Starring Alice Faye, Tyrone Power, Don Ameche, and Ethel Merman
Directed by Henry King
Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin
By the time this came out, Faye was one of Fox's biggest stars. She had just made the semi-musical disaster film In Old Chicago with Power and Ameche, which was a huge hit. This one would be even bigger, Fox's biggest hit of the 1930's. Berlin himself wrote the story of how popular music changed in the years between the debut of his 1911 title song and 1938. In many ways, it also parallels Faye's career and how she went from platinum blonde Jean Harlow imitation to a warm honey-haired beauty who had a way with a ballad. How well does it look today? Let's begin in 1911, as Alexander (Power) plays classic music at a concert and find out...
The Story: What Alexander really wants to do is start his own band. He and his boys barely managed to get a job at a small-time club when another group quits. They grab the first sheet music they can find to play, which turns out to be a number that blowsy singer Stella Kirby (Faye) had been trying to push on the owner. She eventually joins them in the song, and later in the band.
Alexander cleans up her low-down image as they go on to bigger and better clubs. Despite her initial resistance, she and Alexander end up falling in love. They're playing at the Cliff House when they try to get an audition with big-time New York producer Charles Dillingham. Turns out he only wants Stella. Alexander's angry and disappointed, but she does take the offer.
That's far from his only problem. The band breaks up when they're all drafted into World War I. Alexander does manage to put on a show for the Army that's a big hit, enough for the band to get back together after the Armistice. Their new singer is brash Jerrie (Merman), who not only lends her own unique sound to the Band, she falls for Alexander, too. Alexander, however, has never forgotten Stella, even though she's now a huge star on Broadway and is in love with former bandmate Charlie Dwyler (Ameche). Jerrie and the rest of the bad figure it's high time they brought Stella back into the fold, just in time for a huge jazz performance at Carnegie Hall.
The Song and Dance: It's the music and the cast who largely carry the day here. Faye and Merman may have opposing styles, but they both do equally well as the tough singer who starts as a floozy and ends up a star and the brassy belter who also loves Alexander...but understands better than him who he really cares about. Ameche is charming as the songwriter for the band who at least temporarily gets Stella, and Jack Haley gets a few good gags as a member of the band who keeps flirting with the same girl (Ruth Terry) for two decades. Fox spared no expense on the production, with gorgeous gowns for the ladies and spectacular recreations of San Francisco and New York in the 1910's and 20's.
Favorite Number: We kick off with the title song, played by Alexander at his band at that low-down bar. They start out playing it as a quieter parlor ballad, but by the time Faye kicks in with the lyrics, it's now the lively ragtime dance tune it was meant to be. We also get "Ragtime Violin," performed by members of the band. Stella defies Alexander and goes out dressed the way she wants for "International Rag." She does finally start to change her look for "This Is the Life." Dancers Wally Vernon and Dixie Dunbar get a great duo ballroom routine here.
Our first of two new songs is the ballad "Now It Can Be Told." Charlie first sings this for Stella after he's written it. She's so impressed, she brings it to the band, who perform it at the Cliff House this very night. Stella does "When the Midnight Choo Choo Leaves for Alabam'" so well, it sells Dillingham on her. A man at the recruiting station brings in the Band with "For Your Country and My Country." Jack Haley gets to sing "Oh How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning," the song Berlin himself introduced in the original Yip, Yip, Yaphank on Broadway in 1917. We also get two more authentic Great War era chorus numbers, "We're On Our Way to France" and "I Can Always Find a Little Sunshine at the W.M.C.A."
Jerrie first sings "Say It With Music" and "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody" when she's trying to convince Alexander to give her a chance. She and Stella do sing "Blue Skies" together, but Stella never gets to Alexander. The next montage takes us through the 20's, with Jerrie getting the big chorus number "Pack Up Your Sins and Go to the Devil" and the new "My Walking Stick" and Stella performing "Everybody Step" and the darker laments "Remember" and "All Alone." We get a montage of Berlin favorites at Carnegie Hall. Charlie joins the female chorus for "Easter Parade," Merman blares "Heat Wave," and the chorus gets "Marie."
Trivia: Three numbers were cut from the final film. Merman had a second big number in the Carnegie Hall finale "Marching Through Time," Ameche had "Some Sunny Day," and Haley had a second comedy number with Wally Vernon and another dancer, "In My Harem." All exist and are included on the DVD.
Not only was this 20th Century Fox's biggest hit film of the 30's, it was the top hit of 1938.
John Carradine can be spotted near the end as the taxi driver who takes Stella to Carnegie Hall.
It was nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Song ("Now It Can Be Told"), but only took home Best Scoring.
The Cliff House was a real restaurant in San Francisco. It was rebuilt twice before the third version the band plays at opened in 1909. The restaurant closed in 2021, but the building still exists, and the exteriors look pretty much the same as they do in the movie.
What I Don't Like: When was this set again? It's historically accurate only for the first 20 minutes. Once the band starts getting popular, any attempt at history flies out the door of the Cliff House. After World War I, it looks like 1938 for the rest of the film. They don't even attempt to age the characters. You'd never know time passed at all if people didn't say it did.
No matter how much Fox kept throwing him into them, Power never was comfortable in musicals. He's far stiffer here than either of his leading ladies. I suspect he'd be much happier with a sword than a baton. Haley and Ameche are far more at ease than he is.
The Big Finale: If you love Faye, Merman, or Berlin, this lively look at some of his most popular songs is highly recommended.
Home Media: It can only be found streaming at Vudu Fandango, but the DVD is readily available.
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