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
June Knight introduced the Cole Porter classic "Begin the Beguine"), "The Would-Be Gentleman" (1946) (her only non-musical) and "Sweethearts" (1947). She also had a short-lived film career, appearing in 12 films from 1930 to 1940, most notably in "Broadway Melody of 1936" (1935), in which she sang the hit song "I've Got a Feelin' You're Foolin'" with co-star Robert Taylor. Knight married four times, including a marriage to oil man Arthur A. Cameron. She died in 1987, age 74, due to complications from a stroke; she was interred in Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park. For her contribution to the motion picture industry,