Rose de Broadway

I hate to be the sole spoilsport in this group of unanimous adulation, but I thought "Rose of Washington Square" was slightly disappointing. Perhaps I had high hopes for it since I'm one of Alice Faye's biggest fans and I love almost all of the classic Fox musicals, but "Rose" ranks with one of Faye & Fox's weakest musicals.

Exhaustingly directed by Gregory Ratoff, this wispy, half-tolerable biography of Fanny Brice turns out to be a less successful attempt by Darryl Zanuck to repeat the magic and splendor of Henry King's "Alexander's Ragtime Band" with Faye and her leading man Tyrone Power. What made King's classic memorable, aside from the luminous presence of Faye, was Irving Berlin's endlessly melodious music. Here, except Faye's singing of "My Man" and Al Jolson's "Mammy", the songs are not only unmemorable, but dismal.

See it only for the stars but don't expect anything as remotely magical as "Alexander's Ragtime Band".

ROSE OF WASHINGTON SQUARE (20th Century-Fox, 1939), directed by Gregory Ratoff, a nostalgic musical, is a worthy follow-up to Fox's previous success, ALEXANDER'S RANGTIME BAND (1938), both starring the up-and-coming Tyrone Power and Alice Faye, making their third and final screen appearance together (their initial being IN OLD CHICAGO in 1937). While this production belongs to Alice Faye and Tyrone Power in that order, it's Al Jolson, assuming third billing in a secondary role, who comes off best. His fine acting and song delivery remain the film's major asset, which makes one wish he were given more to do. ROSE OF WASHINGTON SQUARE is also the most musical of all the Jolson, as well as Faye films.

In a story that opens circa 1919, Ted Cotter (Al Jolson) and Rose Sargent (Alice Faye) partners who specialize in singing, struggling to achieve success, are both working separately, he in a burlesque house singing while passing out theater programs, and she at amateur nights singing for nickels and dimes tossed to her. Disappointed, Rose breaks away from theater life to a Long Island resort accompanied by her friend, Peggy (Joyce Compton). While there she encounters Barton DeWitt Clinton (Tyrone Power), a handsome war veteran who happens to be a petty thief. A smooth operator, Clinton immediately wins Rose's affections. After his latest theft involving an expensive stolen necklace backfires, and under the watchful eye of Detective Mike (Charles C. Wilson), Clinton quickly leaves without any notice to Rose. In the meantime, Harry Long (William Frawley), a booking agent, has arranged for Ted to appear in a tryout. Thanks to the unintentional interruptions by the intoxicated loud-mouth patron (Hobart Cavanaugh) sitting up in the box, the act proves favorable and hired to boost up attendance. successful. As for Rose, she's singing in a basement speakeasies until she she once again encounters Clinton who saves her from a police raid. This time the two become inseparable and eventually marry, much to the dismay of Ted, who sees through Clinton for what he really is, but agrees to remain neutral for Rosie's sake. After Rose achieves her long delayed success in the Ziegfeld Follies, her personal life turns to heartache as Clinton, in desperate need of money, gets himself deeper and deeper in debt, leading to arrest and prison term.

With a handful of old-time Broadway songs from the 1920s era, Alice Faye sings them in her usual manner, although several of them, including "My Man," are reportedly long associated with the legendary Fanny Brice. As for Al Jolson, he reprises many of his most celebrated hits in his traditional black-face manner. He is one for the memory book of legendary bygone entertainers. The musical program includes: "Pretty Baby" (sung by Al Jolson); "I'm Sorry I Made You Cry" (sung by Alice Faye); "Ja-Da" and "Vamp" (both sung by Faye); "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody" and "Toot-Toot Tootsie, Goodbye" (both sung by Jolson); "I'm Just Wild About Harry" (Alice Faye); "California, Here I Come" (Al Jolson); "I Never Knew Heaven Could Speak" and "Rose of Washington Square" (both sung by Faye); "Mammy" (Al Jolson); "My Man" and "My Man" (reprise, both sung by Faye). While the majority of the tunes are mainly sung by the principal players, with the camera giving them full focus, only the title tune is given the full production number treatment running nearly ten minutes.

Also seen in the cast are: Moroni Olson playing Buck Russell; E.E. Clive, Louis Prima, Ben Weldon, Harry Hayden, Charles Lane and John Hamilton.

According to an well documented, "HIDDEN Hollywood: FROM THE VAULTS OF 20th CENTURY-FOX" narrated by Joan Collins, which premiered on American Movie Classics in 1997, ROSE OF WASHINGTON SQUARE was originally planned as a two hour presentation, but was then cut to 86 minutes. Included in this documentary are numerous outtakes, featuring Jolson's rendition of "April Showers" and "Avalon," and Alice Faye's version to the film's theme song, "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows." Another added bonus was the guest appearances of the comedy team of Weber and Fields doing a stage act, as observed in the audience by Jolson and William Frawley. It's also been noted somewhere that actress Winifred Harris appeared as Broadway legend Lillian Russell (a role Alice Faye would portray in 1940), whose scenes were also cut. The documentary does explain as to why certain scenes didn't make it to the final print. As with other 20th Century-Fox musicals attempting to recapture the days of old Broadway, ROSE OF WASHINGTON SQUARE is historically inaccurate in the hairstyle and fashion department being 1939 modern. Although the opening titles credit this movie to be entirely fiction, there's no doubt that it's suggested on the career of Fanny Brice.

In spite of these shortcomings, ROSE OF WASHINGTON SQUARE, as a musical, is entertaining as well as involving in plot. As mentioned before, Al Jolson nearly steals the limelight from his leading players. Sadly, this would mark an end of a era for this legendary singer whose legacy remains with THE JAZZ SINGER (Warner Brothers, 1927),Hollywood's "first talkie," while Power and Faye would continue their fame and fortune for the duration of their careers.

ROSE OF WASHINGTON SQUARE, distributed to home video in the 1990s, unseen on cable TV since it's American Movie Classic days, made its Turner Classic Movies premiere May 5, 2013. The home video edition contains "April Showers" and "Avalon" outtakes, along with its theatrical trailer. Of her musicals, ROSE OF WASHINGTON SQUARE has become one of the most remembered and admired of all her movies. (***)

Entertainment careers, romance, and petty crime mix together to create a reasonably good film, based on the real life story of Ziegfeld star Fanny Brice and her attraction to gambler Nicky Arnstein. The script changes the names, and the two leads become Rose (Alice Faye) and Bart (Tyrone Power). "Rose Of Washington Square" is a thin story connected by numerous musical numbers.

The film has the look and feel of a long-ago era, specifically Vaudeville, with its eclectic mix of self-contained acts: singing, dancing, magic, and comedy. One lengthy segment features Rose singing in Washington Square, but interrupted by an unrelated act called "Igor and Tanya", an acrobatic performance not connected to anything else in the film. And then there's the stage performance wherein Rose and various dancers perform a dance that includes a magic act. As the dancing proceeds, each person brings forth a lit cigarette out of thin air, smokes it, then fetches another cigarette from out of nowhere.

This tribute to Vaudeville goes into overdrive with the appearance of entertainer Al Jolson, as character Ted Cotter. This character has little or nothing to do with Fanny Brice. I think the reason he's in the script is that he represents Brice's historical era. Jolson's inclusion ignites the plot, generating real pizazz into an otherwise lazy, dreary story. All bug-eyed and in black-face, and wearing white gloves, Jolson electrifies at the plush Winter Garden Theater, with his standard songs: "Rock-A-Bye Your Baby", "My Mammy", and "California, Here I Come".

Casting is mixed. Tyrone Power is surprisingly good. And I enjoyed William Frawley as a talent agent. But glamorous Alice Faye is not convincing as a stand-in for Brice. Faye does sing quite well, but I didn't care for any of her songs, with the exception of "My Man", Brice's signature number.

Costumes, hairdos, and prod design all seem to reflect well the early twentieth century era. B&W cinematography, sound effects, and editing are all competent, and pleasantly unobtrusive.

Without Jolson, the film would be average at best. But Jolson alone ups the entertainment value several notches, and that Vaudeville atmosphere is wonderfully nostalgic.

The title refers to Alice Faye as Rose of Washington Square, in this film that is loosely based on the life of Fanny Brice. You may not recognize it or realize that, if you didn't see "Funny Girl" just prior to it or knew certain facts about her and Nick Arnstein. But, Fanny and Nick filed a lawsuit against the movie, because songs that were included would have made it obvious to the current moviegoers just who it was all about. So, the executives had to edit or take out songs which were too closely identified with Fanny Brice.

But, the film stands on its own merits without knowing anything about them. Alice Faye may be the star (and she has some good songs, too), but it's Al Jolson that almost outshines her with some great show-stopping numbers: "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with Dixie Melody" and "California, Here I Come."

The only qualm I have is that, the song "Rose of Washington Square" that is sung here doesn't have the same verses that singer Ann Dee sings in "Thoroughly Modern Millie." It is the same song; that I know. The different movies just decided to sing different verses of it. I personally like the slow presentation in "Millie", where Ann Dee is sitting on top of a piano in the smoke-filled room in "Thoroughly Modern Millie". If only a movie had the song in its entirety for posterity.

That notwithstanding, this movie is out on an Alice Faye DVD collection (the edited version), so it has a chance of being discovered, which is good, because the music is too good to be buried away somewhere.

Despite this disclaimer at the beginning of "Rose of Washington Square," Fanny Brice realized the film was about her and quickly sued 20th Century Fox.

Gee, wonder what the kicker was...the good-looking con man husband who goes to jail on a bond fraud? The lead character headlining with the Ziegfield Follies? Or was it the song "My Man"?

Alice Faye is very pretty as Rose in this somewhat politically incorrect film which also stars Tyrone Power and Al Jolson: There's the man who is paid to drink so he can heckle Al Jolson as part of his act, and there's Al himself in blackface with white lips up on stage singing.

Nevertheless, the real story concerns the codependent relationship between Rose and Bart, her crooked husband. But it's Tyrone Power, and what woman wouldn't have loved him - in fact, what woman didn't love him in 1939? He was the number 2 box office star. He portrays the likable but sleazy character very well.

In the beginning of his career a few years earlier, he did romantic comedy, then did a string of films where he was a cad, then played soldiers, and after the war, did everything - he was a young man who found himself in "The Razor's Edge," played against type in "Nightmare Alley," and period-pieced his way through Fox until his contract finally ended. In 22 years as a star, he really did every genre, and did them beautifully.

There's lots of music in this movie and a HUGE build-up to the song "My Man" before Faye ever sings it. When she does, it's not the Streisand version, but rather a torch song, sung in Faye's low, rich voice.

Jolson was a terrific performer though apparently extremely egomaniacal and difficult to work with. He sings his standards: "Mammy," "California Here I Come," "Toot-toot-Tootsie," "Rockabye Your Baby," etc., and he's great.

Power and Faye make a wonderful couple. And by the way, they shared the same birthday, a year apart.

This is an okay film - but it's no Alexander's Ragtime Band, which is far superior.