Broadway Melody of 1938 (Blu-ray)

The third installment in the series is, alas, the weakest. While the first Broadway Melody was a groundbreaking spectacle in sight and sound, and the second showcased the incredible tap dancing of its star, Eleanor Powell in a mesmerizing finale of epic production values, this third showcase seems to be built around the PR for MGM's latest musical discovery - Judy Garland.

And, in every scene in which Garland appears, Broadway Melody of 1938 is an inspiring and joyous occasion. It's what bookends her performances that gets pretty stale and pretty fast. Eleanor Powell is relegated to second fiddle, and her sparing with love interest, Robert Taylor, is fairly pedestrian at best.

Given that Powell would return to the franchise one more time for Broadway Melody of 1940, sans Taylor and with Fred Astaire as her love interest, 1938's installment is a real disposable nothing, one in which Powell's legendary 'tops in taps' status is foreshortened to make way for Garland's big launch into super stardom. Garland's gain. Powell's distinct loss.

Transfer-wise, WAC has done another bang-up job on mastering. Contrast is excellent. A few shots illustrate a residual softness and amplification of grain to suggest that perhaps the source material was not always up to WAC's usual standards.

But on the whole, what's here will please the eye and acoustic nerve. I just wish the movie had been a more engaging potpourri. It's more of a hodge-podge of half-baked ideas, snippets of comedy,…

Although today it's remembered mainly for Judy Garland's star-making rendition of "Dear Mr. Gable, You Made Me Love You," Broadway Melody of 1938 is a fun musical with a lot of charm. The film has never looked better in this sparkling remaster. Eleanor Powell and George Murphy's dance in the rain, "Feelin' Like a Million," is a highlight.