Tin Pan Alley (1940)

Synopsis: In Walter Lang's exuberant musical extravaganza, Harry Calhoun (Jack Oakie) and Skeets Harrigan (John Payne), two struggling songwriters living in New York's fabled melody mart, Tin Pan Alley, are desperate to sell their material--and so poor that Skeets has to pay the rent by taking hits... In Walter Lang's exuberant musical extravaganza, Harry Calhoun (Jack Oakie) and Skeets Harrigan (John Payne), two struggling songwriters living in New York's fabled melody mart, Tin Pan Alley, are desperate to sell their material--and so poor that Skeets has to pay the rent by taking hits inside the boxing ring. Help arrives in the form of Katie Blane (Alice Faye), a chanteuse who not only turns their tunes into hits but falls in love with Skeets. But when Katie departs for London to perform with her sister, Lily (Betty Grable), the boys hit rock bottom once more. Then World War I begins, so Harry and Skeets join the army and head off to London. Naturally, the tune smiths meet up again with the Blane sisters, a reunion that results in songs, dance, and lots of romance. This glittering production soars on the wings of its Oscar-winning score, which features several irresistible songs, including "Goodbye Broadway, Hello France," "K-K-Katy," "Moonlight Bay," "Honeysuckle Rose," "You Say the Sweetest Things (Baby)," and costar Jack Oakie's hilarious showstopper, "Sheik of Araby." [More]