estherwalker-34710 Review of Two Girls on Broadway

Two Girls on Broadway (1940)

"Her heart is almost as big as Eddie's head!"

[7/10 · 14 February 2021]

I thought the quote in my title was especially clever..............I usually get this film confused with the later film "Two girls from Boston", which has a very similar story as well as a rather similar title. We might also get this confused with "The Broadway Melody of 1929", of which this is a remake.............I always look forward to a film that features George Murphy, whether or not it is a musical that features some dancing by him. He was born with a naturally smiley face, and I like his personality. In the late '30s and early '40s he was featured with such female musical luminaries as Alice Faye, Shirley Temple, and Eleanor Powell. Actually, he danced with superstar Eleanor in both the '38 and '40 versions of Broadway Melody. However, in the '40 version, he had to share the spotlight with Fred Astaire. Besides being much more handsome than Astaire, his dancing has a different style. As shown in this film, he usually did a full lift or 2 of his partner, which increases the romantic perception, whereas I've never seen Fred do a full lift, although he sometimes does a partial lift. ........... George gets to dance with up and coming 19y.o. Lana Turner, in this B&W film of good quality. Of course, Lana went on to become a top star for the next 2 decades. Here, she appears to have 'dirty' blond or light brown hair, whereas soon she would switch to blond or platinum blond for most films. Surprisingly, here, Lana gets top billing over established stars Joan Blondell and George. Presumably, this was done as part of her buildup as a future star. Joan, being in her 30s, naturally played her older sister. Although they clearly respect each other, they unintentionally become rivals for George's dance partner, as well for his romantic attention. Lana gets to dance with George in 2 productions. The first is an informal backstage practice. The 2nd is part of an elaborate stage production, including background dancers, in which George shows off his melodious singing voice to the catchy Brown, Freed, and Eden tune "My Wonderful One, Let's Dance". Look for both these film segments at YouTube. ...............Initially, George and Joan are dance partners in vaudeville, then in a dance studio. But when George signs up with a Broadway producer, the latter decided he liked Lana better as George's dance partner. Hence, Joan was relegated to being the cigarette girl. Joan takes this in stride. Gradually, the romantic relationships of these 4 get complicated. The producer begins dating Lana, who begins falling in love with George. Joan finds out that the producer is a 6 times married playboy, and tells Lana. Lana packs her bags and is ready to quit and return home. She doesn't want to hurt Joan, who is supposed to be George's girlfriend. Joan convinces Lana to stay, then finds out that George has fallen in love with Lana. Meanwhile, the producer proposed to Lana, and she accepted. On their wedding day, Joan advises George to go wisk Lana away before it's too late, in a dramatic climax............I saw this on TCM, but a DVD is also available to buy or rent. For the most part, it is a fun film.