You Can't Have Everything

I guess this was to come in later movies, but I kept waiting for the musical pairing of Alice Faye and Don Ameche, which never came. Everything else happened, but this musical needed a stronger anchor. Those in charge should have realized the talent they had in Faye and Ameche and driven the plot from there.

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.

As clichéd as this sounds, while there are better film musicals out there than 'You Can't Have Everything' there are also much worse as well. 'You Can't Have Everything' is patchy but also enormously enjoyable.

While it is said often that people don't see musicals for stories, or shouldn't expect too much from them, the story here is unlikely and over-stretched, sometimes going overboard with the silliness. Not everybody in the cast come off as well as they could. There is too much of the Ritz Brothers, and a few of their scenes do go on for too long and bog down the film. Their material is also a mixed bag, sometimes entertaining and sometimes too noisy and tiresome.

Tony Martin is too stiff and mannered in his role, never looking very comfortable, but he does undeniably sing gloriously (he always did in his films but rarely came off well as an actor). Charles Winninger is rather subdued in an under-utilised and blandly written role, though he does get one very funny line. Violinist/radio personality David Rubinoff plays beautifully but didn't really see the point to him being there personally.

However, Alice Faye is just delightful, having so much energy but also giving a lot of substance to her acting. Don Ameche is a very charming and witty partner, and Gypsy Rose Lee's hoot of a performance comes very close to stealing the show. Louis Prima is tremendously exuberant, and Tip, Tap and Toe have an electrifying tap dance routine that is choreographically 'You Can't Have Everything's' highlight. Phyllis Brooks and Wally Vernon give snappy support and Arthur Treacher is amusing.

'You Can't Have Everything' also looks very pleasing, very nicely shot and well designed. The songs are both sparkling and gorgeously romantic, especially the title song, "Please Pardon Us We're in Love", "Danger Love at Work" and "Afraid to Dream". Norman Taurog directs efficiently, with his one fault being that he could have done more to reign in the Ritz Brothers, and the script sparkles with wit and energy. Two of the best lines coming from Gypsy Rose Lee, but Ameche's quip likening exercise to going to the funerals of his athletic friends is a scream.

On the whole, so much to enjoy but patchy. 7/10 Bethany Cox

"You Can't Have Everything" is a splendidly tuneful, enormously entertaining Fox musical, directed by Norman Taurog, starring Alice Faye, Don Ameche, Charles Winninger, and, of course, the Ritz Brothers. This is one of three splendid & spirited musicals Alice Faye made at Fox in 1937. The other two are "On the Avenue" and "Wake Up and Live".

Faye, sweet and vulnerable, plays an impoverished playwright named Judith Poe Wells, a descendant of Edgar Allan Poe, who writes plays livid with social significance and realism. She is convinced that it is her sacred duty to live up to the talent her family inherits. As the film opens, Judith accidentally meets a handsome Broadway insider named George Macrae (Ameche) in a Romano Italian restaurant when she fails to pay her plate of spaghetti. Macrae falls in love with Judith and persuades her to turn her into a showbiz sensation. But Judith is not interested in musical comedies or what she calls "usual George Macrae tripe". Rather, she wants serious dramas that depict life's struggles and harshness. Much to Judith's dismay, Macrae nevertheless tells his boss Sam Gordon (Winninger) about her play "North Winds" ("a play about the vital problems that confront womanhood in the frozen north") and ways of turning it into a musical comedy. Macrae's former girl Lulu (Gypsy Rose Lee) shows up and spoils the show by revealing something about Macrae's past and one night while he was drunk.

The Ritz Brothers, for once, are immensely enjoyable as their perform their remarkable comic acts and musical numbers. Their acts are perfectly integrated with the story. It was really a hoot to watch them. Also the film features a fantastic dance specialty by Tip, Tap, Toe, which anticipate those by Nicholas Brothers in the later Fox musicals.

Among the musical highlights, my absolute favorites are Faye's poignant rendition of the title tune (which kind of reminded me of her unforgettable "You'll Never Know" number in the classic 1943 musical "Hello, Frisco, Hello"), and the lively "Danger, Love at Work". But that's not all. Also look for "Afraid to Dream" and "Please Pardon Us We are in Love".

Don't miss "You Can't Have Everything" if you love all-time classic musicals.

Director Norman Taurog has a witty script and the top musical performers on the Fox lot to direct, and he delivers. The plot is all too familiar and implausible, but the dialogue sparks it. Leads Alice Faye and Don Ameche are at their most charming and natural, and Faye has a couple of solid hit songs. Too bad Ameche wasn't as lucky. The Ritz Brothers have integrated roles in the plot, ample screen time and deliver several excellent numbers. Tip, Tap & Toe wow with a fine eccentric tap number just before the production number (a clinker) at the end of the film. Character comedian Charles Winninger is somewhat wasted in a largely straight role, but Gypsy Rose Lee (billed under her real name, Louise Hovick, gets a break as a playing the snarky "other woman." Tony Martin has fine pipes but comes off a bit smarmy and mannered in his numbers, and Rubinoff on screen is proof why he was better on radio. Phyllis Brooks and Wally Vernon also deliver snappy bits. Definitely one of the better of 20th Century Zanuck's musicals, although he can't resist his cheesily costumed chorus cuties whose talents are best on display without moving or talking. One chorine with a platter on her head traipsed pigeon-toed down a staircase in a Tony Martin number--at first I thought she was Harry Ritz. I'll watch this film again just to see the Ritz Brothers and Tip, Tap & Toe.