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5.8/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.8/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Mr. Broadway remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Honestly? Only if you have a weird itch to see what people in 1933 thought was the height of sophistication. If you want a tight story or actual character arcs, you’re going to be bored out of your mind. But if you dig the idea of watching a grainy, rambling tour of old New York clubs, it’s got a weird, hypnotic energy.
It feels like someone just turned a camera on and said, "Hey Ed, just go talk to people." There isn't much structure to speak of.
Seeing Ed Sullivan before he became the stiff guy behind the The Goose Hangs High era of television is kind of wild. He’s out there in the clubs, trying to be a smooth host, but he mostly just looks like a guy who’s happy to be included in the party. Sometimes he just stands there, nodding while people tell stories that I’m pretty sure were written on a napkin five minutes before the cameras rolled.
The whole thing feels like a home movie for a city that doesn't exist anymore.
There is a segment where people are just sitting around talking about "Broadway" like it’s the only place on Earth. It’s charming, I guess, but it feels so insulated. It reminds me a bit of the frantic energy in Wise Girls, just with more tuxedos and less plot.
The pacing is… well, there is no pacing. It just stops when it feels like it. At one point, I thought the movie had frozen, but nope, someone was just telling a very long, very boring anecdote about a hat.
It’s not trying to be a masterpiece. It’s trying to be a night out on the town, captured on film. Some parts drag, especially when the musical acts start feeling repetitive, but then you see some random actor from The College Widow pop up in the crowd, and you’re like, "Oh, hey, that’s them."
Don't look for deep meaning here. It’s just ghosts in suits drinking gin. 🍸