''Rose of Washington Square'' is a 1939 American musical drama film, featuring the already well-known popular song with the same title. Set in 1920s

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, the film focuses on singer Rose Sargent and her turbulent relationship with con artist Barton DeWitt Clinton, whose criminal activities threaten her professional success in the Ziegfeld Follies. Although the names of the principal characters were changed, the plot was inspired by

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

entertainer Fanny Brice's career and marriage to gambler Nicky Arnstein (both the film's title song and " My Man" were closely associated with Brice), and Brice sued

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

for $750,000. The studio settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. Written by Nunnally Johnson (who co-produced with Darryl F. Zanuck) and directed by

Gregory Ratoff Gregory Ratoff (born Grigory Vasilyevich Ratner; ; April 20, c. 1893 – December 14, 1960) was a Russian-American film director, actor and producer. As an actor, he was best known for his role as producer "Max Fabian" in ''All About Eve'' (195 ...

, it stars Alice Faye, Tyrone Power and Al Jolson, with a supporting cast that includes William Frawley, Joyce Compton, Hobart Cavanaugh, Moroni Olsen, Charles Lane, and

Louis Prima Louis Leo Prima (; December 7, 1910 – August 24, 1978) was an American trumpeter, singer, entertainer, and bandleader. While rooted in New Orleans jazz, swing music, and jump blues, Prima touched on various genres throughout his career: he ...

Plot

Ted Cotter, a successful Broadway

minstrel A minstrel was an entertainer, initially in medieval Europe. The term originally described any type of entertainer such as a musician, juggler, acrobat, singer or fool; later, from the sixteenth century, it came to mean a specialist enter ...

performer, spots Rose Sargent performing in a

amateur night. He immediately takes a personal and professional interest in her, helping her career along as she joins the famed Ziegfeld Follies and begins to achieve stardom. Cotter has troubles with his own act. One night, emboldened by alcohol, meek Whitey Boone heckles Cotter unmercifully from a box seat. The audience loves it, thinking it is part of the show. Cotter later discovers his manager Harry Long has hired the little man as a permanent part of the act. Rose does not recognize Ted's love for her, falling instead for Bart Clinton, a gambler and con man. Bart's nefarious activities get him arrested, and after Ted puts up his bail, Bart skips town. Rose pines away for him, until one night, when Bart goes to the Follies and hears her tearful rendition of the song " My Man", he realizes the error of his ways and sets out to make things right. As Bart is sent away for a 5-year prison sentence, Rose says "I'll be waiting, darling!"''Rose of Washington Square'' (1939)
online streaming video at ok.ru

Cast

* Tyrone Power as Barton Dewitt Clinton * Alice Faye as Rose Sargent * Al Jolson as Ted Cotter * Moroni Olsen as Major Buck Russell * Winifred Harris as Mrs. Russell * William Frawley as Harry Long, Rose's manager/agent * Joyce Compton as Peggy * Ben Welden as Toby *

as the Bandleader * Hobart Cavanaugh as Whitey Boone * Charles C. Wilson as Police Lt. Mike Cavanaugh * Ralph Dunn as Police Officer * William Newell as Hotel Desk Clerk * James C. Morton as Bartender at speakeasy * Brooks Benedict as Drunk Heckler in theatre box * Charles Lane as Sam Kress, Booking Agent * Adrian Morris as Jim * E.E. Clive as Barouche Driver *

Chick Chandler Fehmer Christy "Chick" Chandler (January 18, 1905 – September 30, 1988) was an American film character actor who appeared in more than 130 films from 1925 through the mid-1950s. Chandler was known for his starring role as Toubo Smith in ...

as Emcee at after-show cast party * Veloz and Yolanda - Specialty Dancers in title song * Harry Hayden as Dexter * Maurice Cass as Mr. Mok, furniture buyer * Paul E. Burns as Chump * Hal K. Dawson as Chump * Murray Alper as Eddie, candy butcher in theatre * Charles Tannen as Newspaper Reporter * Leonard Kibrick as Newsboy * Bert Roach as Mr. Paunch * John Hamilton as Judge * Paul Stanton as District Attorney * James Flavin as Guard taking Bart to prison

Songs

* " Pretty Baby" – Al Jolson * " I'm Sorry I Made You Cry" – Alice Faye * " Ja-Da" – Alice Faye * "The Vamp" – Alice Faye and chorus * " I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" – orchestral **Alice Faye's vocal cut from film, on DVD as an "extra" * " Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody" – Al Jolson * " I'm Just Wild About Harry" – Alice Faye * " California, Here I Come" – Al Jolson * " Toot, Toot, Tootsie (Goo' Bye!)" – Al Jolson ** " April Showers"/" Avalon" – Al Jolson (cut from film,
on DVD as an "extra") * " The Japanese Sandman" – orchestral * "Rose of Washington Square" – sung by Alice Faye,
with specialty dancers Veloz and Yolanda in interlude * " Mother Machree" * " I'll See You in My Dreams" – Alice Faye (cut from film;
on DVD as an "extra") * "I Never Knew Heaven Could Speak" – Alice Faye * "Yoo Hoo" * " My Mammy" – Al Jolson * " My Man" – Alice Faye''Great Movie Musicals on DVD'' - A Classic Movie Fan's Guide
by John Howard Reid - Google search with book preview''Rose of Washington Square''
song list from amazon.com''Rose of Washington Square''
(1939) soundtrack listing at IMDb''Rose of Washington Square''
(1939) - audio soundtrack on YouTube

Notes

References

External links

* * {{Darryl F. Zanuck 1939 films 1930s musical drama films 20th Century Fox films American black-and-white films American musical drama films Films about musical theatre Films directed by Gregory Ratoff Films produced by Darryl F. Zanuck Films produced by Nunnally Johnson Films set in the 1910s Films set in the 1920s Films set in New York City Films with screenplays by Nunnally Johnson 1939 drama films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films English-language musical drama films