For 1938, this was a dream cast! First and foremost is Alice Faye, I'm not sure what there was about Faye. She had a deep throaty voice, and not really a classic one. But, she could put over certain songs, and "Alexander's Ragtime Band" was one of them. On the other hand, she doesn't put over "Now It Can be Told", a key song when Ameche realizes Power has fallen in love with Faye. Then there's Tyrone Power at his young, most handsome best as "Alexander". And the trio is complete with the wonderful Don Ameche, sans mustache for much of the film. In supporting roles are Ethel Merman, the great Jack Haley, and the beloved Jean Hersholt.
And what makes the film complete is the music of Irving Berlin, including the title song, "Heat Wave", "Some Sunny Day", "Blue Skies", "Easter Parade", "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody", and others. Added in are some pretty nifty old-time vaudeville-type numbers.
There are some nice historical touches, as well. For example, San Francisco's old Cliff House.
The plot is generally good, if somewhat predictable. Faye and Alexander meet up quite by accident when both are trying to get their start in a low class beer hall. Love develops, but then the leads break up and Alexander goes into the Army (I found this segment a little less interesting than the rest of the film, although it does provide Jack Haley with a good number, as well as a good production number; but I suppose Hollywood was gearing up for our entry in WWII, so looking back to WWI was a fine technique to do so). Of course, a slightly wounded Alexander returns after the war, but meanwhile Faye has married Ameche and is a hit on Broadway. Alexander teams up with a restrained Ethel Merman and is playing in Greenwich Village. But Ameche and Faye end their marriage amiably, Merman delivers a swell version of "Blue Skies", followed by a less impressive version by Faye. That leads to a sort of musical montage of Berlin numbers where Faye and Merman seem to be rivals; I'm not quite sure this segment works really well, but it certainly highlights Berlin's songs. And then there's the concert at Carnegie Hall which adds even more of Berlin's songs, including a wonderful version of "Heat Wave" by Merman. And then a great ending with the reprise of Faye singing "Alexander's Ragtime Band".
If you have the DVD version, among the special features are three numbers deleted from the film -- a nice version of "Some Sunny Day" by Don Ameche, "In My Harem" by Jack Haley (very entertaining), and "Marching Along With Time" with Ethel Merman. The quality of these clips is not quite a perfect as the film, but certainly very watchable, although it's not quite so clear why these numbers were cut.
Generally speaking, 20th Century Fox didn't produce musicals that were of the caliber being made by MGM, but sometimes the stories at 20th were actually better. This is one such case.
Not a perfect film, but highly entertaining and highly recommended.
And what makes the film complete is the music of Irving Berlin, including the title song, "Heat Wave", "Some Sunny Day", "Blue Skies", "Easter Parade", "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody", and others. Added in are some pretty nifty old-time vaudeville-type numbers.
There are some nice historical touches, as well. For example, San Francisco's old Cliff House.
The plot is generally good, if somewhat predictable. Faye and Alexander meet up quite by accident when both are trying to get their start in a low class beer hall. Love develops, but then the leads break up and Alexander goes into the Army (I found this segment a little less interesting than the rest of the film, although it does provide Jack Haley with a good number, as well as a good production number; but I suppose Hollywood was gearing up for our entry in WWII, so looking back to WWI was a fine technique to do so). Of course, a slightly wounded Alexander returns after the war, but meanwhile Faye has married Ameche and is a hit on Broadway. Alexander teams up with a restrained Ethel Merman and is playing in Greenwich Village. But Ameche and Faye end their marriage amiably, Merman delivers a swell version of "Blue Skies", followed by a less impressive version by Faye. That leads to a sort of musical montage of Berlin numbers where Faye and Merman seem to be rivals; I'm not quite sure this segment works really well, but it certainly highlights Berlin's songs. And then there's the concert at Carnegie Hall which adds even more of Berlin's songs, including a wonderful version of "Heat Wave" by Merman. And then a great ending with the reprise of Faye singing "Alexander's Ragtime Band".
If you have the DVD version, among the special features are three numbers deleted from the film -- a nice version of "Some Sunny Day" by Don Ameche, "In My Harem" by Jack Haley (very entertaining), and "Marching Along With Time" with Ethel Merman. The quality of these clips is not quite a perfect as the film, but certainly very watchable, although it's not quite so clear why these numbers were cut.
Generally speaking, 20th Century Fox didn't produce musicals that were of the caliber being made by MGM, but sometimes the stories at 20th were actually better. This is one such case.
Not a perfect film, but highly entertaining and highly recommended.