7/10
Good Fox musical
26 January 2008
Alice Faye, Don Ameche, The Ritz Brothers, Louise Hovick (Gypsy Rose Lee), Charles Winninger and Tony Martin star in "You Can't Have Everything," a 1937 musical from 20th Century Fox. MGM musicals were glamorous; Fox musicals were down to earth, glitzy, and just plain fun. This is one of them. Faye is a playwright, Judith Poe Wells, a distant relative of Edgar Allan Poe's, who takes herself very seriously. She meets a man (Ameche) at a restaurant while eating food she can't pay for and doesn't realize he is a major Broadway producer, George Macrae. He options her play, North Winds. In the meantime, his musical's ingénue (Phyllis Brooks) walks out of the show, and Judith is talked into replacing her by Sam Gordon (Winninger), George's business partner. Though there's another woman (Hovick), Judith falls in love with George and he with her. Complications ensue.

Faye sings the title song and "Pardon Us, We're in Love" and she's wonderful - pretty, vivacious, and she sounds great. Ameche sings in a heady tenor, but the real male pipes in the film belong to Tony Martin, the star of the Broadway show, who sounds glorious. I admit to finding the Ritz Brothers annoying, especially because their numbers seem to go on and on. However, they do have funny moments here.

Enjoyable film and a good example of a prime Fox musical.
6 out of 6 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed