As much as I utterly adore Joan Blondell and think she was excellent in this, I have to say that the original, THE BROADWAY MELODY (of 1929) had more oomph, more heart and despite its technical limitations is the better version.
This more light-hearted remake of the very first Oscar winner is typical of the slick, polished style which MGM movies had in the forties, even in their B pictures. Obviously the acting in this is more natural, although every sane person will take an instant dislike to George Murphy whose cocky performance is more than irritating and even less genuine than Charles King's in the original. The production is of course not even on the same scale as in the first picture when they were just learning how to make talking pictures but interestingly the songs in this version are just as terrible as in the first one.
MGM made this film was a showcase their new star, Lana Turner which meant that Joan Blondell was relegated to playing second fiddle to her. She's the less glamorous, less sexy sensible older sister - almost a maternal role. Undaunted by 'reaching a certain age' (34!) she raises to the challenge and gives a very genuine and sensitive performance.
The role of the older sister in this version is more caring and a lot more mature than when Bessie Love played it. She's almost too nice to be true. No doubt because of her acting experience, Joan seems more confident and believable as the self-sacrificing sister but Bessie Love exhibited a real sense of vulnerability and tenderness which gave that very early talkie ten times as much emotional impact. Bessie Love's performance was truly heartbreaking and as disloyal it sounds to lovely Joan, Bessie played this character better.
Similarly, Anita Page's younger sister was raw, immature and gave the impression that she had no idea whatsoever what was happening to her. Her rabbit in the headlights portrayal exactly captured that of a naive girl from the sticks diving head first into a hedonistic cynical world she had no control over. Lana Turner is very sweet and innocent but seems a little too worldly wise. Although she was a better actress, in that role, Anita Page came across with much more authenticity.
Even though the original was made before The Depression, it felt like a more dangerous and grimy world that the sisters found themselves in. If you watch old films, New York in 1940 has a very familiar feel about it which makes this 'new' version a lot less interesting. It's not just because it's sad to see Joan Blondell upstaged by her replacement that I didn't enjoy this as much as the original, I think the actual reason is that the first film was fresh and so much more emotional.
