Producer: Lester Cowan. Copyright 15 June 1953 by Cinema Productions, Inc. Produced by Lester Cowan Productions with the aid of the Council for the Living Theatre. U.S. release through Loew's Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer pictures: 31 July 1953. New York opening at the Astor: 13 October 1953. U.K. release through Exclusive: 11 January 1957. Never theatrically released in Australia. 101 minutes.
COMMENT: Main Street to Broadway has certainly had a checkered history. Made and released in the U.S.A. in 1953, it was not released in England until 1957 and did not appear in Australia until 1972 when it was premiered unobtrusively and without fanfare on TV. The version released in Oz was the cut U.K. 78-minute version which deletes Helen Hayes and Henry Fonda. It's odd that the film has suffered this neglect for it has a formidable cast, including Lionel Barrymore in his last film role.
But besides the credited roster of big stars, there are a large number of first-nighters, socialites and newsmen playing themselves, plus uncredited guest appearances by a large number of minor celebrities and character players such as Jack Gilford as the booking office clerk, while Sam Jaffe who has neither a line nor a close-up can be spotted in the crowd. Some of the stars have little more than walk-ons like Shirley Booth and Mr. Barrymore, some play parts in the story like Agnes Moorehead, Clinton Sundberg (who has one of the biggest parts of his career) and Gertrude Berg, while others play themselves.
Aside from the two young players (Miss Murphy as usual is a delight, her good looks set off by a stunning wardrobe and her acting ability both personable and convincing - qualities also displayed by Mr. Morton who seems to have dropped out of the film scene altogether after making this film), the real star of the film is Tallulah Bankhead. She is an absolute delight, whether just being herself or giving a convincingly over-ripe impersonation of her own mannerisms on stage!
So far as Tay Garnett's direction is concerned, these satiric dream sequences are the most inventive part of the film (flawless special effects too!), the rest of the film being handled in a competent though routine manner.
Production values are first-class, a;though Wong Howe's lighting photography is not especially distinctive.
OTHER VIEWS: Taking their cue from an emotionally negative review by Bosley Crowther in The New York Times, most critics throughout the years have gleefully lambasted Main Street to Broadway. I very much doubt if any of these self-styled "cinema historians" have actually bothered to see the film. Certainly the 78-minutes version is most entertaining. Not only does it present Tallulah Bankhead herself in a wonderfully rampaging role that outdoes Bette Davis's impersonation of her in All About Eve, but it cleverly mixes its full-throated satire with a pleasant little story involving one of our favorite heroines, Mary Murphy. And as for its gloriously star-studded background, I mean it's just a movie fan's heaven!
It's sad to find director Tay Garnett himself jumping on the derogatory bandwagon. I rate his direction not only totally involving throughout but particularly scintillating during the fantasy sequences. -- JHR writing as George Addison.
COMMENT: Main Street to Broadway has certainly had a checkered history. Made and released in the U.S.A. in 1953, it was not released in England until 1957 and did not appear in Australia until 1972 when it was premiered unobtrusively and without fanfare on TV. The version released in Oz was the cut U.K. 78-minute version which deletes Helen Hayes and Henry Fonda. It's odd that the film has suffered this neglect for it has a formidable cast, including Lionel Barrymore in his last film role.
But besides the credited roster of big stars, there are a large number of first-nighters, socialites and newsmen playing themselves, plus uncredited guest appearances by a large number of minor celebrities and character players such as Jack Gilford as the booking office clerk, while Sam Jaffe who has neither a line nor a close-up can be spotted in the crowd. Some of the stars have little more than walk-ons like Shirley Booth and Mr. Barrymore, some play parts in the story like Agnes Moorehead, Clinton Sundberg (who has one of the biggest parts of his career) and Gertrude Berg, while others play themselves.
Aside from the two young players (Miss Murphy as usual is a delight, her good looks set off by a stunning wardrobe and her acting ability both personable and convincing - qualities also displayed by Mr. Morton who seems to have dropped out of the film scene altogether after making this film), the real star of the film is Tallulah Bankhead. She is an absolute delight, whether just being herself or giving a convincingly over-ripe impersonation of her own mannerisms on stage!
So far as Tay Garnett's direction is concerned, these satiric dream sequences are the most inventive part of the film (flawless special effects too!), the rest of the film being handled in a competent though routine manner.
Production values are first-class, a;though Wong Howe's lighting photography is not especially distinctive.
OTHER VIEWS: Taking their cue from an emotionally negative review by Bosley Crowther in The New York Times, most critics throughout the years have gleefully lambasted Main Street to Broadway. I very much doubt if any of these self-styled "cinema historians" have actually bothered to see the film. Certainly the 78-minutes version is most entertaining. Not only does it present Tallulah Bankhead herself in a wonderfully rampaging role that outdoes Bette Davis's impersonation of her in All About Eve, but it cleverly mixes its full-throated satire with a pleasant little story involving one of our favorite heroines, Mary Murphy. And as for its gloriously star-studded background, I mean it's just a movie fan's heaven!
It's sad to find director Tay Garnett himself jumping on the derogatory bandwagon. I rate his direction not only totally involving throughout but particularly scintillating during the fantasy sequences. -- JHR writing as George Addison.