Alexander's Ragtime Band

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Mark B I'm generally not a fan of musicals, at least in the traditional sense -- when characters burst into song and dance in the middle of a street or a workplace, I have trouble suspending disbelief. But when the music is part of the plot ("Spinal Tap," "The Commitments") I'm fine as long as the music is good. This film falls into the latter bucket, although they fooled me when the buck private *appears* to break into a song about Army life, but a slow pull back reveals that he's actually on stage. The film somewhat follows an evolution of mainstream jazz over a 20 year period. And while the script is short on depth ("Whadday say we get a divorce, doll?" "Ah gee, I guess so." "Ok. Bye.") the top notch performers make the most of it. #448/596 on my "Best Picture Nominees" Bucket List) Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 07/10/24 Full Review Audience Member This film starred the top talent at Twentieth-Century Fox. Tyrone Power (who could not sing or play music), Alice Faye and Don Ameche star in this film directed by Henry King and featuring the music of Irving Berlin. Clearly it was a prestige film for the studio--a large budget film with high expectations for success. The film begins with Power playing sophisticated music for a crowd of high-class folks. Only moments later, however, he's playing Ragtime music for a crowd in a bar--and it's obvious that he's torn between the world of society and popular music. Quite by Hollywood accident, the feisty Alice Faye is pulled into Power's band and the way she and Power meet and get along is very clichéd--you know, the misunderstanding that results in them becoming enemies and you KNOW they'll be in love sooner or later! She is a low-class dame and over time, Power is able to polish her image and make her a success--along with his band. On hand is another cliché--the nice-guy friend (Ameche) who loves the girl but demurs when his friend and the dame become a pair. You almost feel sorry for Ameche getting such a thankless role as the 'nice' friend...though I am sure his enormous checks from the studio more than made up for this! And then there's the final big cliché when Faye and Power break up--only, naturally, to be reunited by the film's conclusion. The only question is what, exactly, will happen in between--and there are certainly a lot of twists that occur in the interim in their parallel journeys. WWI, another woman (a younger and amazingly pretty Ethel Merman), marriage and bootlegging all are among the things the film explores during this portion. And if all this seems familiar, it is if you've seen many Fox musicals. This plot, with a few changes, was used in "King of Burlesque" and many other films with Alice Faye. As for the film overall, it's pretty much what you expect from the studio--a lot of music (way too much, actually), a lot of polish and the best sets money can buy (Twentieth-Century Fox and MGM were the kings of such lavish productions). But, beneath all the polish, it is all formula and clichés--the sort of film that is pleasant but certainly not a must-see. Plus, oddly, the music, for the most part, isn't exactly Ragtime--often it's more the typical sort of musical numbers you'd see in just about any Fox production of the day. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review steve d There is nothing entertaining going on. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member I remain confident in the idea that Don Ameche is a good actor even though every role I have seen him play has made me think he is miscast and another actor could have played the role better. This is yet another film in which he seems out of place as he is a suave man speaking with that resonant, oddly posh accent and we have to believe him as a slimy, rakish figure who eventually reforms himself. He is joined by another actor who was often miscast in Tyrone Power for a musical that uses the compositions of Irving Berlin to dress up a film sold on some splashy visuals and the concept of staring at three attractive people for about two hours. The film could also be accused of racism as it completely removes all traces of African-Americans despite being a film about ragtime music and instead uses unbelievable characters to tell the tale of the creation of the genre. Ameche and Power dodder along as two lovesick fools torn over a woman played by Alice Faye but their interest in music rarely propels the film forward as while a song irritatingly drops in every time something starts to develop they are not exactly music enthusiasts. Compared to other 1930s musicals this just didn't jive with me as it didn't have the self knowing, cheeky quality of 42nd Street (1933) or the delightful songs of The Wizard of Oz (1939). It was a poor excuse for a musical as it was not funny, not charming in terms of it's plot or characters and altogether boring. That is one of the worst feelings you can have while watching a film as I have seen several interesting failures in my attempt to watch films from this time period but this was just a good, old fashioned dud. This should not have been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1938, a surprisingly deep year, as it does not hold up when compared to a classic like Pygmalion (1938) and is sadly a generally weak production despite it's pedigree. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member The best musical movie ever made! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member This escapist Depression-era musical is a conventional rising stardom picture with loads of terrific big band music by Irving Berlin. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Alexander's Ragtime Band

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