"These two programs are presented as an homage to the American cinema's greatest tap-dancer heroine, Eleanor Powell. Her brief appearance in 20th Century Fox's production of George White's Scandals (1935) caused critics to recognize her as a worthy successor to the terpsichorean throne of Ruby Keeler, and MGM decided to revive their 'Broadway Melody' ideas, which had spawned the talkie-musical way back in 1929 A.D. Powell was 'glamorized' and teamed with the studio's photogenic matinee-idol, Robert Taylor: the rest is film musical history. Eleanor Powell's extraordinary dance talents amazed the public, and to a great degree, launched the golden age of the MGM musical. The Freed-Brown score, especially 'You Are My Lucky Star,' provided a tuneful background to Powell's abilities in jazz-dance as well as what might be discreetly called 'show-biz toe,' a form of pop-ballet developed on Broadway by Marilyn Miller and Harriett Hoctor. A touch of neo-realist lyricism, 'Sing Before Breakfast,' remains one of the film's most vibrant exercises, with newcomer Buddy Ebsen and his sister, Vilma, joining the star as rebels of the Depression. Two Broadway recruits, June Knight and Nick Long, Jr. and the irrepressible radio comic, Jack Benny, are on hand to add a touch of glamour and ill-bred repartee to the plot--the usual overnight-stardom business. Powell exhibits a flair for mimicry (as Katharine Hepburn in 'Morning Glory,' and as a flamboyant French star), which fortunately, does not detract from her dancing. Roger Edens' arrangement of the song, 'Broadway Rhythm' as a grand finale is a wonderful testament to an era when nightclubs could house extravaganzas, and a Manhattan penthouse (and enough cocktails) could rouse the guests, lights and furniture to participate in the most spirited movements of song-and-dance." --Albert Johnson