My Romance with Movies: From the 1940s... Tin Pan Alley

1940 Musical

From 20th Century Fox

Directed by Walter Lang

Starring

Alice Faye

Betty Grable

Jack Oakie

John Payne

Allen Jenkins

John Loder

The Nicholas Brothers

Elisha Cook Jr.

Billy Gilbert

What is Tin Pan Alley? Okay, you know but I suspect there are some readers who may not. For decades, starting in 1885, an ever-changing group of music publishers and songwriters took up residence in a series of buildings/rooms in the flower district of Manhattan. These folks were behind most of the popular American music during these years.

The name refers to the sounds of pianos coming out of every room, all playing different tunes at the same time. Someone said those sounds were reminiscent of banging tin pans in an alleyway. Tin Pan Alley has been featured in a number of films, specifically those which featured real songwriters who once roamed those halls.

This story is not real but it's far more fun than most real ones. Somewhere around 1910 two fledgling songwriters, Skeets Harrigan (Payne) and Harry Calhoun (Oakie) are having little luck pounding out new tunes. When they come across two singing sisters, Katie (Faye) and Lily Blane (Grable) who are having some luck in vaudeville, the boys decide the girls are just what is needed to help put over their tunes.

What tunes? They are struggling to find one. While Skeets and Katie and Harry are out at a club, they hear a stranger (Cook) play a song on the piano. It grabs their attention and they ask if he wrote the song and if so, is it for sale? Yes and yes are the answers but the guys don't have the required $50. Katie, however, has the dough and they claim the song, You Say the Sweetest Things, Baby.

The singing of this charming, melodic song starts with Faye, Payne and Oakie but typical of some musicals at the time, we immediately hear 4-5 other renditions of it by different people or groups. This is also done with the next song.

Anticipating a war, the boys write America, I Love You, a patriotic song that starts with the glorious Faye pipes and Payne on the piano at Tin Pan Alley. It's heard by others in the noisy building, including the Roberts Brothers and the Brian Sisters who each offer their own versions. (I can never forget how appealingly Faye is filmed during this number.

L-R: Payne, Faye, Grable, Oakie

Skeets and Katie are in love and because she likes the song so much, Skeets promises it will be hers to introduce to the public. Both know it will ignite her career as never before.

Songstress Nora Bayes (a real singer by the way) walks into Skeets's office and says she heard the song and wants to introduce it in her show opening the next night. Skeets is reluctant to give it to her because of Katie but it ends up going to Nora anyway. Katie is so upset that she walks out on Skeets and joins her sister for the latter's performances in England.

The sisters are a great success. Katie is glad to be back with her sister and to have her career back. She is also engaged to a British military man (Loder) who adores her. Unfortunately, she is still in love with Skeets. He and Harry have joined the military as well and they end up going to England where they meet up with the sisters.

Katie and Skeets fall into one another's arms, both realizing they were foolish to have not put more attention on their relationship. The war ends as the film does... the boys marching in formation down Times Square with the beautiful sisters hanging on to them and everyone but everyone singing the song Harry has tried to write the whole movie... K-K-K-K-Katie.

20th Century Fox had been making musicals since it opened its doors but I would have to think that their output increased in 1940 and lasted through the early-mid fifties. They may not have made many of the huge musicals that MGM did but that output was surely greater. The public flocked to Fox musicals. They almost couldn't make enough of them. Studio execs... Darryl Zanuck and his flock... were especially excited about this one because of the pair of musical actresses assigned as the leads.

Originally, only Faye was to star in the film. There wasn't going to be any sister act. Faye had worked at the studio for years but since 1937 she had been clearly queen of the lot. Sorry Shirl. Sorry Loretta. She could carry a picture and was adored by the public. But earlier in 1940, Fox released Down Argentine Way starring Grable and the public and the Fox brass fell all over themselves with praise.

Before Argentine, Grable had been in an astonishing 33 movies and 20 shorts but it was not until this film and her first year under a Fox contract that she caused such attention. Fox knew it had a new musical star. In a short time Grable would become Fox's queen while Faye would retire. Grable was one of the most popular actresses in Hollywood history with the public. From 1942-51, she was not only consistently in the top 10 of popularity polls but usually #1.

Those at Fox expected venom to spew on the set but it never happened, not even once. The actresses became pals and remained so, often out of work, until the end of Grable's life. The kindness that Faye showed to Grable was repeated 13 years later on another film set when Grable turned over the reins to Monroe. Honey, I got mine, said Grable, you go get yours.

When Grable came on board, her role, of course, had to be written from scratch... and quickly. They decided to make her Lily an ambitious but sweet glamour girl whose talent is obvious but whose success is frequently dependent on the kindness of a current beau. Katie is the opposite. She doesn't really like showbiz all that much, is practical and level-headed and would be more happy being married with children.

Zanuck was so pleased with himself. He viewed both women as hard workers, talented musical stars and ones whose personal lives would not embarrass the studio. Neither of them liked him as much as he liked them. Part of the boss's good cheer came from the fact that having two blonde, musical-comedy stars meant that if one had a problem accepting a role, the other could easily be substituted. Whether or not he saw more pairings for the two ladies in the future, it didn't happen.

In real life they were different in a number of ways and the same could be said of their musical-comedy contributions, just as the sisters in the film saw things differently. Grable was an all-around vibrant performer. She sparkled in everything she did. Her singing voice was lovely and she executed dance numbers as though she were born to it.

Faye, like her character, thought more of home, hearth and family than she did making movies. After her daughters were born she couldn't work up a lot of excitement for the applause. While she did some dance routines in some of her films, she was not a dancer. As a singer of ballads, that stirring voice and those haunting eyes filled the hearts of many a moviegoer.

Grable, Oakie & Payne waiting to be called

When Faye realized she would have to dance (alongside Grable, no less) and wear skimpy clothes in The Sheik of Araby number, she was nervous. She thought she was too busty to wear only a sequined bra and sheer harem pants and then prance all over the set Well, here's the thing... she did it. Sure one can see that Grable was more comfortable with the whole number, but Faye still nailed her part. It is by far the most famous part of the film and the one you can watch at the end here if it suits you. The segment opens with the glorious, acrobatic dancing of The Nicholas Brothers and features the rotund comedian Billy Gilbert as the sheik.

When the censors got a look at the Sheik number, they were appalled at the skimpy costumes on the many chorus girls and ordered that they add some material and re-shoot the sequence.

Any musical that John Payne was in I watched. I loved his voice, his great smile and boy could he fuss with his leading ladies. He would work five times with Grable, four times with Oakie and four times with Faye. In their later years, Payne and Faye worked together, most famously perhaps in a stage revival of Good News.

Jack Oakie, known as America's joyboy, was a most capable second banana type. He delivered the frosty comments with ease and had a pretty fair singing voice. Why he is billed above Payne is a mystery to me.

As I mentioned in my prior posting on director Walter Lang, there was nobody at Fox more equipped to handle a musical than this talented man. He would work with Grable countless times in the forties and he also directed Faye and Payne in other films as well.

The songs are terrific. You Say the Sweetest Things, Baby was written for the film and it appears to be the only one. Its melody is also played throughout. A number of famous songs are played throughout the film as well, including a host of them during the opening credits. Alfred Newman handled the musical score and won the film's only Oscar for his efforts.

Tin Pan Alley is a routine but enjoyable Fox musical that has resonated all these years because of the casting of Betty Grable and Alice Faye.

Here's that clip of The Sheik of Araby number, almost seven minutes long...