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Fox Home Entertainment have announced the Region 1 DVD release of The Alice Faye Collection Volume 2 on 7th October 2008. # Actors: Alice Faye # Format: Box set, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC # Language: English # Number of discs: 5 # Studio: 20th Century Fox # DVD Release Date: October 7, 2008 The announcement of a second collection of films of the charming Alice Faye is welcome. Faye's films tended to follow a proven box office formula and most of the cliches are on view here with a few twists. - first off is the 1939 "Rose of Washington Square". This is a dramatic musical with a more gutsy part for Faye than usual and an excellent role for matinee idol Tyrone Power as a heel. The story was based on the life of "Funny Girl" Fanny Brice who sued the studio for plagiarism. Al Jolson, as Faye's vaudeville buddy, and Faye sing superbly. The film was severely edited before release and many of the cut scenes survive. It will be interesting to see if they are included here. - next, also released in 1939, is the technicolour romantic comedy "Hollywood Cavalcade". This is a nostalgic look at the coming of talkies, a Reader's Digest potted history of Hollywood, with Faye's role based loosely on, among others, Mabel Normand, a silent screen comedian, and Don Ameche on Mack Sennett, a silent comedy director. The film is very well made with soft colouring and excellent performances by the leads but the director Irving Cummings, while meticulous, always directed at a plod. The best scenes are the Keystone Cop comedy recreations, not directed by Cummings, before the films descends into the usual cliches with Faye neglected by her leading man and wearing her heart on her sleeve. - in 1941, "The Great American Broadcast" adhered rigidly to the girl meets boy, girl loses boy, girl reunites with boy formula, this time set around the advent of radio. The film is almost a remake of "Tin Pan Alley" with John Payne and Jack Oakie re-appearing. While it may be poor history, it is a mighty entertaining film. Faye's rendition of the war time Harry Warren lament "Where you are", backed by the Ink Spots, is memorable. - in 1943, "Hello Frisco Hello", one of Faye's best remembered films, was released. A period musical rich in familiar plot cliches, it benefits from spectacular colour, great production values, superb sound and Faye herself, slim, radiant, warm and sympathetic. This is the film in which she mesmerised the audience with her signature tune "You'll Never Know", but there are other goodies like "The Grizzly Bear" and "Pick on me". John Payne and Jack Oakie are with her for the third time, the former as a very stiff leading man and the latter for some hokey comedy. - the inclusion in the set of the lousy war time propaganda film "Four Jills in a Jeep" is hard to fathom, unless you view it as a sort of bonus. This poor musical traces the factual trip by 4 second rate stars to entertain the boys at the front. Most of the musical numbers are dull with wooden Dick Haymes, loud Martha Raye and voluptuous Carole Landis, among others. Faye makes a guest appearance reprising "You'll Never Know". She seems wan and shy. With all the entertaining films available to include in the package, "Four Jills in Jeep" is a rotten choice. It also should be pointed out that "Hollywood Cavalcade" is not a musical, given that this set is another of Fox's "Marquee Musicals". The film certainly has the feel of one with a delightful soundtrack of old favourites supporting the melodrama but Faye does not sing. Of course, it is way too early to know the quality of the prints and the inclusion of any extras. Comments Please login to post comments or replies.