Broadway (1942) starred George Raft, Janet Blair, Broderick Crawford and Pat O’Brien. In this semi-autobiographical film, George played himself in his days as one of the most notable dancers of the Roaring Twenties. Complete with bootleggers, speakeasies, showgirls and murder, the film was one of George’s best and showcased his charm and charisma as well as the dancing talents that audiences delighted in seeing. His tango with Janet Blair left no doubts why men wanted to dance like him and women wanted to dance with him. Many still do.
Janet was born 101 years ago today and said that this film, only her fourth, established her in Hollywood. Her delight in the role and in playing opposite George along with her beauty made her a pleasure to watch.
Yesterday, Broadway became available on YouTube. On his homepage under Movie Playlist, there is a link to his movies on YouTube including Broadway. The link to Video Playlist has film clips including two versions of the tango from this film. One is the original scene and the other is an edited version with more contemporary music added.