Tin Pan Alley (1940)

Songwriters Calhoun and Harrigan get Katie and Lily Blane to introduce a new one. Lily goes to England, and Katy joins her after the boys give a new song to Nora Bayes. All are reunited ... See full summary »

Director:

Walter Lang

Writers:

Robert Ellis (screen play), Helen Logan (screen play),

Stars:

Alice Faye, Betty Grable, Jack Oakie

Won 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alice Faye	...	Katie Blane
Betty Grable	...	Lily Blane
Jack Oakie	...	Harry Calhoun
John Payne	...	Skeets Harrigan
Allen Jenkins	...	Casey
Esther Ralston	...	Nora Bayes
The Nicholas Brothers	...	Dance Specialty
Ben Carter	...	Boy
John Loder	...	Reggie Carstair
Elisha Cook Jr.	...	Joe Codd
Fred Keating	...	Harvey Raymond
Billy Gilbert	...	Sheik
Lillian Porter	...	Telephone Operator
Princess Vanessa Ammon	...	Specialty
The Brian Sisters	...	Specialty (as Brian Sisters)

Storyline

Songwriters Calhoun and Harrigan get Katie and Lily Blane to introduce a new one. Lily goes to England, and Katy joins her after the boys give a new song to Nora Bayes. All are reunited when the boys, now in the army, show up in England.

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Plot Keywords:

song | songwriter | sister | singer | army | 

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Genres:

Drama | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 November 1940 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Vida é uma Canção

Filming Locations:

Stage 9, 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:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Scenes which were deleted from final version appear in Hidden Hollywood: Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Film Vaults.

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Connections

Edited into Myra Breckinridge (1970)

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Soundtracks

"Take Me Back to Melody Lane"
(uncredited)
Written by Dave Reed Jr.
Played during the opening credits and sung by an unidentified woman

User Reviews

Alice plus Betty- Wow!

Alice Faye and Betty Grable were made for each other as a sister act, together or separately. As the dominant sister, Alice got most of the single numbers, but Betty got to show her stuff in the "honeysuckle rose"- "moonlight and roses" routine. I can't believe they were never paired again(Well, they were supposed to be in "The Dolly Sisters", but it was too late, as Alice decided to retire just then). John Payne and Jack Oakie were another great buddy pair, Oakie providing a perfect comic balance to Payne's serious demeanor, as a pair of struggling tune smiths. Oakie does an impromptu rendition of a classic George M. Cohan war moral booster, composed about the time this story takes place, at the beginning of WWI. This duo would appear together or separately in several more Faye films. Payne would also serve as a usually successful rival for Betty's heart in several other films. Too bad Oakie was never considered romantic material for the leading ladies. He was certainly charming enough. He could have teamed up with Betty while Payne was romancing or sulking with Alice.

The Nicholas Brothers were yet another talented pair, though they only appeared in their dance routine in "The Sheik of Araby" extravaganza. Breaking the color barrier, they appeared in a number of top musicals of this era, including "Sun Valley Serenade" and the all African American cast in "Stormy Weather", where they performed perhaps their most famous routine. Rotund veteran comedian Billy Gilbert seemed bored with his harem and other diversions, until Alice and Betty showed up in his harem, when he joined them in a memorable song and dance rendition of the title song for "The Sheik of Araby" scene. All in all, a great vaudevillian mix of song and dance, comedy and romantic drama. My main regret is that this wasn't filmed in Technicolor. Few films were then, and the studios didn't always pick the right ones for this luxury treatment. It's about time a DVD version of this classic musical comedy was made available, and dare I hope for a colorized version?