Broadway (1942)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

William A. Seiter

Writers:

George Abbott (play)
John Bright (writer)

Release Date:

8 May 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Musical

Plot:

George Raft, playing himself, recalls his days on Broadway, where he acquired a reputation as a great dancer--and also one as a brawler, a ladies man and an associate of some of the city's most notorious gangsters. |

Plot Keywords:

Actor Playing Himself | Remake | Based On Play

Cast

George Raft	...	Himself, George Raft
Pat O'Brien	...	Dan McCorn
Janet Blair	...	Billie Moore
Broderick Crawford	...	Steve Crandall
Marjorie Rambeau	...	Lillian (Lil) Rice
Anne Gwynne	...	Pearl
S.Z. Sakall	...	Nick
Edward Brophy	...	Porky
Marie Wilson	...	Grace
Gus Schilling	...	Joe
Ralf Harolde	...	Dolph
Arthur Shields	...	Pete Dailey
Iris Adrian	...	Maisie
Elaine Morey	...	Ruby
Dorothy Moore	...	Ann

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1945) | Sweden:15

Company:

Universal Pictures

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Despite the fact that the bulk of the story is taking place in the 1920s, all the women's hairstyles and fashions are strictly in the contemporary 1942 style.

Quotes:

George Raft: I always wanted to try a guy your size.

Movie Connections:

Remake of Broadway (1929)

Soundtrack:

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling

Highly sanitized, but the boy can move!

With only a brushing acquaintance with the truth, "Broadway" offers a glimpse of the early speakeasy life of George Raft. Raft plays himself, a good idea as later attempts would prove no one else could ever portray him. It is a bowdlerized version of his time as a dancer employed in the nightclub of Texas Guinan - here renamed Lil. This George Raft is all about work, pines for only one woman, and never met a gangster he liked - so far from reality it has to provoke a smile. But its heart, and his, is in the right place.

The movie is completely worth seeking out for the all too brief George Raft style of dance. Too rare were the films that allowed him to exhibit that "fastest dancer in New York" technique. Raft was past 45 when he shot this and was recreating moves from his 20s, and that alone is impressive. The boy could still move! Raft's poker pal Pat O'Brien gets to play a wise cop again, and bombastic Broderick Crawford is a real scene-stealer as the bootlegging gang leader with a penchant for murder.

A major problem with the film is its complete neglect of setting. There is no attempt to create the styles of the late 1920s, which would have added so much atmosphere (and truth). It could have used a lot more grit as well.