Rose of Washington Square (1939)

New York city in the 1920s: a singer struggles to keep her boyfriend from trouble. When she makes it to Ziegfeld, he heads for five years in jail. Lots of Faye and Jolson singing. The story... See full summary »

Director:

Gregory Ratoff

Writers:

Nunnally Johnson (screenplay), John Larkin (based on a story by),

Stars:

Tyrone Power, Alice Faye, Al Jolson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tyrone Power	...	Barton Dewitt Clinton
Alice Faye	...	Rose Sargent
Al Jolson	...	Ted Cotter
William Frawley	...	Harry Long
Joyce Compton	...	Peggy
Hobart Cavanaugh	...	Whitey Boone
Moroni Olsen	...	Mayor Buck Russell
E.E. Clive	...	Barouche Driver
Louis Prima	...	Band Leader
Charles C. Wilson	...	Police Lt. Mike Cavanaugh
Hal K. Dawson	...	Chump
Paul E. Burns	...	Chump (as Paul Burns)
Ben Welden	...	Toby
Horace McMahon	...	Irving (as Horace MacMahon)
Paul Stanton	...	District Attorney

Storyline

New York city in the 1920s: a singer struggles to keep her boyfriend from trouble. When she makes it to Ziegfeld, he heads for five years in jail. Lots of Faye and Jolson singing. The story is so close to the true story of Fanny Brice and Nicky Arnstein (Jules W. Arndt Stein) that he sued the studio in a case that was quickly settled out of court in his favor.

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Plot Keywords:

new york city | singer | singing | 1920s | blackface | 

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Genres:

Drama | Musical

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 May 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rose de Broadway

Filming Locations:

Stage 14, 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film closely resembles the life of entertainer Fanny Brice, and Alice Faye even sings Ms. Brice's signature song "My Man". According to Biography: Alice Faye: The Star Next Door, Fanny Brice sued 20th Century Fox for $750,000. 20th Century Fox benefited from the publicity, and this film was its biggest musical hit of 1939. The studio settled out of court with Fanny Brice for an undisclosed amount.

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Connections

Featured in Take It or Leave It (1944)

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Soundtracks

"I'm Always Chasing Rainbows"
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Carroll
Played while Tyrone Power and Alice Faye are dancing at Buck's party
Reprised in the background during Buck and Rose's emotional scene in her bedroom suite

User Reviews

A great musical; Faye and Jolson are in great voice.

Very entertaining- a thinly disguised bio-pic of Fanny Brice. Power and Faye- at their acting peaks- are great as the leads. Faye is in great voice. However, Jolson steals the movie. At the age of 54, he was in the best voice of his career. His Rock- a Bye and California Here I Come are thrilling. I own the video, which also contains clips of several Jolson and Faye songs which were edited out of the final movie. a must for fans of the three stars.