Radio review – Lux - “Alexander’s Ragtime Band’ (1947) ***

This adapted to radio surprisingly well – it didn’t have the colour and movement of the film of course, but the simple plot works well enough (love triangle, trying to set themselves up as a band – 20th Century Fox used countless variations on it over the years) and there’s lots of great Irving Berlin songs, like the title track and ‘Blue Skies’. Tyrone Power recreates his film role; instead of Don Ameche and Alice Faye there’s Dick Haymes and Dinah Shore. Al Jolson shoves his head in and tries to hog the spotlight – listen to him muff a joke at the end.