Alexander's Ragtime Band

This is the type of film for which the fast-forward button was made. Use that puppy to zip through the silly love triangle plot involving the mannequin-handsome bandleader (Tyrone Power), his excessively genial best pal (Don Ameche), and the brassy but goodhearted dame who comes between them (Alice Faye) over a span of 23 years (where, in typical Hollywood fashion, no one grows old or fat). Let go of the fast-forward button when you come to one of 28 Irving Berlin songs that spice up this extravagant 20th Century Fox musical. There are plenty of classics here (the title song, “Easter Parade,” “Always,” “Blue Skies”) and some intriguing curios (including “Now It Can Be Told,” written especially for the film and nominated for an Oscar). A pre-Tin Woodsman Jack Haley does a fine comic rendition of “Oh How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning” (although, admittedly, the frog-voiced Berlin did a much better rendition in This Is the Army), and a young Ethel Merman is also on hand to belt out the Berlin tunes, though sadly she is given a supporting performance here (that outshines Faye's). The eagle-eyed will have a nice challenge spotting two future Hollywood bogeymen, Lon Chaney Jr. and John Carradine, in quick-as-a-flash bit parts. All told, this is a pleasant diversion that will keep you humming the score long after the dum-dum plot is happily forgotten. Presented in a handsome transfer, this "Studio Classics" entry includes a fine commentary track by film scholar Ray Fiola, an A&E Biography profile of Faye, deleted scenes, and newsreel footage of the London premiere. Recommended. (P. Hall)