Tin Pan Alley

"All good-lookin' like he is, there's no use in getting' yourself all messed up", a black boy ponders, when 'Skeets' Harrigan (John Payne) drops out of a promising boxing career to pursue his dreams of becoming a renowned Tin Pan Alley song publisher with his friend from the Midwest, Harry Calhoun (Jack Oakie). On their way to the top they meet the Blane sisters, Katie (Alice Faye) and Lily (Betty Grable). 'Skeets' and Katie fall in love, but he is adamantly focused on his career and when he gives a song meant for Katie to a famous musical star, she has had it and leaves for London with her sister. That is when World War I erupts ...

'Tin Pan Alley' has more charm than it has plot, and it's a delightful watch with charismatic actors. Faye and Grable are a wonderful pair of tap-dancing sisters, Oakie is genuinely funny as the befuddled average Joe playing at being a tough guy, and John Payne, a Robert Taylor look-alike, clearly in a role that must have been written for typical Faye co-star Tyrone Power, rises to the occasion and delivers his all, a perfect mix of athletic hunkiness and crooning abilities, not the easiest performance to pull of, as 'Skeets' is quite callous in the way he presses forward.

The film abounds with great music and showpieces, 'Honeysuckle Rose' in Faye's very nice rendition with a boy chorus, 'The Sheik of Araby' featuring glorious tap-dancing by The Nicholas Brothers, the rousing "America, I Love You", and the only song actually written for the film, Harry Warren's 'You Say the Sweetest Things (Baby)", utilized to the fullest in a clever montage.

... in that it seemed so big and grand in my memory, but is actually quite small and underwhelming when revisited.

It had been years since I saw Tin Pan Alley, definitely over a decade. It was on the Fox Movie Channel back when that channel used to play classic Fox titles around the clock, but now relegates older films to twelve hours a day, and usually it is about the same twenty titles all of the time and pre 1960 titles? Forget about it.

So when it popped up available to see I decided to jump on it, and the production as a whole left me disappointed. It pretty much amounts to this - In 1915 pretty chanteuse (Alice Faye) meets two struggling song writers/publishers. They catapult to success based on a title they buy off of a performer in a restaurant, then success goes to the head of the publisher Faye loves (John Payne). Complications ensue, but none you won't see coming from a mile away. And the musical numbers are too bland and too long.

But it does have its charms. Alice Faye is great as the wholesome girl next door with the wonderful voice. Jack Oakie doesn't look or sound like somebody who would be a net positive in a musical, but he works great as long as he has somebody to bounce one liners off of, and John Payne fits the bill for that duty. Then there is Elisha Cook Jr of the noirs as a geeky gifted composer. If that doesn't sound weird then I assume you could see Hoagy Carmichael playing a psychopathic killer?

Finally there is the one really good song in this film - "You Say The Sweetest Things" by Gordon and Warren performed by Alice Faye. Fortunately, Fox knew this was the best song because it becomes a kind of background score as the plot unwinds. With a second billed Betty Grable who hardly has a line and a great cameo appearance by the Nicholas Brothers, this is probably worth your time.

Alice Faye was my favorite singer actress and made so many good films when I was in High School. Tin Pan Alley was especially entertaining and had our favorite Ethel Merman. As always she was the great belter; remember her in Alexander's Ragtime Band with Tyrone Power and Don Ameche. Both Power and Ameche played in several of Alice's films; and then there were Jack Oakie and June Havoc; what an amusing pair they were! The films I liked best were Tin Pan Alley 1940; The Gang's All Here and Hello Frisco Hello both 1943; and State Fair remake with Pat Boone and Bobby Darin (1960s?) In 1985 Alice Faye was at the Arlington Theater promoting health care products, and I had the privilege of talking to her. She was a great lady and very nice!

"Tin Pan Alley" is a rare misfire for Fox, which had a string of hits around this time period. In fact, they used several of the same stars in this one as in previous pictures. Alice Faye, John Payne, Betty Grable and Jack Oakie - what more could you ask for? Well, you might ask for some better songs and a better storyline, because this plot is threadbare and had been done better many times in the past. Boy meets girl, Boy loses girl ( because pride goeth before a fall), boy wins girl back. Did you read the list of song titles? Well, most of them are background music except for "You Say The Sweetest Things", which was written especially for this picture and was the best number.

Special mention should be made of "America, I Love You", to which I have awarded a Hand-Painted Mustache Cup for the Worst Production Number In A Major Musical. Mournful and tuneless, this song was given a big build-up as a flag-waving tribute to the troops in WWI and all concerned tried mightily to put it over. This dreadful song, however, defied all efforts and pulled down an already routine musical into subpar status.

If you like the cast and if you like Fox musicals - and there are many to like - try another picture.

Alice Faye and Betty Grable team up in this costume musical as a pair of singing sisters. You have to hear the classic tune "K-K-K-Katy," sung by Jack Oakie using different lyrics throughout the movie, then sung and danced at the end by the sisters on stage and by marching World War I doughboys. --Musicals on the Silver Screen, American Library Association, 2013