Fred Astaire has proved conclusively by this time that he can make a high grade picture without the aid of Ginger Rogers. His friendly face, his dancing agility, and above all, his capacity for natural acting are bound to put across any production, no matter how fantastic its plot or how mediocre its songs. Not that the plot of "Broadway Melody of 1940" is fantastic as musical comedy plots go. Fred Astaire and George Murphy appear first as the tap-dancing team at a small and not too swanky cafe. There they are seen by agent Frank Morgan, who spots Fred as a potential star. However, by a slight mistake in the front office, George Murphy is hired to be Eleanor Powell's male lead in her new show. Then comes trouble. Everything from ambitious amateur comediennes to a continually blotto George Murphy interrupts rehearsals--while Fred Astaire takes time out to woo Miss Powell, who, like Barkis, is willing'. The lines in "Broadway Melody" are clever, and several of the dance routines superb. But it is the work of Fred Astaire which makes this a green-light picture; he is a musical comedy all be himself.