OVP: Hello, Frisco, Hello (1943)

Film: Hello, Frisco, Hello (1943)
Stars: Alice Faye, John Payne, Jack Oakie, Lynn Bari, June Havoc
Director: H. Bruce Humberstone
Oscar History: 2 nominations/1 win (Best Cinematography-Color, Best Original Song-"You'll Never Know"*)
Snap Judgment Ranking: 3/5 stars

Each month, as part of our 2019 Saturdays with the Stars series, we highlight a different actress of Hollywood's Golden Age.  This month, our focus is on Alice Faye-click here to learn more about Ms. Faye (and why I picked her), and click here for other Saturdays with the Stars articles.

By 1943, Alice Faye was a conundrum for Fox.  It was clear, even to Faye herself (she'd later say so in interviews) that Warner was less-interested in her as a headliner and were more interested in promoting Betty Grable, who had eclipsed her as a box office draw.  Fox had a number of hit musicals throughout its Golden Age tenure, something we don't always think of when compared to the Grand Tetons of musical cinema that were being produced at the nearby MGM lot, but Faye had dominated musicals at the studio during this era, never really making a flop even when she was tasked with poor films.  Grable was a massive star across seas at the time, with her iconic pin-up poster becoming the bestselling one of World War II, and despite the two of them being framed as rivals (to the point where Faye was replaced by Grable in Down Argentine Way), they were actually good friends in real life.  This is a long way of saying, that by 1943, Faye had a lot more riding on Hello, Frisco, Hello than her stellar box office track record might have indicated.  Thankfully for Faye (and throwing Fox's plans for a loop), this was a MASSIVE hit in its era, one of her biggest films at the studio, and she was still too important to the studio to toss aside just yet.  As we'll see next week, Darryl Zanuck wasn't content to keep Faye at the top even if the public wanted her to stay there, but let's first get through Round 1 of her fight with the studio chief.

(Spoilers Ahead) Hello, Frisco, Hello has about as thin of a plot as you could get with a musical without it turning into a revue.  Johnny Cornell (Payne) is a vaudeville promoter and actor who wants to prove to his friends Dan (Oakie) and Beulah (Havoc, and yes this is the June Havoc of Baby June/Gypsy fame), as well as his neglected love interest Trudy (Faye) that he has what it takes to be a big-shot after they are thrown out of a bar early in the film.  Johnny proves them right, coasting in large part off of the talents of his leading lady Trudy, but fame comes at a cost.  He soon is romancing a beautiful heiress (whose fortune is a bit slack even if her attitude is not) Bernice Croft (Bari, in one of the many, many roles in this era where Bari is playing the "gorgeous rich bitch"...though supposedly Bari was second only to Betty Grable in terms of "pin-up girl" popularity during World War II despite her being a complete unknown today).  This causes a heartbroken Trudy, still madly in love with Johnny, to try her luck at stardom in Europe.  Trudy succeeds, Johnny fails, and Bernice proves herself to be the terrible human being the audience knows her to be (while Johnny is blinded by his lust of prestige and beautiful women).  The film ends with Trudy, Dan, and Beulah tricking Johnny into taking Trudy's money and starting a new club for them to perform in, and Johnny/Trudy getting their happy ending.

Musicals, more than any other genre, can get past cliches if they're charming enough.  Unlike, say, a film noir or a period drama, where cliche is going to give into boredom, solid stars and great numbers can carry a musical pretty darn far, and Hello, Frisco, Hello is a lot of fun.  The movie is littered with an array of really great musical numbers, with Faye in peak vocal form and Oakie & Havoc lovably mincing behind her for full comic effect.  The film was nominated for two Oscars, and it deserved both citations.  The cinematography (shot in Technicolor) is sublime, and perfectly lights all of the musical numbers, as Faye in particular has never looked more radiant.  And the movie introduced to audiences the Oscar-winning "You'll Never Know," a standard that has been covered by everyone from Frank Sinatra to Rosemary Clooney to Shirley Bassey, being big hits for all (due to a weird contract stipulation at the time, Faye wasn't allowed to record the song for record sales, but it became her signature tune anyway).  It's weird to think of such a popular standard being "original" at some point and not just part of the American lexicon, but you can see why during the film it's had such an enduring legacy.

And that's because of Faye.  As you may have been able to tell, I've been a bit surprised by how much I've adored the actress this month (considering so few people discuss her in film history), but this is her best role we've profiled to date, even if it's somewhat of a stock musical.  Faye is marvelous, heartbroken, finding just the right balance with her relationship with Payne to never make her feel like a doormat, but simply someone in love who also has dreams of her own (she just wants him along with for them).  It helps that, weirdly, Faye had already played this part in King of Burlesque, as Hello, Frisco, Hello was a remake of this 1936 film (which starred Faye & Oakie in the exact same roles, albeit playing differently-named characters).  The musical numbers are magic-her voice could so easily be on modern radios in a way I don't think you could even counter for stars like Sinatra today.  The way she brings a desperation to "You'll Never Know" is incredible-it says something that it feels like you're truly hearing the song for the first time even if you know it by heart.  I loved everything about her work here, and can see why this was a smash hit.  Next week we'll go into our first "straight" role for Faye (our final film in our tribute to her), and the role that caused her retirement from movies, but in the meantime, join me in the comments if you want to discuss your favorite Alice Faye musicals.