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6.2/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.2/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Made on Broadway remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you like old black-and-white dramas where everyone talks at double-speed, you’ll probably have a good time here. If you hate movies where the main guy is kind of a jerk who thinks he can manufacture a human being from scratch, you might want to skip it.
It’s not a masterpiece, but it moves. It’s got that specific 1930s energy where characters walk into a room, say three sentences that explain their entire life story, and then immediately leave.
Robert Montgomery plays Jeff like he’s bored with everyone in the room, which honestly feels pretty accurate for a guy who knows where all the bodies are buried. He spends half the movie looking at people like they’re minor inconveniences he hasn't gotten around to deleting yet.
The scene where he pulls Minnie out of the river? It happens so fast you’d think he was just doing his laundry. There is zero time for dramatic buildup. He’s just like, 'Welp, guess I have a project now.' It’s weirdly cold.
The transformation of Minnie into Mona Martine is basically the blueprint for every Pygmalion-style flick that came after. It’s effective, sure, but you can feel the movie straining to convince you that this is a romance. It’s not. It’s a transaction.
Speaking of transactions, the club scenes have this weird, smoky vibe that makes me want to cough just looking at the screen. You can almost smell the cheap prop cigarettes and the hairspray.
It’s a bit rough around the edges, much like the stuff you might see in In for Thirty Days or some of the faster-moving stuff from that era. The movie is at its best when it stops trying to be a romantic drama and just leans into being a cynical look at how fame is bought and sold.
Also, I’m pretty sure one of the extras in the background of the club scene is just holding the same empty glass for twenty minutes. It’s hilarious once you spot it. The movie gets significantly more interesting once the murder happens because, surprise, Jeff isn't as untouchable as he thinks he is.
It’s not perfect. The ending lands with a bit of a thud, and the characters go from 'I hate you' to 'let's get married' in about the time it takes to boil an egg. But hey, it's a slice of the studio system at its most efficient. Sometimes that’s enough. 🍸
IMDb —
1930
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