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      Tin Pan Alley

      Released Nov 29, 1940 1h 34m Musical List
      Reviews 43% Audience Score 50+ Ratings From the late 19th century into the 20th century, an area of New York City nicknamed Tin Pan Alley was the heart of the American popular music scene. In this hotbed of creativity, singing sisters Katie (Alice Faye) and Lily Blane (Betty Grable) team up with musicians Harry Calhoun (Jack Oakie) and Skeets Harrigan (John Payne) to find their fame and fortune. Romance soon follows, but the rocky road to success and the looming World War I threaten to tear the couples apart. Read More Read Less

      Audience Reviews

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      Audience Member The best musical movie ever made! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Fast-moving 20th-Century-Fox musical has a solid cast and nice period flavor; best musical number is "The Sheik of Araby," sung by Faye, Grable and Billy Gilbert, and danced by the Nicholas Brothers. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member fox paired its 2 biggest female stars at the time faye & grable Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member This is so much better than I though it would be! Songwriters Skeets (Payne) and Harry (Oakie) have just started their career in the local song-writing business Tin Pan Alley. When they find sister act Katy (Faye) and Lily (Grable) Blane, they immediately propel both them and the sisters career to stardom. "Tin Pan Alley" was a movie I was not expecting to like at all. Every Betty Grable movie I have seen just seemed stupid, and every time Walter Lang directed a musical I thought it was not the best. Both Grable and Lang proved me wrong with this one! Most of Faye's, Grable's, and Lang's movies at the time were in Technicolor and always felt rushed to me-- Alice and Betty were two of the biggest box office draws of the '40's, and Darryl F. Zanuck rushed them into movie after movie. This one is great because it's black and white, so the movie doesn't have Technicolor aiding it.. This movie is filled with fun songs like "Honeysuckle Rose", easily recognizable "K-K-K Katy", "On Moonlight Bay", and other good tunes. While most of the '40's musicals seemed to be filled with forgettable songs, this one is the opposite and are already stuck in my head. "Tin Pan Alley" is a fun musical, and any fan of both Alice Faye and Betty Grable will relish it-- it was the only movie they made together. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review Audience Member When this was made Alice Faye was queen of the Fox musical lot and so she is very much the focus of this ordinary film with a few good numbers but Betty Grable although clearly in the secondary role was just about to shoot to the top of the pack. The girls are well matched and while not the best partner either ever had make an enjoyable team too bad this wasn't in color it would have perked it up and probably added an extra bit of zip that is missing. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member great story and cast Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Tin Pan Alley

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis From the late 19th century into the 20th century, an area of New York City nicknamed Tin Pan Alley was the heart of the American popular music scene. In this hotbed of creativity, singing sisters Katie (Alice Faye) and Lily Blane (Betty Grable) team up with musicians Harry Calhoun (Jack Oakie) and Skeets Harrigan (John Payne) to find their fame and fortune. Romance soon follows, but the rocky road to success and the looming World War I threaten to tear the couples apart.
      Director
      Walter Lang
      Distributor
      20th Century Fox
      Genre
      Musical
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Nov 29, 1940, Original
      Runtime
      1h 34m