SoTrumpBelieve Must See Movie...

Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

flarepilot the post saying the score is anachronistic is quite wrong.This is not San Francisco in the middle 19th century. It is San Francisco in 1915. Note that there are telephones, and they speak of the FAIR. The world's fair was held in 1915 in San FranciscoIn one scene a depiction of the famous FLATIRON building in New York is visible, this building completed in 1902.Early in the film a transcontinental telephone call was placed from New York to San Francisco. This event took place circa 1915 and was a famous part of the World's Fair.I think this film is a beautiful example of technicolor's magic and few can compare. The only person who won't like this film is someone who doesn't like to entertained.

mark.waltz 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.

wwilliams-6 One of the best musicals ever to come out of Fox and one of the top Alice Faye showcases. Never mind the plot, just set back and enjoy the sultry velvety voice of the most beautiful Alice Faye, the finest song stylist ever to come out of Hollywood .This beautiful film introduced the Academy Award winning song-"You'll Never Know" which Faye sings three times in the picture. This haunting song was reprised the following year by her in the wartime musical "Four Jills in a Jeep". It has been recorded countless times, however no one sings it like Faye. She pulls the heart strings in a professional fashion.If you are not familiar with Alice Faye, do yourself a favor and discover why she was the Number #1 Box-Office star over Bette Davis in the early 1940's. I highly recommend this lavish musical entertainment.

edward wilgar 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.