Hollywood Cavalcade is a good example of the cinematic conservatism of the Fox comedies in the late ’30s and early ’40s. Narratively, it’s a hash of genres — “a star is born,” historical nostalgia, biopic, backstage romance (“backlot” in this case), film-about-films, American go-getter more interested in his work than in the girl who lovesContinue reading “Hollywood Cavalcade (1939)”
Category Archives: Alice Faye
Every Night at Eight (1935)
Every Night at Eight was one of the dozens of “Radio Contest/Singing Sisters” movies made in the ’30s. It has very little to recommend it. Directed by Raoul Walsh, a director I don’t like, its male lead is George Raft, an actor I detest. It tells the tired tale of a group of young workingContinue reading “Every Night at Eight (1935)”
On the Avenue (1937)
On paper, On the Avenue looks like a great classical Hollywood musical. All the songs are by Irving Berlin. It’s directed by Roy Del Ruth, an unsung master of the genre. It stars Dick Powell, Alice Faye, and Madeleine Carroll. The script is by two good writers, Gene Markey and William Conselman. Lucien Andriot wasContinue reading “On the Avenue (1937)”
Sally, Irene and Mary (1938)
The 1938 version of Sally, Irene and Mary is nominally a remake of a famous but hard to get silent musical made in 1925. The original starred Constance Bennett, Joan Crawford, and Sally O’Neil as the title characters. That original is a well made and visually interesting comedy/melodrama, directed by the legendary Edmund Goulding, andContinue reading “Sally, Irene and Mary (1938)”