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Battle of Broadway
Battle of Broadway
	Film poster
Directed by	George Marshall
Screenplay by	Lou Breslow; John Patrick
Story by	Norman Houston
Produced by	Sol M. Wurtzel
Starring	Victor McLaglen; Brian Donlevy; Gypsy Rose Lee; Raymond Walburn; Lynn Bari; Jane Darwell
Cinematography	Barney McGill
Edited by	Jack Murray
Production; company	20th Century Fox
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date	April 22, 1938;
Running time	84 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Battle of Broadway is a 1938 American comedy film directed by George Marshall and written by Lou Breslow and John Patrick.^[1] The film stars Victor McLaglen, Brian Donlevy, Gypsy Rose Lee, Raymond Walburn, Lynn Bari and Jane Darwell.^[2] The film was released on April 22, 1938, by 20th Century Fox.^[3]

Plot

Homer C. Bundy (Raymond Walburn), the president of the Bundy Steel Company of Bundy, Pennsylvania, sends troublesome employees "Big" Ben Wheeler (Victor McLaglen) and "Chesty" Webb (Brian Donlevy) to New York City to break up Bundy's son Jack's (Robert Kellard) engagement to suspected gold digger Marjorie Clark (Lynn Bari). Jack discovers his father's plot, and turns the tables on the brawling steelworkers: he asks gorgeous Linda Lee (Gypsy Rose Lee)--the object of the competitive Big Ben's and Chesty's amorous pursuits—to pretend she's his fiancé, to put the boys off the trail. Trouble ensues when Homer arrives in NYC...and falls for Linda.

Cast

Victor McLaglen as Big Ben Wheeler
Brian Donlevy as Chesty Webb
Gypsy Rose Lee as Linda Lee
Raymond Walburn as Homer C. Bundy
Lynn Bari as Marjorie Clark
Jane Darwell as Mrs. Rogers
Robert Kellard as Jack Bundy
Sammy Cohen as Turkey
Esther Muir as Opal Updyke
Eddie Holden as Svenson
Hattie McDaniel as Agatha
Paul Irving as Professor Halligan
Frank Moran as Pinky McCann
Andrew Tombes as Judge Hutchins

Reception

Critical reception for Battle of Broadway upon its initial release was largely positive.^[4] In a 1938 review for the film The New York Times stated "Though it will not be hailed as one of the year's finer historical films and might even be said, despite the riot scenes, to suffer from a ind of timid civilian understatement, the extent of which can only be measured by those who have lived through "the terror" – as we of the Times Square area tend to think of it – "Battle of Broadway" seems to provoke enough of those tolerant, unanalytical audience guffaws to justify its modestly budgeted existence."^[5]

DVD Talk gave a favorable review for Battle of Broadway, writing that it was a "Knockabout farce, energetically handled" and that "By the time the movie wraps up with its third or fourth unapologetic big brawl, Battle of Broadway's hard-won rough-and-tumble pose becomes positively endearing."^[6]

References

^ "Battle of Broadway (1938) – Overview". TCM. Retrieved 2015-10-06.
^ Hal Erickson (2015). "Battle-of-Broadway". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Baseline & All Movie Guide. Archived from the original on 2015-10-11. Retrieved 2015-10-06.
^ Battle of Broadway at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
^ Bell, Nelson B. (23 Apr 1938). "Allan Jones Scores Triumph at Capitol; 'Battle of Broadway' Is Precisely That!: Ovation Given Singer; Film Will Recall Old Formula". The Washington Post. ProQuest 151007003.
^ "THE SCREEN: Battle of Broadway' Rages at the Rivoli-Other New Films at the Strand and Globe". The New York Times. 25 Apr 1938. ProQuest 102643552.
^ Mavis, Paul. "This Is My Affair; Battle Of Broadway; Professional Soldier (Fox Cinema Archives Victor McLaglen Triple Feature)". DVD Talk. Retrieved 17 October 2015.