A Vida é uma Canção

From the first time I saw Tin Pan Alley I played it over and over, because I enjoyed the music so much and the stars were in top form. While I rarely seek out the actors in films made to-day, I tune into any old film featuring Alice Faye, John Payne, Betty Grable or Jack Oakie, hoping to find something just as engaging. The unabashed sentimentality of the music and simple straight forward humour make it a refreshing change from to-day's tasteless films. While Alice Faye tackles the love songs with John Payne, as a consumate professional, I am always sure he is using a lot of self control not break into laughter, and that they had a lot of fun making the movie.

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

This is a delightful film with some of the best stars from the 40's. Alice Faye has been a personal favorite of mine for years and her beautiful contralto singing voice is only one reason. She is also charming and beautiful, and it's no wonder she was 20th Century Fox's top blonde star for many years (until Betty Grable, who is, of course, also in this film). Alice and Betty make believable sisters and perform some knockout numbers together (especially "The Sheik of Araby", which also boasts the talents of the marvelous Nicholas Brothers). Alice is paired romantically in the film with John Payne (a frequent costar), and their chemistry makes you understand why Fox paired them often in film. The songs are delightful and the movie captures the image of Tin Pan Alley that may not have existed in reality, but isn't the image on film more romantic and lovely to look at? The only quibble I have: why, oh why wasn't this filmed in Technicolor?

Alice Faye and Betty Grable were made for each other as a sister act, together or separately. As the dominant sister, Alice got most of the single numbers, but Betty got to show her stuff in the "Honeysuckle Rose"- "Moonlight and Roses" routine. I can't believe they were never paired again(Well, they were supposed to be in "The Dolly Sisters", but it was too late, as Alice decided to retire just then). John Payne and Jack Oakie were another great buddy pair, Oakie providing a perfect comic balance to Payne's serious demeanor, as a pair of struggling tune smiths. Oakie does an impromptu rendition of a classic George M. Cohan war moral booster, composed about the time this story takes place, at the beginning of WWI. This duo would appear together or separately in several more Faye films. Payne would also serve as a usually successful rival for Betty's heart in several other films. Too bad Oakie was never considered romantic material for the leading ladies. He was certainly charming enough. He could have teamed up with Betty while Payne was romancing or sulking with Alice.

The Nicholas Brothers were yet another talented pair, though they only appeared in their dance routine in "The Sheik of Araby" extravaganza. Breaking the color barrier, they appeared in a number of top musicals of this era, including "Sun Valley Serenade" and the all African American cast in "Stormy Weather", where they performed perhaps their most famous routine. Rotund veteran comedian Billy Gilbert seemed bored with his harem and other diversions, until Alice and Betty showed up in his harem, when he joined them in a memorable song and dance rendition of the title song for "The Sheik of Araby" scene. All in all, a great vaudevillian mix of song and dance, comedy and romantic drama. My main regret is that this wasn't filmed in Technicolor. Few films were then, and the studios didn't always pick the right ones for this luxury treatment. It's about time a DVD version of this classic musical comedy was made available, and dare I hope for a colorized version?

This film was essentially remade in 1949as "Oh, You Beautiful Doll", in Technicolor. June Haver and Gail Robbins took the places of Alice and Betty. Mark Stevens and S.Z. Sakal took the places of Payne and Oakie, respectively. I like the original better, except it was filmed in B&W.

"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.