This is an extremely fun musical romantic comedy-drama which features the songs of Irving Berlin and stars Don Ameche (one of my absolute favourite actors), Tyrone Power and Alice Faye, three of Fox's biggest stars of the day. The screenplay was co-written by Berlin himself and features some of his best songs such as "Heat Wave", "Easter Parade" and "Blue Skies" (my personal favourite of those featured). It has a great supporting cast including future Tin Man Jack Haley, Ethel Merman, Jean Hersholt and Ruth Terry (who is still alive) as well as brief appearances by future horror icons Lon Chaney, Jr. as a photographer and John Carradine as the most unintentionally creepy taxi driver in film history.
The film tells the story of a privileged young man named Roger Grant (played by Power), who takes the stage name Alexander and eventually becomes a bigwig on the swing scene, and his relationship with the initially unsophisticated "platinum loudmouth" Stella Kirby (played by Faye). After months of fighting, they realise that they love each other and become a couple but break up when Stella chooses to go to Broadway without Alexander and his band. After going to and returning from World War I, Alexander realises that he has been unfair to her and wants to get back together, only to find that she is married to his best friend Charlie Dwyer (played by Ameche, who gives the best performance in the film). However, everything turns out perfectly fine in the end and there is a happy ending of a kind that only Classic Hollywood could deliver!
The second half of the film is far stronger than the first but it's a great feel good film. They don't make them like this anymore, I'm afraid. It's the kind of film that my grandmother loved.
The film tells the story of a privileged young man named Roger Grant (played by Power), who takes the stage name Alexander and eventually becomes a bigwig on the swing scene, and his relationship with the initially unsophisticated "platinum loudmouth" Stella Kirby (played by Faye). After months of fighting, they realise that they love each other and become a couple but break up when Stella chooses to go to Broadway without Alexander and his band. After going to and returning from World War I, Alexander realises that he has been unfair to her and wants to get back together, only to find that she is married to his best friend Charlie Dwyer (played by Ameche, who gives the best performance in the film). However, everything turns out perfectly fine in the end and there is a happy ending of a kind that only Classic Hollywood could deliver!
The second half of the film is far stronger than the first but it's a great feel good film. They don't make them like this anymore, I'm afraid. It's the kind of film that my grandmother loved.