Film Snail

5.0

Tin Pan Alley

NR·1940·94m

Drama

Romance

Music

Drama

Romance

Music

Summary

Songwriters Calhoun and Harrigan get Katie and Lily Blane to introduce a new one. Lily goes to England, and Katy joins her after the boys give a new song to Nora Bayes. All are reunited when the boys, now in the army, show up in England.

Cast

Alice Faye

Katie Blane

Betty Grable

Lily Blane

Jack Oakie

Harry Calhoun

John Payne

Skeets Harrigan

Allen Jenkins

Casey

Esther Ralston

Nora Bayes

Harold Nicholas

Dancer

Fayard Nicholas

Dancer

Ben Carter

Boy

John Loder

Reggie Carstairs

Elisha Cook Jr.

Joe Codd

Fred Keating

Harvey Raymond

Billy Gilbert

Sheik

Lillian Porter

Telephone Operator

Princess Vanessa Ammon

Specialty

Betty Brian

Singer

Doris Brian

Singer

Gwen Brian

Singer

Roberts Brothers

Specialty

Tyler Brooke

Bert Melville

Hal K. Dawson

Hotel Clerk

William B. Davidson

Hotel Manager

Lionel Pape

Lord Stanley

Billy Bevan

Stage Doorman

Dewey Robinson

Dumb Guy

Robert Emmett Keane

Manager

John Sheehan

Announcer

George Watts

Mike Buckner

Ted Billings

Recruit Poster Peddler in Montage (uncredited)

Bobby Callahan

Newsboy (uncredited)

Maurice Costello

(uncredited)

Franklyn Farnum

Man in Audience (uncredited)

James Flavin

Army Sergeant (uncredited)

Bess Flowers

Nightclub Guest (uncredited)

Kit Guard

Ringsider (uncredited)

Eddie Hall

Man Reading Headline (uncredited)

John Indrisano

Kid Skeets' Cornerman (uncredited)

Larry McGrath

Referee (uncredited)

Pat McKee

Two Punch Hogan (uncredited)

Bud Mercer

Dancer (uncredited)

Jim Mercer

Dancer (uncredited)

Louis Mercier

(uncredited)

Charles R. Moore

Porter at Railroad Station (uncredited)

Jack Roper

Nick Palerno (uncredited)

Mary Stewart

Dancer (uncredited)

Harry Strang

Marching Doughboy (uncredited)

Dorothy Tuttle

(uncredited)

Charles C. Wilson

Desk Sergeant (uncredited)

Crew

Director

Walter Lang

Screenplay

Robert Ellis

Screenplay

Helen Logan

Reviews

Geronimo1967

April 26, 2022

Songwriters "Calhoun" (Jack Oakie) and his pal "Harrigan" (John Payne) meet up on the theatre circuit with the "Blane" sisters - "Katie" (Alice Faye) and "Lily" (Betty Grable) and they embark on some escapades as the lyricists try to find success. That happens, believe it or not, but as ever there is collateral damage and that comes in the form of the relationship between "Harrigan" and his devoted "Katie" - the former too obsessed with success to appreciate what is right in front of his eyes! Will the romance sort itself out? Well, oddly enough the plot doesn't really matter. It's really just a vehicle for Alice Faye (and her lovely voice) to shine. For Oakie to throw some one-liners around and see where they stick and for charming ditties "You Say the Sweetest Things" and "America, I Love You" from the pens of Mack Gordon and Harry Warren that show a distinct chemistry between Payne and Faye (and Oakie on the former song, too). It's quite fun for the most part, it jogs along well marrying comedy and romance with a little wartime spirit and it does give us an enjoyable insight into just how variety theatre worked. I could have done with a bit more from an underused Grable, and maybe a few more numbers and a bit less chatter, but it's held up well and is still quite entertaining.