Lord Byron of Broadway (1930), also known as What Price Melody?, is an American Pre-Code musical drama film, directed by Harry Beaumont and William Nigh. It was based on a best selling book by Nell Martin, which "was widely praised by critics as an extremely true and amusing romance of stage life."[1] It was filmed in black and white with two-color Technicolor sequences.
Plot
Starting and ending relationships gives a composer (Charles Kaley) ideas for songs, until he meets and marries a woman Marion Shilling.
Charles Kaley recorded two of the songs for Brunswick Records (Record Number 4718). These songs were "Should I" and "A Bundle of Love Letters". Both of these songs proved to be major song hits in late 1929 and early 1930 and were recorded by numerous artists. For example, James Melton and Lewis James recorded vocal versions of "A Bundle of Love Letters" while Frank Munn recorded "Should I".
"A Bundle of Love Letters"
(1930)
Music by Nacio Herb Brown
Lyrics Arthur Freed
Played on piano by Marion Shilling and sung by Charles Kaley
Played on piano by Marion Shilling and sung by Cliff Edwards and Charles Kaley in a vaudeville show
The expensive film received mixed reviews, mainly due to the lackluster direction of William Nigh and Harry Beaumont. Its Technicolor sequences and musical score, however, were universally praised.[3] "The story's strong enough to be festooned with Technicolored girls, ballets, songs and effects without breaking down," said Photoplay "You'll like this."[4]
Sheet music sales and sales of phonograph records with songs from the film were brisk. "Should I" and "A Bundle of Old Love Letters" proved to be among the most popular song hits of the year 1930.[citation needed]
^Kreuger, Miles ed. The Movie Musical from Vitaphone to 42nd Street as Reported in a Great Fan Magazine (New York: Dover Publications) pg. 162; ISBN0-486-23154-2