MovieChat Forums > The Broadway Melody (1929) Discussion > Vintage 1920s New York City

Vintage 1920s New York City

posted 15 years ago by Devans00
8 replies | jump to latest

I loved the flyover scenes of the city of New York near the beginning of the film. Before the scene in the music publishing company where all kinds of musical acts practicing their routines.

There were so many "short" buildings that haven't existing in generations. Kind of gives New York a different flavor. The green park areas really stood out then. It'd been one of the world's major cities for over a hundred years by the time the film was made.

No two persons ever watch the same movie.

[–] skiddoo 14 years ago

I love films made in and about their time which turns them into time capsules, especially if they are preCode with a wide variety of show biz characters rather than the expurgated version. (I can certainly see why parents didn't want their children to go on the stage!) There's no way we can recreate these eras because of all the details we would leave out, and certainly ideas about beauty and bodies change. This movie is rich in texture and a wonderful source of information, as well as being fun to watch.

"We can't be cut. We have equity contracts." Lots of interesting tidbits. :)

[–] oldmotem 14 years ago

100%. Ditto, etc.

I also clipped (actually photographed) the scene in NYC at the end (looks like a still photo). Great details when it's enlarged properly. Nice period piece. Yes, these old films have the details of those times. Great historical film.
Glad Turner preserved it.

Also Bessie Love was very good in this. And Anita Page I remembered from "Our Dancing Daughters." What an ending she had in that film! Memorable. A silent with Joan Crawford.

The tune in this (You Were Meant for Me) is a fantastic old standard. Great stuff in this film.

[–] Devans00 14 years ago

I totally agree skiddoo. I once watched a movie based in 1940s San Francisco. My favorite scene was of a desolate location out in the boonies. In my lifetime, the same location always been built up with residential neighborhoods and businesses.

I also like when old movies have technology scenes. You know movies always have the most cutting edge contemporary stuff, so it's fun to see how things have evolved since that time.

No two persons ever watch the same movie.

[–] TheStatuette 14 years ago

If you are interested in New York "time capsule" films, then you should definitely check out Speedy (1928) starring Harold Lloyd.

Virtually the entire film was shot on location in New York City, so the film offers a very special experience in terms of getting to see what life was like during the roaring 1920s in the Big Apple. It's a decent film, too.

http://thestatuette.blogspot.com

[–] bradford-1 13 years ago

Also check out THE CAMERAMAN (1928) starring Buster Keaton. Much of it was filmed in Manhattan and Brooklyn (at a public bathhouse!) There's a great sequence where Buster (not a stuntman), trying to talk to a lady, clings to the outside of a double-decker bus as it rolls down Fifth Avenue. Also, some great views of the Rockaways (I think).

"May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?"

[–] kueskues 12 years ago

That's one of the reasons I enjoy old movies, foreign and domestic.

[–] JackBluegrass 10 years ago

I thought the "direct-down" camera images of the city's skyscrapers and shorter buildings were done technically better here in fly-over than in many films done decades later.

E pluribus unum

[–] JacintoCupboard 10 years ago

I agree regarding the value and charm of these old films as time capsules.

No doubt our 22nd Century counterparts will think early the 21st Century US looked amazingly like British Columbia.