m-leschack Sorry to disagree with the other reviewers. This movie is trash. There are so many wonderful Irving Berlin musicals. Astaire Rogers. White Christmas, Holiday Inn, Easter Parade and one of my favorites, Call Me Madam. This last one is Ethel Merman at her best. Alexanders Ragtime Band has wonderful actors and singers, too bad they are wasted on such an over sentimentalized story line. At least in the dvd I looked at the sound and picture were not that good either.

dwpollar 1st watched 4/13/2014 -- 7 out of 10 (Dir-Henry King): Snappy tunes, sappy romance but fun song-filled movie manipulating the hopeless romantic in all of us way down until the inevitable happy conclusion brings us back up again. The movie is the story of a classical trained musician who becomes enticed to the hipper ragtime sound and then becomes Alexander due to performing the song "Alexander's Ragtime Band" after accidentally receiving the tune that was originally brought to the place of their initial show by a singer played by Alice Faye. This changed this band leader's life as portrayed by Tyrone Powers into a big time person on the music scene. The two main characters start out at odds against each other due to the before-mentioned issue with the title song, but eventually quickly fall in love like would be expected in an American-made happy-go-lucky movie. The only real negative part of the movie is how they extend the ending and bring the Faye character down to the point of depression just for the sake of adding more Irving Berlin songs but this can be excused fairly easily because of the quality of these songs. The movie is filled with singable staples in early American music like "Blue Skies", "Heat Wave", and "Easter Parade" along with an Oscar winning ballad named "Now it can be Told." Don Ameche, plays the male part of the third cog in the romantic triangle with a young Ethel Merman being the female, and they are amazingly accepting of the stars getting together despite their love for the main characters -- but for the sake of Americana we accept this for the overall goal of enjoying the tune-filled movie. This movie is really about the music and we know it from the very beginning with the title flashing Irving Berlin's name in front of the movie name and this is acceptable to the audience and makes for an enjoyable experience with eventually love winning out in the end and ultimately the viewer being the winner.

brunodutch My personal favorite and not just for the great selection of Berlin songs but because of its extraordinary storytelling. For some reason Henry King's work is often undervalued. At his best, as he is here, he has a marvelous way of staging big spectacles combined with an uncommon ability to focus the story. The scene of all the men marching off to war is worth the price of the DVD. Indeed the whole first 30 mins are perhaps the summit of the classic movie musical. The director embraces all the clichés and turns them inside out to make something shiny and new. The movie is packed full of people working at the very top of their talent. Don't miss it.

blanche-2 The last time I saw this movie was probably the late '60s, when I watched it on television with a group of friends. I just saw it again on DVD, and it's as much fun as I remember it. In 108 minutes, I wouldn't be surprised if 90 minutes was music, and what music! One Irving Berlin song after another, sung by either Alice Faye, Don Ameche, Ethel Merman, or Jack Haley. A young Merman, with a sexy figure, really pops in this film with her exciting belt voice.A thinnish plot surrounds the songs. It's the story of a classical musician (Tyrone Power) who forms a swing band and, because of the song "Alexander's Ragtime Band" takes the name Alexander for himself and the Ragtime Band for his group. The movie takes us loving, losing, and playing music through World War I and into the swing era, though there's not a gray hair to be found among our heroes.Ameche and Power were friends before either one of them was signed by 20th Century Fox, and with Faye, they made "In Old Chicago" together plus this film - and both Faye/Ameche and Faye/Power made other films together as well. The three work very well as an ensemble. Faye is especially lovely in this. She sings in a commanding contralto, wears some great fashions, and is appropriately feisty, low-class, or classy as the part demands.As lovely as she was, though, she's no competition for the most gorgeous one in the movie, Tyrone Power. He's pretty darn breathtaking in that tuxedo of his. He could have conducted me anywhere.Monumentally entertaining music and plenty of eye candy - highly recommended.