Broadway Melody of 1940 Broadway Melody of 1940 Broadway Melody of 1940 is a 1940 MGM film musical starring Fred Astaire, Eleanor Powell and George Murphy. It was directed by Norman Taurog and features music by Cole Porter, including "Begin the Beguine". The film was the fourth and final entry in MGM's "Broadway Melody" series of films, and is notable for being the only on-screen pairing of Astaire and Powell, who were considered the finest film musical dancers of their time. Johnny Brett (Fred Astaire) and King Shaw (George Murphy) are a dance team so down on their luck they're working in a dance
I Love You (Cole Porter song) stolen four songs ("I Love You", "Don't Fence Me In", "Begin the Beguine" and "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To"). A jury dismissed the charges and the judge, moreover, awarded Porter $2,500 in legal costs, a sum that, since Arnstein couldn’t pay it, kept him from any chance of prevailing in a federal court for the rest of his life. It was recorded by Bing Crosby on February 11, 1944 and topped the Billboard charts for five weeks during an 18-week stay. Other charted versions were by Tommy Tucker, Enric Madriguera, Jo Stafford and Perry Como. It has