Meet Me on Broadway

It would be interesting to know if this film were intended to be a B movie or was an A movie that had its budget cut.

Marjorie Reynolds was capable of much better dancing, but isn't really given a chance here. Veteran character actors Gene Lockhart, Spring Byington and Allen Jenkins can't salvage a weak script.

Songwriters Saul Chaplin (Until The Real Thing Comes Along), Eddie De Lange (Darn That Dream), and Allan Roberts and Doris Fisher (Put The Blame On Mame) were certainly capable of writing much better songs than they composed for this film. Did the producer demand a score and give them only 15 minutes? All of the songs here seem like they were thrown together in a hurry, and are totally forgettable.

Choreographer Jack Cole is already using the newer style of dancing that was to dominate movie musicals later in the 1950s. Yet, his work here appears to be suppressed by a lack of budget and a lack of space. The dancers always seem to be crammed together.

Jean Louis designed the gowns, so at least all of the female characters are well-dressed.

So while there is A-quality cast and crew, the end result is a disappointment that looks suspiciously like a B movie. Lots of B movies can be fun, but this isn't one of them.