While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

It's ironic that both Betty Grable and Alice Faye got to remake some of their old movies with changes of settings and slightly different themes. Grable remade "Coney Island" as "Wabash Avenue" and "Moon Over Miami" (itself already a remake) as "How to Marry a Millionaire". Seven years after "King of Burlesque" (1936), Faye remade the film in color, changing the setting from the vaudeville theatres of New York to the waterfront saloons of San Francisco. While "Hello Frisco Hello" is respectable in many different ways, it takes away the edge from its original source, mainly because the character played by John Payne isn't as interesting as Warner Baxter's. Faye herself has gone from a Jean Harlow tough cookie with a heart of gold to a total lady. She is wonderful in both films, but I like her earlier image a bit more. She has a fabulous song, the Oscar Winning "You'll Never Know", and the title song is a fun way to start the film. Even that other tribute to the California ciy on the bay is there, and it doesn't involve an earthquake or Jeanette MacDonald's powerful soprano pipes. June Havoc (the real Dainty June from "Gypsy") and Jack Oakie give nice supporting performances, with Oakie repeating his role from "King of Burlesque" in the exact same manner. The other songs are standards both obscure and familiar, and Faye puts them off as only a professional could. Lynn Bari plays a broke San Francisco socialite who briefly comes between Faye and Payne and is the epitome of bitchy coolness. The Fox technicolor is glorious, making the beautiful sets and costumes stand out amazingly well. Overall, if you can see the original version (not commercially available), don't miss it, then compare to this one to see a lighter take on the same tale.

This was an engaging musical, though I must admit that this is probably my least familiar genre. While I like the occasional musical, they aren't something I rush to see.John Payne and Alice Faye star in this Fox film. They are partners along with Jack Oakie and June Havoc and they hit the big time thanks to their musical talents as well as Payne's amazing business sense. It seems to everyone except Payne that Faye is in love with him, but the big dope never recognizes her for her decency and charm. Instead, he has the eyes for selfish Lynn Bari--mostly because she is rich and well-heeled and a place in society is what Payne wants most. However, the marriage is a bust and Bari does nothing except bleed Payne's bank accounts. Now destitute, poor long-suffering Faye returns to help him back on his feet as the movie fades.The story of a man too blind to see love and too proud to ask for help is familiar and I've seen it a few times already--so the plot was awfully familiar and predictable. However, despite this, it was entertaining and my wife, who hates old musicals, actually sat through the film and enjoyed it. Also, the choice of songs is excellent--with many old hits. Not among the very best musicals, but still very good. And, unlike me, if you love the genre, then this is a must-see film.

Unlike many musicals from Warners and MGM, the scenes of stage performance in those from 20th Century Fox look as though they could actually be performed on a stage, with straight front shooting, and relatively little camera movement, except for close-ups. This approach works, if you have actors who can draw you in simply by their talent, Talent is abundant here, and the musical numbers are believably staged. Fortunately, there are many of these: enough to carry the hackneyed plot. After more than twelve years in films, Jack Oakie could still do comic dance and joke routines far superior to those of most; and is helped wonderfully by June Havoc, who should have received one of the co-star billings in the titles, instead of being listed second in the supporting cast. John Payne was the studio's dependable leading man, in both musicals and light drama. The beautiful Lynn Bari, who never broke through to star status, shines in the thankless role of the selfish society girl.But Alice Faye is at her best in her last major musical for Fox. It's easy to see why Archie Bunker occasionally referred to her as his feminine ideal. She is gorgeous in Technicolor close-ups. Here, as in other films she wears period costumes more convincingly than most other actresses, who seem to be dressing up for a costume party. Her voice was unique, and her delivery understated; unlike many of her contemporaries, she can still be heard on CDs. I didn't count, but she must have sung ten or more numbers, alone or with Payne. Oakie and Havoc, including an opening and closing rendition of her signature "You'll Never Know". In a years later TV interview, she commented that toward the end of her Fox career she was being replaced by Betty Grable, whose more overt sex appeal made her famous during the war years, but whose career as a top attraction did not last as many years as Faye's (about ten) What impressed me was that she made that comment without any tone of bitterness. Incidentally, this is not a criticism of Grable, who had a winning, self-deprecating personality in later years. In another TV interview, when she was asked how she became a star, she responded: I could sing a little, dance a little, and act a little, but I had great-looking legs. I can't help comparing these two ladies, both of whom had long-lasting show business marriages, and both of whom seemed to be nice persons, with some contemporary "stars".

Totally delightful Fox musical in glowing Technicolor with many lavishly staged songs. (My particular favorite is `Ragtime Cowboy Joe') The only new tune is an Oscar-winner - `You'll Never Know' sincerely rendered by Alice Faye. On the dancing side there's a sneak-preview of `Starlight Express' with a number on roller skates proving that there's nothing new under the sun.It is easy to see why Alice was such a bright star for so long; she has looks, charm and a beautiful deep singing voice. On the other hand I've never really warmed to John Payne, I find him very stiff and he does nothing to change my opinion here. Laird Cregar overacts outrageously to great effect cast against his usual menacing or sinister type.`Hello, Frisco, Hello' is actually a reworking of 1935's `King of Burlesque' which also featured Jack Oakie and Alice Faye. What the film is not is any sort of feminist tract. We are expected to believe that Alice's character, beautiful and talented enough to conquer London's West End Musical Mecca, is incomplete without the love of Payne's Barbary Coast promoter, a cad who has previously dropped her callously to marry a socialite for her status in the community.However, nuances of character are hardly the thing in these Hollywood musicals and I can assure you that `Hello, Frisco, Hello' is a total treat.