or ruin her engagement, and decides to return home. Molly, who is unaware of Pat's motives for leaving, insists that she stay. Thinking it is the only way of forgetting her feelings for Eddie, Pat accepts a proposal from Chat and elopes with him. When Eddie hears about this, he is alarmed, because he had been secretly in love with Pat the entire time. He admits his true feeling for Pat to Molly, and is encouraged to follow her. However, upon arriving at the apartment, Eddie finds out that Pat and Chat have already left. Overhearing one of Chat's servants of Pat and Chat's whereabouts, Eddie rushes to City Hall. Breaking up a wedding ceremony that has already begun, Eddie professes his love for Pat. With the blessing of Molly, Pat and Eddie decide to marry, while Molly returns home.

Cast

as Patricia 'Pat' Mahoney *

as Molly Mahoney *

George Murphy George Lloyd Murphy (July 4, 1902 – May 3, 1992) was an American dancer, actor, and politician. Murphy was a song-and-dance leading man in many big-budget Hollywood musicals from 1930 to 1952. He was the president of the Screen Actors Guild fro ...

as Eddie Kerns *

Kent Taylor Kent Taylor (born Louis William Weiss; May 11, 1907 – April 11, 1987) was an American actor of film and television. Taylor appeared in more than 110 films, the bulk of them B-movies in the 1930s and 1940s, although he also had roles in more pr ...

as 'Chat' Chatsworth * Richard Lane as Buddy Bartell *

Wallace Ford Wallace Ford (born Samuel Grundy Jones; 12 February 1898 – 11 June 1966) was an English-born naturalized American vaudevillian, stage performer and screen actor. Usually playing wise-cracking characters, he combined a tough but friendly-fac ...

as Jed Marlowe * Otto Hahn as Ito, Chatworth's servant *

Lloyd Corrigan Lloyd Corrigan (October 16, 1900 – November 5, 1969) was an American film and television actor, producer, screenwriter, and director who began working in films in the 1920s. The son of actress Lillian Elliott, Corrigan directed films, usually ...

as Judge Hennessey * Don Wilson as Mr. Boyle, Radio Announcer * Charles Wagenheim as Harry, Bartell's Assistant *

May McAvoy May Irene McAvoy (September 8, 1899 – April 26, 1984) was an American actress who worked mainly during the silent-film era. Some of her major roles are Laura Pennington in '' The Enchanted Cottage'', Esther in '' Ben-Hur'', and Mary Dale ...

- uncredited

Production

The film was

's first film for MGM. By the time of production,

was hailed 'The Girl They're All Talking About! Lovely Lana, America's Blonde Bonfire, in her hottest, most daring role!' Being in the middle of a highly publicized career, Turner was in the position to demand top billing, even though she was less experienced than her co-stars.

Reception

The film received mixed reviews, with most critics complaining about the plot taking a second place to showcasing Turner. A ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' critic wrote: "With Lana Turner figuring prominently in the doings, it is fairly safe to predict that none of the patrons will bother to inquire where and when they have seen ''Two Girls on Broadway'' before. There is an indefinable something about Miss Turner that makes it a matter of small concern." On the other hand, Turner was praised for her musical talents, one reviewer describing her dance abilities as "precision and grace". A critic for ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...

'' even wrote that she should be teamed with

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

Box office

According to MGM records the film earned $475,000 in the US and Canada and $198,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $12,000.

References

External links

* * * * {{1940s-US-film-stub 1940 films 1940 musical films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films Films directed by S. Sylvan Simon Films scored by David Raksin Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films American musical films 1940s American films