Star Spangled Rhythm

Shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the US mobilized unlike any society before or since.

A large part of that was because of a very cooperative media, especially the new medium of movies. The White House asked them to rush some feel-good films into production and this was paramount's first response. It is a collection of skits wrapped in a thin story. Most of the skit material is in the form of a "show" for sailors, but many of them inexplicably use cinematic conventions that couldn't be staged.

Because this was stitched together so quickly, it is of widely varying tone and quality. I suppose the parts you like will depend on who you are.

There's a pretty big, lush production number (ostensibly a movie being shot that some sailors visit) that has atypically svelte and acrobatic girls. Later, there's a number where black straight man Rochester dances pretty well.

So far as comedy, there are two classic scenes here that made this enjoyable for me: This was Betty Hutton's first big role and she does Lucy better than Lucy I think. One scene is a hilarious attempt to climb over a wall with the aid of two men. It's amazingly physical, worthy of Keaton. Check her out in "Perils of Pauline," also directed by Marshall, who seems to have understood her.

The other comic bit worth seeing is Bob Hope trapped in a shower with William Bendix, and avoiding being discovered. Hope's not a great comic, in fact he falls flat elsewhere in this project. But this one skit is perfect for him.

Preston Sturges is one of the main figures in folded films (films about film), and he plays himself here, screening a film.

Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

A security guard (Victor Moore) has been telling his son (Eddie Bracken) in letters that he's the head of Paramount. Now the son is home on shore leave from the Navy and the dad wants to keep him from finding out the truth. So he gets help from a studio switchboard operator (Betty Hutton) who is in love with his son. Together they hatch a plan to have the father impersonate the studio head during the son's visit.

Most of the studios during WW2 made one of these all-star films, usually with a flimsy plot and lots of musical numbers. They're all great fun and this is one of the best. Betty Hutton is just the most adorable person ever. I could watch her read the phone book for an entire movie. Eddie Bracken and Victor Moore are wonderful, too. The real treat with this, and other films like it, is for classic film fans to eat up all of the movie star comedy and musical numbers. The stars include Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Ray Milland, Veronica Lake, Paulette Goddard, Fred MacMurray, Dorothy Lamour, Dick Powell, Cecil B. Demille, Alan Ladd, and many more. Oh, and she's not the biggest star in this one, but wait 'til you get a load of Dona Drake! Hubba hubba! Have mercy! Makes me wish I had a time machine. This movie's just sheer fun from start to finish. If this doesn't make you smile, you're dead inside!

A potpourri of star turns lift the charming but silly plot above itself. Worth seeing for the Dick Powell/Mary Martin number alone. I kept backing the tape up and watching this part again and again. Why Martin wasn't a greater Hollywood star is a mystery to me, but H'wood's loss was B'way's gain. Many other nice things to see, but I have a feeling some numbers were cut from the final print. Wonder what they were?

At best, 1942 was a year of confusion because of World War Two. Perhaps that is why the movie is uneven. The movie was released before the first anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor which drew the United States into the war as a legal active participant. The purpose of this film seems two-fold: to entertain in time of war and to provide Paramount with a opportunity to do its part in the war effort in public. There are some extraordinary scenes, such as the dance number in the aircraft plant and Betty Hutton's singing during a jeep ride. In general, however, the movie promises more than it delivers, and the scene with Bing Crosby singing of "Old Glory" in front of Mount Rushmore (with a patriotic chorus) is simply too jingoistic. One bright result is the Bracken-Hutton screen relationship in this movie which blossomed into very good comedy in a later film, "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek."

Pretty much this is Paramount's contribution to the war effort in 1942. Plot basically sees Victor Moore as Pop, who by way of some deceit has to keep up the pretence to his sailor son Johnny Webster (Eddie Bracken) that he is head of the studio, when in fact he is just a gatekeeper there. As Johnny and his sailor pals make their way to the studio, Pop, aided by switchboard operator Polly Judson (Betty Hutton), sets about putting on a all star show for the boys. Cue sketches and variety turns by a ream of Paramount performers. Some of the situ comedy works, such as Bob Hope in the shower with William Bendix and Hutton trying to scale a wall aided by two bendy blokes, other moments, however, fall a little flat. But when the froth is war-oriented or the stars are poking fun at themselves, it scores well and the musical numbers are never less than pleasant.

Good old time cinema while it's also fun to play spot the star. 7/10