Alexander's Ragtime Band

Plot

His Aunt Sophie (Helen Westley) and his teacher Professor Heinrich (Jean Hersholt) are sure that Roger Grant (Tyrone Power) will be a famous classical violinist, but Roger's more interested in popular music. He and his friend, pianist Charlie (Don Ameche), audition at a saloon in San Francisco's Barbary Coast, using sheet music left by singer Stella Kirby (Alice Faye), which had been sent to her by a friend in New York, Irving Berlin. The number, "Alexander's Ragtime Band," proves to be a sensation, and Stella goes along with Charlie's plea to sing with the band, which soon becomes famous for its ragtime numbers. Charlie has fallen in love with Stella by the time they open at the Cliff House, but he soon realizes that she and Roger are in love. Stella is invited to New York by a famous producer, but Roger's against this, and angrily fires her, so Charlie quits, too. When Roger returns from World War I, he meets Stella, only to learn she and Charlie have been married for a year. Another year passes, and Charlie and Davey have formed a new band with Jerry Allen (Ethel Merman) as their lead singer. Charlie knows Stella still loves Roger, so he divorces her, but Roger sails for Europe with the new band. Back in New York, Roger is set for a major concert in swing at Carnegie Hall. Charlie tells Roger about the divorce, and that Stella still loves him. Unable to get a ticket, Stella listens to the concert in a cab. Explaining that he is playing it for one particular person, Roger and his band perform "Alexander's Ragtime Band" as their encore, bringing Stella into the theater, where she's reconciled with Roger. He brings her onstage to perform the number with his band. ~ Bill Warren, Rovi

Review

Alexander's Ragtime Band was the subject of some mild ridicule in its day from critics who commented that, despite the fact that the time frame of the film covers a couple of decades, the stars never aged. But Alexander doesn't pretend to be realistic; it's a delightful little morsel of a film that's the cinematic equivalent of comfort food. And aside from the slightness of the script -- its roundabout love triangle is perfunctory, if effective -- there's little to complain about. There's a bountiful two dozen Irving Berlin songs to ease viewers over the bumpy patches, and not a clunker in the bunch. How can there be when they include the likes of such classics as the sorrowful "Remember," the joyous "Blue Skies," the infectious "Easter Parade," and the rousing "Heat Wave?" This is a score that can stand on its own; that it has two such powerful performers as Alice Faye and Ethel Merman to interpret many of them is a bonus. This is not to overlook Jack Haley and Don Ameche, who do more than respectable jobs, but their numbers simply pale in comparison with Merman's jivey "Pack Up Your Sins" or Faye's sinuous "Now It Can Be Told." The cast is also up to par in the dialogue scenes, even if Tyrone Power is a slightly behind the rest of the leads. Alexander doesn't aim high enough to be one of the screen's great musicals, but it's bright, lively fun. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi

Cast

• Tyrone Power - Roger Grant
• Alice Faye - Stella Kirby
• Don Ameche - Charlie Dwyer
• Ethel Merman - Jerry Allen
• Jack Haley - Davey Lane

Jean Hersholt - Prof. Heinrich; Helen Westley - Aunt Sophie; John Carradine - Cabdriver; Paul Hurst - Bill; Wally Vernon - Himself; Ruth Terry - Ruby; Douglas Fowley - Snapper; Chick Chandler - Louie; Eddie Collins - Corporal Collins; Joseph Crehan - Stage Manager; Robert Gleckler - Dirty Eddie; Dixie Dunbar - Dancer; Joe King - Charles Dillingman; Charles Coleman - Head Waiter; Stanley Andrews - Colonel; Charles Williams - Agent; Jane Jones - Singin trio; Otto H. Fries - Singing trio; Grady Sutton - Babe; Selmar Jackson - Radio Station Manager; Tyler Brooke - Assistant Stage Manager; Donald Douglas - Singer; Sam Ash - Critic; A.S. Byron; Lon Chaney, Jr. - Photographer; Ralph Dunn - Captain; James Flavin - Captain; Edward Keane - Major; The King's Men - Quartet; Robert Lowery - Reporter; Paul McVey - Stage Manager; Arthur Rankin - Stage Manager; Cully Richards - Musician; Edwin Stanley - Critic; Charles Tannen - Secretary; Eleanor Wesselhoeft - Martha; Cecil Weston - Woman; Jack Pennick - Sergeant; Kay Griffith - Autograph Seeker; Harold Goodwin - M.P.

Credit

Bernard Herzbrun - Art Director, Boris Leven - Art Director, Harry Joe Brown - Associate Producer, Seymour Felix - Choreography, Gwen Wakeling - Costume Designer, Henry King - Director, Barbara McLean - Editor, Irving Berlin - Composer (Music Score), Alfred Newman - Composer (Music Score), Alfred Newman - Musical Direction/Supervision, Irving Berlin - Songwriter, J. Peverell Marley - Cinematographer, Darryl F. Zanuck - Producer, Thomas K. Little - Set Designer, Roger Heman - Sound/Sound Designer, Arthur VonKirbach - Sound/Sound Designer, Irving Berlin - Screenwriter, Kathryn Scola - Screenwriter, Lamar Trotti - Screenwriter, Richard Sherman - Screenwriter

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