By Violet LeVoit
Stars over Broadway
Brief Synopsis
An aggressive agent turns a hotel porter into an overnight sensation.
Cast & Crew
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William Keighley
Director
Pat O'brien
Al McGillevray
Jane Froman
Joan Garrett
James Melton
Jan King
Jean Muir
Nora Wyman
Frank Mchugh
Offkey Cramer
Film Details
Also Known As
Radio Jamboree
Genre
Musical
Drama
Release Date
Nov
23,
1935
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the short story "Thin Air" by Mildred Cram in Hearst's International-Cosmopolitan (Nov 1934).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 30m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
10 reels
Synopsis
Al McGillevray, a failed theatrical manager, is about to commit suicide when he hears Jan King, the hotel porter, singing and offers to make him an opera star. After Jan agrees, Al takes a series of odd jobs to pay for his singing lessons, and his teacher, Minotti, arranges an audition at the Metropolitan Opera. Jan is well received, but when Al learns that he will need another five years of study before he will be ready to go on stage, he takes Jan to the radio stations, intending to make him a crooner instead. At an amateur hour competition they meet Nora Wyman, another singer. She begs Al to manage her as well, but he tries to discourage her, saying she is too nice for a career in show business. Jan auditions at a noisy club where he becomes an immediate success and meets another successful singer, Joan Garrett, who helps him get more work. Although Al would like Jan to study opera again now that they have enough money, he is having too much fun as a crooner. As he becomes more popular, Jan starts to drink and is late for his shows, then misses one completely and is fired. Al finally succumbs to Nora's wishes and allows Minotti to hear her sing. Although Minotti thinks she has a good voice, Al persuades him to tell her she does not. Nora is devastated by the news and walks in front of a car. In the hospital, Al tells Nora what he has done, confessing that he lied because he loves her. After he leaves her, he spends the last of his money to send Minotti and Jan to Italy to save Jan's voice. Sometime later, Al visits Jan backstage at his opera debut and Nora is there too. Jan has learned about Al's generosity and wants him to manage him again. Nora tells Al that she has decided her singing is not important, and all she wants is to be his wife.
Director
William Keighley
Director
Cast
Pat O'brien
Al McGillevray
Jane Froman
Joan Garrett
James Melton
Jan King
Jean Muir
Nora Wyman
Frank Mchugh
Offkey Cramer
Eddie Conrad
Freddy
William Ricciardi
Minotti
Marie Wilson
Molly
Frank Fay
Announcer
E. E. Clive
Crane
George Chandler
Charlie
Patsy Flick
The Greek
Paul Porcasi
Luigi
Phil Regan
Romeo
Maurice Black
Jim Flugel
Emmet Vogan
Archie McNeish
Pat West
Ethel Shannon
Harry Seymour
Paul De Rincon
Alma Lloyd
Ferdinand Munier
Jack Dempsey
Crew
George Barnes
Photography
Busby Berkeley
Numbers staged and Director by
Sam Bischoff
Producer
Bobby Connolly
Numbers staged and Director by
Laird Doyle
Contr to Screenplay const
Al Dubin
Composer
Julius J. Epstein
Screenwriter
Abem Finkle
Contract Writer
Patsy Flick
Additional Dialogue
Leo F. Forbstein
Music Director
A. Ghislanzoni
Composer
Ray Heindorf
Orchestra Arrangement
Bert L'orle
Editing
Orry-kelly
Gowns
Carson J. Robison
Composer
Giuseppe Verdi
Composer
Jerry Wald
Screenwriter
Jack L. Warner
Executive Producer
Harry Warren
Composer
Carl Jules Weyl
Art Director
Film Details
Also Known As
Radio Jamboree
Genre
Musical
Drama
Release Date
Nov
23,
1935
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the short story "Thin Air" by Mildred Cram in Hearst's International-Cosmopolitan (Nov 1934).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 30m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
10 reels
Articles
Stars Over Broadway
Defeated theatrical manager Al McGillevray (Pat O'Brien, best known for playing Irish tough guys like the hoodlum turned priest in Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)) is about to pack it all in when he hears the fantastic tenor coming out of the hotel porter Jan King (James Melton). Thus begins Jan's rocky road to becoming a professional singer on Broadway, a quest shared by Nora Wyman (Jean Muir). With songs by the team of Harry Warren and Al Dubin (already famous for 42nd Street (1933)) and singing appearances by Jane Froman, Warner Brothers was confident about how this foray into what the publicity department described as "Manhattan's grandest canyon" would launch Melton as a screen star. But musical number director Busby Berkeley had to share final screen credit with Bobby Connolly, because he was unable to complete his duties on the picture due to his criminal trial (he'd been the driver in a fatal car crash and was being charged with second-degree murder). But his mark is still all over numbers like "At Your Service, Madame" where a string of tuxedoed butlers bow attentively in a gorgeous apartment set of chrome, glass and mirrors.
By Violet LeVoit
By Violet LeVoit
Stars Over Broadway
Defeated theatrical manager Al McGillevray (Pat O'Brien, best known for playing Irish tough guys like the hoodlum turned priest in Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)) is about to pack it all in when he hears the fantastic tenor coming out of the hotel porter Jan King (James Melton). Thus begins Jan's rocky road to becoming a professional singer on Broadway, a quest shared by Nora Wyman (Jean Muir). With songs by the team of Harry Warren and Al Dubin (already famous for 42nd Street (1933)) and singing appearances by Jane Froman, Warner Brothers was confident about how this foray into what the publicity department described as "Manhattan's grandest canyon" would launch Melton as a screen star. But musical number director Busby Berkeley had to share final screen credit with Bobby Connolly, because he was unable to complete his duties on the picture due to his criminal trial (he'd been the driver in a fatal car crash and was being charged with second-degree murder). But his mark is still all over numbers like "At Your Service, Madame" where a string of tuxedoed butlers bow attentively in a gorgeous apartment set of chrome, glass and mirrors.
By Violet LeVoit
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The film's working title was Radio Jamboree. Although copyright records list the copyright claimant as Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc., the onscreen copyright statement lists the claimant as The Vitaphone Corp. Variety notes that this was the motion picture debut of radio stars James Melton and Jane Froman. Motion Picture Herald notes that parts of the film are set in Jack Dempsey's Cafe in New York City. Modern sources note that a production number featuring a forest of moveable silver trees was planned, but was cancelled when the budget was cut because the drawing power of the stars was doubted.
