Hello, Frisco, Hello 07/19 Blu-ray (Rental)

A tuneful treasure chest full of more than a dozen Great American Songbook standards and top-tier production values, Hello, Frisco, Hello (1943) is a lavish, nostalgia-drenched showcase for beloved star Alice Faye as a vaudevillian who rises to stardom in the theatrical world of San Francisco’s bustling Barbary Coast, while romantically longing for handsome entrepreneur/mentor John Payne, regrettably distracted by the calculated charms of a Nob Hill socialite (Lynn Bari). Jack Oakie, June Havoc and Oscar-nominated Technicolor cinematography are also prime assets, as is the lilting Harry Warren/Mack Gordon Best Original Song Academy Award winner, “You’ll Never Know,” which became a wistful anthem of hope and longing for World War II-era audiences.