The Barkleys of Broadway (1949) on Netflix
Josh and Dinah Barkley are a married song-and-dance team. Dinah wants more than the lighthearted musical roles Josh directs her in, and a French playwright urges her toward serious drama.
- Netflix3.1/5
- IMDb7.0/103,768 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes55%
Trailer
Plot summary
Married to each other, Josh and Dinah Barkley are a song-and-dance act at the height of their career. When a new musical of theirs opens, they take a limousine to a party at Mrs. Belney's, and on the way Josh complains that Dinah does not let an audience feel along with her. At the party Dinah meets Jacques Pierre Barredout, a French playwright, who says she ought to leave musical comedy behind and act in serious plays. Josh, who waited outside, comes back in and finds the pair together. At home he tells Dinah she was flirting with Barredout; she replies that Jacques considers her a dramatic actress, and Josh holds that she should remain in musical theater. Later Bert Felsher, the show's director, and Ezra Millar bring in Shirlene May as Dinah's understudy.
Cast
- Wilson Woodas Larry
- Margaret Bertas Mary (uncredited)
Show all 20 cast
- Lorinne Crawfordas Cleo Fernby (uncredited)
- Mary Jo Ellisas Clementine (uncredited)
- Roberta Johnsonas Henrietta (uncredited)
- Dick Gordonas Audience Member (uncredited)
- Patrick Milleras Bobby Soxer (uncredited)
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Barkleys of Broadway (1949)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Judy Garland went into rehearsals as the lead opposite Fred Astaire but it soon became clear she was not physically or emotionally able to do it. Producer Arthur Freed then approached Ginger Rogers, who had not worked with Astaire since The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle in 1939.
- While The Barkleys of Broadway was in production, Fred Astaire won an honorary Academy Award for his contributions to the technique of musical pictures, and his co-star Ginger Rogers presented it to him at the ceremony.
- The Barkleys of Broadway became the tenth and final film Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers made together, and the only one of their pairings shot in color.
