Choose Your Partner

Joan Blondell and Lana Turner co-star with future US Senator George Murphy in Two Girls On Broadway. The three are from Rome City, Nebraska and Murphy is in New York to try and hit it big again as he's been somewhat at liberty since vaudeville declined. The women who are sisters operate a dance studio in Nebraska and Blondell was once Murphy's dance partner.

Murphy pulls off quite a con game but gets a big break with an appearance Richard Lane's nightclub and he parlays it for Blondell and Turner to come east. Now it's Turner who is Murphy's partner and Blondell gets work as a cigarette girl.

It's all looking good, but there's a Broadway wolf in the picture. Kent Taylor is a Tommy Manville type who's already been to the altar 8 times. He zeroes in on Turner who goes along because while she likes Murphy she doesn't want to hurt her sister. It all gets straightened out in the end as it always does.

I think a lot of you will recognize some sets from The Great Ziegfeld which makes it look like this film is more expensive and lush than it is. Wallace Ford has an interesting role as a Broadway Winchell like columnist which would be true to life since Winchell was a performer before he took up journalism. He knew Blondell and Murphy from vaudeville days.

Nacio Herb Brown, Arthur Freed and Roger Edens wrote My Wonderful One Let's Dance as part of the score and if it sounds familiar you're thinking of Cole Porter's Riding High. Porter really could have sued over that one.

Two Girls On Broadway showcases its star's talents well. Murphy was quite a hoofer before he went into Republican politics.

Evidently MGM was grooming Lana Turner to be featured in musicals at this stage of her career. Unfortunately that effort was abandoned, with mixed results. In this conventional backstage romantic triangle, she is a very winning performer, and a surprisingly effective dancer in her three musical numbers (partnered in two by George Murphy and in one by Joan Blondell). Her spirited youthfulness and fresh beauty are put to good use in her role as an innocent small-town girl who (almost) is spoiled by some wily denizens of big, bad Broadway. Joan Blondell plays the protective older sister convincingly, willing to sacrifice her own happiness for that of "the kid." Not many viewers would associate Lana Turner with this type of picture, but, as indicated, she more than holds her own. Too bad that in her pictures, as in her life, she became an "experienced" woman too soon.

"Two Girls on Broadway," made in 1940, is a remake of "Broadway Melody of 1929" and not as much fun. It stars George Murphy, Joan Blondell, Lana Turner, Kent Taylor and Wallace Ford. Murphy is Eddie Kerns, who sells a song, himself, his fiancé and her sister to a Broadway producer. The sisters rush out from the midwest to audition, but the show only wants Pat (Turner) while Molly (Blondell) is given the job of cigarette girl. Molly swallows her pride and watches her sister replace her in a number she used to do with Eddie. Then Eddie realizes that he's also interested in Pat, and she with him.

Nurphy is charming, energetic, and fine dancer, and Blondell is her usual excellent self. But it's hard to keep your eyes off of young, gorgeous, fresh-faced Lana with her gorgeous figure and vivacious personality. She dances with Murphy, and despite being a little stiff in her upper body, she's surprisingly good. Lana really had something in those days. It's no surprise she became a huge star.

The musical numbers are enjoyable. This movie is nothing to write home about, but if you've never experienced the young Lana, this is a great film to see her in.

Lana Turner gets to show off her dance skills with George Murphy and Joan Blondell in 1940's "Two Girls on Broadway." Mostly lighthearted fun as George Murphy plays dancer Eddie Kerns, who resorts to trickery to catch his big break in New York and smoothtalks his producers into bringing over his fiance (Joan Blondell) and her kid sister (Turner), who are also dancers. Turner plays the fresh faced ingenue who attracts attention for her looks and talent while Blondell has to face the harsh realities of show business when you are past your prime. Murphy plays the aw shucks hoofer torn between Blondell and Turner (guess who he wants the most? Gee I wonder?) Blondell gets a chance to play more than the usual wise-cracking sidekick. Turner shows she wasn't just a pretty face back then and has some real talent. Look for a cute scene where she comes home drunk late at night and tries to keep her sister from waking up. The movie runs a tight 73 minutes, so enjoy as much as you can before it's over.

I'll be honest, the main reason to watch this film is the gorgeous Lana Turner, who was just 19 years old when she starred in it. It's not her first film, but it was made just as her career was about to take off. Her acting is a little clumsy in places (as is George Murphy's), but it's a delight to see her dancing, and each of her close-ups. The story is a little thin, and has Joan Blondell and Turner as sisters, who come to New York to try to get jobs on stage with Blondell's slick-talking but affable fiancé, Murphy. Unfortunately, between the two of them, it's only Turner they want, and Blondell is relegated to selling cigarettes. Murphy tries to look out for Turner and shield her from a lecherous playboy (Kent Taylor), but then things get worse for Blondell when Murphy starts falling for Turner himself. There are some nice scenes of Blondell sacrificing herself with a brave face; she does the best she can with the material, and her character is a model of class. Unfortunately, there's also an extended scene with a Japanese butler that has some ugly racism on full display. The film wants to be a comedy, a romance, and a musical, and is pretty average at all three. It's concise at 73 minutes, and I liked seeing Turner and Blondell, but if those two aren't of interest, you should probably skip this one.