Alexander's Ragtime Band

Critics Consensus

No consensus yet.

Rate And Review

Super Reviewer

Rate this movie

Oof, that was Rotten.

Meh, it passed the time.

It’s good – I’d recommend it.

Awesome!

So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

What did you think of the movie? (optional)
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
Super Reviewer
Step 2 of 2

How did you buy your ticket?

Let's get your review verified.
Fandango

AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew

Enter your Ticket Confirmation# located in your email.More Info

Cinemark Coming Soon

We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

Regal Coming Soon

We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

Theater box office or somewhere else
By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
Super Reviewer

Rate this movie

Oof, that was Rotten.

Meh, it passed the time.

It’s good – I’d recommend it.

Awesome!

So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

What did you think of the movie? (optional)
How did you buy your ticket?
- Fandango
- AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew
  
  Enter your Ticket Confirmation# located in your email.More Info
- Cinemark Coming Soon
  
  We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
- Regal Coming Soon
  
  We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
- Theater box office or somewhere else
By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.
You haven’t finished your review yet, want to submit as-is?

You can always edit your review after.
Are you sure?

Verified reviews are considered more trustworthy by fellow moviegoers.
Want to submit changes to your review before closing?

Alexander's Ragtime Band Photos

View All Photos (9)

Movie Info

In 1910s San Francisco, concert violinist Roger Grant (Tyrone Power), also known as Alexander, abandons classical music to join a ragtime band with pianist Charlie Dwyer (Don Ameche) and singer Stella Kirby (Alice Faye). Alexander's switch dismays his high society family. As two decades pass and popular music transitions from ragtime to jazz, the ragtime band trio grows both stronger and weaker through love, breakups and war -- all along the rising and falling tide of their musical success.

Genre:

musical
Original Language:

English
Director:

Henry King
Release Date (Streaming):

Jan 8, 2017
Runtime:

1h 45m
Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Cast & Crew

Tyrone Power
Roger Grant

Alice Faye
Stella Kirby

Don Ameche
Charlie Dwyer

Henry King
Director

Critic Reviews for Alexander's Ragtime Band

All Critics (5) | Top Critics (1) | Fresh (4) | Rotten (1)

Irving Berlin's Alexander's Ragtime Band is a grand filmusical which stirs and thrills, a medley of more than 30 pieces, selected from some 600 which Berlin has composed.

March 26, 2009 | Full Review…

Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic
28 of Irving Berlin's greatest songs make this energetic, handsomely mounted production a must-see for musical fans.

January 31, 2012 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…

TV Guide
Despite Tyrone Powers' stiff turn in the lead, Henry King's Depression-era musical is well-crafted, boasting 28 of Irving Berlin's greatest hits, some nicely performed by Alice Faye at her prime.

February 9, 2008 | Rating: B- | Full Review…

Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Easily a tune every few minutes, all reliably executed, but the film's insistence on musical comprehensiveness leaves room only for the barest of character development.

September 22, 2004 | Rating: 62/100 | Full Review…

J. Alan Speer
Apollo Guide
Great fun.

May 24, 2003 | Full Review…

Film4

View All Critic Reviews (5)

Audience Reviews for Alexander's Ragtime Band

Sep 05, 2010

This movie has a great cast, but it was so boring I couldn't watch it all.

Aj V Super Reviewer
Jul 21, 2009

"Alexander's Ragtime Band" was another Best Picture nominee in 1938. It was a showcase for Irving Berlin's music, which was such a sensation at the time. But it was more than that. Directed with effortless ease by Henry King and edited superbly, the film is a delight from start to finish. Its heartfelt love story is brought to life exuberantly by Alice Faye and Tyrone Power, neither of whom ever received Oscar nominations despite having been major stars for decades. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but this is my first time seeing Faye and Power. I can now confidently say that Faye deserves to be better known among cinephiles today. The fact that she didn't receive an Oscar nomination for "Alexander's Ragtime Band" strikes me as a classic case of the Academy's unfair privileging of drama over musicals and comedies. Faye here has to pull off a lot more than musical comedy. She has to convey heartbreak through many scenes in the second half of the film, and she does so in a deeply convincing way. Also noteworthy is co-star Don Ameche, who has almost as much screen time here as Power. He does a great job in the role of Power's sidekick. (Ameche, incidentally, received his one and only Oscar when he was an old man, winning Best Supporting Actor in 1985 for the film "Cocoon.") "Ragtime Band" is not much more than melodrama, however, and ultimately is rather superficial. But it delivers its message winningly and with a lot more cinematic skill and aplomb than any of the other Best Picture nominees I've seen thus far in my study of 1938. Next up on my list: "Boys Town," starring Spencer Tracy in a performance that won him the Best Actor Oscar that year, and "Pygmalion," with Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller, both of whom were nominated for Oscars that year.

William D Super Reviewer
Jun 28, 2007

A fun film but a little inconsistent. There were some truly memorable films in the thirties and ones that get steady airplay. I found this one hard to find and after seeing it, I kind of understand why.

John B Super Reviewer