The 8 December 1928 Exhibitors Herald and Moving Picture World announced that the production starting date for The Broadway Melody was 19 October 1928.
       The film begins with aerial shots of New York City over which is heard the tune, “Give My Regards to Broadway.” Interspersed throughout the film are inter-title cards stating the location of the next scene, in the style of a theatrical program. The film’s action commences in a "Tin Pan Alley“ music publishing house, where composers plug their songs to singers and publishers. There, character “Eddie Kearns” (whose name does not appear in print onscreen and is spelled in some sources as Kerns) is hired by “Mr. Zanfield,” a character based on the real-life Florenz Ziegfeld (1867—1932), the American Broadway impresario who produced theatrical revues. Although the Var review lists actor Jed Prouty's character name as "Uncle Bernard" and other sources list him as “Uncle Bernie,” he is called "Uncle Jed" by the other characters throughout the film. The character, “Jacques ‘Jock’ Warriner,” may have been a veiled reference to Warner Bros. Pictures production chief Jack L. Warner.
       Two songs in the film, “Broadway Melody” and “You Were Meant for Me,” each were used in several later musical films, among them, the 1952 M-G-M production, Singin’ in the Rain (see entry), which was produced by lyricist Arthur Freed. Film and theater music historians consider “You Were Meant for Me” to be an early example in a long line of developments in which a song is written to further the plot of the story.
       M-G-M advertised The Broadway Melody as its "All Talking All Singing All Dancing” picture. The film opened in Los Angeles at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on 1 Feb 1929, and about a week later in New York. For theaters not yet equipped for sound, M-G-M also released a silent version of the film, which, at 5,943 feet, was 3,429 feet less than the sound version, presumably because of eliminated or shortened musical numbers. The Broadway Melody was the second film, and the first sound film, to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. The film was groundbreaking, in that it was the studio's first sound picture, as well as the first of the many enormously popular musicals produced by M-G-M. Many of the film’s plot points have since become clichés, and many of its cinematic techniques are now commonly used, but at the time of the film’s release, they were innovative. The film was praised by the Var review for sound techniques that allowed the conversation of characters to be heard as they moved across a dance floor, and how the tap dancing of a chorus line in rehearsal was heard behind the dialogue. The review also lauded the fact that individual characters were able to stand out in relief during long shots of a stage performance because they were dressed in black and white.
       As noted in the NYT and Var reviews, the film contained a three-minute “natural color first act finale.” The two-strip Technicolor footage sequence consisted of a production number, entitled “The Wedding of the Painted Doll,” from the fictional Broadway revue in which the film's characters were performing. To replicate the look of a stage production, the number was shot through a proscenium arch. The Technicolor footage for this sequence has since been lost, and only a black-and-white version is now available. According to modern sources, the song in the production number was the first to be lipsynched post-principal photography, a practice devised after negative feedback from a preview audience prompted the filmmakers to re-shoot the number. Although some critics, including Mordaunt Hall of NYT were unenthusiastic about the film, the Var reviewer proclaimed that the superlative manner in which The Broadway Melody replicated portions of a stage production, while also providing close-ups of the performers, might prove to be a “potent threat to the stage producers.”
       Later film historians have praised The Broadway Melody for an energy that many early “talkies” lacked, due to its fast pace, witty dialogue and the unusually crisp delivery of the actors, who, in many early sound films tended to over-enunciate their words. The Broadway Melody has become an iconic film, and its themes of star-struck performers looking for both romance and their “big break” on Broadway has become part of American motion picture culture. Modern sources add Diana Verne, Alice Pitman, Alice Weaver and The Angeles Twins as chorus girls.
       Due to its popularity, M-G-M produced other similarly titled films with show business themes: Broadway Melody of 1936, Broadway Melody of 1938, and Broadway Melody of 1940. In 1940, M-G-M produced a remake of The Broadway Melody entitled Two Girls on Broadway, which was directed by S. Sylvan Simon and starred Lana Turner, Joan Blondell and George Murphy (see entries). In 1930, M-G-M produced a short parody of The Broadway Melody entitled The Dogway Melody, which was part of the studio's "Dogville" series and featured live dogs in all the roles. The musical also was parodied in The Broadway Malady, a “Krazy Kat” animated short produced by Columbia in 1933.
The 8 Dec 1928 Exhibitors Herald and Moving Picture World announced that the production starting date for The Broadway Melody was 19 Oct 1928.
       The film begins with aerial shots of New York City over which is heard the tune, “Give My Regards to Broadway.” Interspersed throughout the film are inter-title cards stating the location of the next scene, in the style of a theatrical program. The film’s action commences in a "Tin Pan Alley“ music publishing house, where composers plug their songs to singers and publishers. There, character “Eddie Kearns” (whose name does not appear in print onscreen and is spelled in some sources as Kerns) is hired by “Mr. Zanfield,” a character based on the real-life Florenz Ziegfeld (1867—1932), the American Broadway impresario who produced theatrical revues. Although the Var review lists actor Jed Prouty's character name as "Uncle Bernard" and other sources list him as “Uncle Bernie,” he is called "Uncle Jed" by the other characters throughout the film. The character, “Jacques ‘Jock’ Warriner,” may have been a veiled reference to Warner Bros. Pictures production chief Jack L. Warner.
       Two songs in the film, “Broadway Melody” and “You Were Meant for Me,” each were used in several later musical films, among them, the 1952 M-G-M production, Singin’ in the Rain (see entry), which was produced by lyricist Arthur Freed. Film and theater music historians consider “You Were Meant for Me” to be an early example in a long line of developments in which a song is written to further the plot of the story.
       M-G-M advertised The Broadway Melody as its "All Talking All Singing All Dancing” picture. The film opened in Los Angeles at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on 1 Feb 1929, and about a week later in New York. For theaters not yet equipped for sound, M-G-M also released a silent version of the film, which, at 5,943 feet, was 3,429 feet less than the sound version, presumably because of eliminated or shortened musical numbers. The Broadway Melody was the second film, and the first sound film, to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. The film was groundbreaking, in that it was the studio's first sound picture, as well as the first of the many enormously popular musicals produced by M-G-M. Many of the film’s plot points have since become clichés, and many of its cinematic techniques are now commonly used, but at the time of the film’s release, they were innovative. The film was praised by the Var review for sound techniques that allowed the conversation of characters to be heard as they moved across a dance floor, and how the tap dancing of a chorus line in rehearsal was heard behind the dialogue. The review also lauded the fact that individual characters were able to stand out in relief during long shots of a stage performance because they were dressed in black and white.
       As noted in the NYT and Var reviews, the film contained a three-minute “natural color first act finale.” The two-strip Technicolor footage sequence consisted of a production number, entitled “The Wedding of the Painted Doll,” from the fictional Broadway revue in which the film's characters were performing. To replicate the look of a stage production, the number was shot through a proscenium arch. The Technicolor footage for this sequence has since been lost, and only a black-and-white version is now available. According to modern sources, the song in the production number was the first to be lipsynched post-principal photography, a practice devised after negative feedback from a preview audience prompted the filmmakers to re-shoot the number. Although some critics, including Mordaunt Hall of NYT were unenthusiastic about the film, the Var reviewer proclaimed that the superlative manner in which The Broadway Melody replicated portions of a stage production, while also providing close-ups of the performers, might prove to be a “potent threat to the stage producers.”
       Later film historians have praised The Broadway Melody for an energy that many early “talkies” lacked, due to its fast pace, witty dialogue and the unusually crisp delivery of the actors, who, in many early sound films tended to over-enunciate their words. The Broadway Melody has become an iconic film, and its themes of star-struck performers looking for both romance and their “big break” on Broadway has become part of American motion picture culture. Modern sources add Diana Verne, Alice Pitman, Alice Weaver and The Angeles Twins as chorus girls.
       Due to its popularity, M-G-M produced other similarly titled films with show business themes: Broadway Melody of 1936, Broadway Melody of 1938, and Broadway Melody of 1940. In 1940, M-G-M produced a remake of The Broadway Melody entitled Two Girls on Broadway, which was directed by S. Sylvan Simon and starred Lana Turner, Joan Blondell and George Murphy (see entries). In 1930, M-G-M produced a short parody of The Broadway Melody entitled The Dogway Melody, which was part of the studio's "Dogville" series and featured live dogs in all the roles. The musical also was parodied in The Broadway Malady, a “Krazy Kat” animated short produced by Columbia in 1933.