One composer stands above the rest in his plethora of famous songs still sung today. Mr. Irving Berlin's tunes are sung at Christmas, Easter, baseball games, Fourth of July ceremonies and award shows. His Broadway book shows are few, but even though the voice has been silenced, the melody still lingers on. Half a dozen movies catalog his various hits, and this is the best. It covers the early 20th Century through pre-World War II, and even though the stars never age throughout, they are a metaphor for each song of Berlin's that do not age, either.
The handsome Tyrone Power is the leader of a ragtime band, and Alice Faye is the rough-and-tough broad who becomes their star before moving onto Broadway where as a lady, she is the biggest diva on the boards. After a mistake of a marriage to their pal Don Ameche, she strikes out on her own while Power goes onto entertaining in World War I in Berlin's real Broadway revue "Yip Yip Yaphank", a pre-cursor to "This is the Army". While Berlin sang that song's "Oh How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning" in the movie version of his second all-soldier revue, it is Jack Haley (The Tin Man) who sings it here.
Power's success as a ragtime band leader continues when he brings on the brassy but lovely Ethel Merman to replace Faye, and briefly considers replacing her as the woman he loves. Merman's character, a true "good egg", realizes she can never truly have his love, and gracefully bows out while continuing to sing many of Berlin's more obscure hits.
Everybody sings and shines in the most acclaimed Fox musical of the 1930's, and Faye expresses the two sides of her Fox characterization-the Harlow like bombshell and the dignified lady in which she ended her film career with. Power and Ameche are romantic, Merman sings up a storm, and Haley clowns. Ethel, the future Queen of Broadway, photographs oddly at times, but once she sings and dances, her personality defies the camera and she becomes not only beautiful but sexy as well with her amazing legs in several of the big production numbers.
It's not only the performers who share the star here. Berlin's songs are among his best, whether familiar gems as "Heat Wave" or "Blue Skies" or obscure finds like "My Walking Stick". In smaller roles, Helen Westley, Jean Hersholt and John Carradine offer memorable characterizations. Anybody wanting to familiarize themselves with the great American Songbook should start off by watching this movie. Then, you will understand one great American contribution to this crazy world of ours.
The handsome Tyrone Power is the leader of a ragtime band, and Alice Faye is the rough-and-tough broad who becomes their star before moving onto Broadway where as a lady, she is the biggest diva on the boards. After a mistake of a marriage to their pal Don Ameche, she strikes out on her own while Power goes onto entertaining in World War I in Berlin's real Broadway revue "Yip Yip Yaphank", a pre-cursor to "This is the Army". While Berlin sang that song's "Oh How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning" in the movie version of his second all-soldier revue, it is Jack Haley (The Tin Man) who sings it here.
Power's success as a ragtime band leader continues when he brings on the brassy but lovely Ethel Merman to replace Faye, and briefly considers replacing her as the woman he loves. Merman's character, a true "good egg", realizes she can never truly have his love, and gracefully bows out while continuing to sing many of Berlin's more obscure hits.
Everybody sings and shines in the most acclaimed Fox musical of the 1930's, and Faye expresses the two sides of her Fox characterization-the Harlow like bombshell and the dignified lady in which she ended her film career with. Power and Ameche are romantic, Merman sings up a storm, and Haley clowns. Ethel, the future Queen of Broadway, photographs oddly at times, but once she sings and dances, her personality defies the camera and she becomes not only beautiful but sexy as well with her amazing legs in several of the big production numbers.
It's not only the performers who share the star here. Berlin's songs are among his best, whether familiar gems as "Heat Wave" or "Blue Skies" or obscure finds like "My Walking Stick". In smaller roles, Helen Westley, Jean Hersholt and John Carradine offer memorable characterizations. Anybody wanting to familiarize themselves with the great American Songbook should start off by watching this movie. Then, you will understand one great American contribution to this crazy world of ours.