Follow the Boys

In a great tribute to all the performers who have entertained American Fighting Forces, Follow the Boys assembles a nifty all-star group to let the folks on the home front see what the soldiers are getting. The film combines real footage in the field mixed with performers recreating their USO acts.

The result is a bit like a training film for the USO, but it does help us appreciate how so many performers went above and beyond the call of duty. From the wonderful Andrews Sisters to magical Orson Welles, it is an eclectic revue. There is a particularly touching section in the middle, from Artur Rubinstein to a montage underscored by beautifully melancholy songs from Dinah Shore.

Of course to get to all this, you must wade through a negligible plot about a husband-and-wife dance team (George Raft and Vera Zorina) who split over one of those obnoxious movie misunderstanding as he wants to put all his efforts into entertaining the troops. The dialogue is pedantic, Zorina is a cold fish, and Raft is stiff - until he's dancing.

Though he seems to be enjoying himself ONLY when he's dancing, Raft had an emotional investment in the film. In real life, he was among the troop entertainers, and he had also been very close to Carole Lombard, who had died earlier engaged in exactly that work. Perhaps it was his personal tribute to her. He is in one of the best numbers of the film: Louis Jordan and his orchestra perform "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby" and then accompany Raft as he dances "Sweet Georgia Brown" in the rain for a group of black soldiers. Though Raft was at his peak weight here, he was still nimble afoot.

1944's "Follow the Boys" was hardly the first entry in the studios' rush to provide wartime entertainment in the form of a musical revue featuring contract players going all out for victory. Universal didn't have the kind of stars that the majors had, so they resorted to borrowing George Raft and Vera Zorina to kick off the initial storyline, vaudeville hoofers lamenting its demise only to find new life in serving the armed forces by performing on a worldwide scale. W.C. Fields drops by to play out his ancient (circa 1903) pool routine, done earlier in 1915's "Pool Sharks" (his screen debut) and 1934's "Six of a Kind." Jeannette MacDonald reprises her greatest triumph, "Beyond the Blue Horizon," as do The Andrews Sisters (they sing a medley of their hits), while bandleaders Charlie Pivak, Freddie Slack, Ted Lewis ("is everybody happy?"), and Louis Jordan round out the musical portion. There is an amusing dog act that ends in breathless fashion, and Orson Welles indulging in one of his favorite pastimes, prestidigitation, with gorgeous Marlene Dietrich an assistant that any magician would literally die for (being sawed in half just about does it!). Around the half hour mark Raft addresses an assembly of actors making up most of Universal's stable, mostly silent and observing, some granted a line or two - Andy Devine, Lon Chaney, Randolph Scott, Evelyn Ankers, Alan Curtis, Turhan Bey, Nigel Bruce, Lois Collier, Peter Coe, Susanna Foster, Gloria Jean, Thomas Gomez, Elyse Knox, Maria Montez, Robert Paige, and Gale Sondergaard. For Lon Chaney fans, it's enough to see him sitting right behind Sophie Tucker, wearing the same mustache from his just completed "Calling Dr. Death," since a few months earlier he was definitely absent from Olsen and Johnson's "Crazy House" (this was the last time he was unbilled on screen).

Follow The Boys was one of several "entertaining the troops" films made during World War II. The plots often revolved around personal conflict for the characters that is war related. The films usually pat show business on the back for what it's doing for the troops. Finally, there are lots of speciality numbers by popular performers of the day. Follow The Boys stays true to the formula, but with some interesting touches. First, it provides some background on the organization necessary to put entertainment units together. Second, some footage was shot at actual performances before audiences of service men and women.

George Raft plays the main character, a dancer turned show organizaer. His dancing makes us realize he is better at organizing shows. As is often the case in these films, the high spots are the speciality numbers, particularly Loius Jordan, Dinah Shore, and amazingly enough, Arthur Rubenstein here. Orson Welles does a fascinating magic act. Jeanette McDonald does a number in a hospital ward singing to injured soldiers. It's contrived, yet moving. Follow The Boys is an interesting, if uneven, WWII artifact.

Vaudeville is dying, so George Raft, his dad, Charley Grapewin, and his sister Grace McDonald, move to Hollywood to try and continue to work. A closeup of George in a top hat and tails follows him as he takes his place on a grand stage. "Places," the director calls, and when signaled, George starts dancing. Just as the audience thinks he's made it in Hollywood, the camera pans out and shows him in a row of a dozen other chorus men dancing behind Vera Zorina. It's very clever, and a step up from the usual "variety show" movies produced to support our troops during WWII.

Once George falls in love with and marries Vera, WWII breaks out, and they organize a series of USO all-star entertainment, with dozens of movie, stage, and radio stars pitching in. While Marlene Dietrich jokes that she'll go anywhere with sailors, soldiers, and marines, Donald O'Connor tells audiences he'll be joining the overseas servicemen soon. Join Sophie Tucker, the Andrews Sisters, W.C. Fields, Jeanette McDonald, Delta Rhythm Boys, Orson Welles, Peggy Ryan, Dinah Shore, Louis Jordan, Ted Lewis, Walter Abel, Lon Chaney Jr. Louise Beavers, Susanna Foster, Andy Devine, Gloria Jean, Frank Jenks, Gale Sondergaard, Regis Toomey, and Randolph Scott as they perform for soldiers all over the world. One very touching part to this movie is also extremely sad: the screen shows a list of entertainers who were currently travelling and performing for the troops, separated by region. There is an Honor Roll with names of people who died in the war effort, including Leslie Howard and Carole Lombard.

The heart and soul of this movie is George Raft. He has such energy and pour his passion into entertaining the troops and making sure everyone does their part for the war effort. When it starts raining during an outdoor show, he himself steps onstage. "If you boys can take it, so can I," he says before tap dancing. Gene Kelly wasn't the first one to sing in the rain.

Former vaudeville dancer Tony West (George Raft) finds Hollywood stardom when he teams with Gloria Vance (Vera Zorina), but their success is interrupted by the outbreak of WWII. Tony devotes his energy to organizing USO shows for troops both stateside and overseas, but it causes strain with his partner. Also appearing are dozens of film and radio stars as themselves, including Marlene Dietrich, Orson Welles, Jeannette MacDonald, Donald O'Connor, Peggy Ryan, Dinah Shore, the Andrews Sisters, Sophie Tucker, Arthur Rubinstein, Martha O'Driscoll, Maxie Rosenblum, W. C. Fields, and many more.

I'm a sucker for these WWII-era all-star revue type pictures. They're positive and up-tempo looks at the tastes of the time, and the best-foot-forward showmanship is a delight. I thought the same of this one, as the Raft-Zorina plotline is a big nothing, but the various music performances are very enjoyable. Outside of the songs, I also liked a stage-magic performance by Welles with an assist from Dietrich. Fields makes his final film appearance, looking sick and old, performing some of his old billiards gags, a nice callback to his first film appearance in 1915's Pool Sharks.

The film has several subtle but poignant looks at then-current race relations. During a big confab featuring execs and stars from all of the major Hollywood studios, we see various stars stand up and pledge to help out in the USO-style efforts. At one point we see Louise Beavers declare that she'll do what she can to help, and I noticed that all of the black actors and actresses were segregated into their own section of the auditorium, separate from the white attendees. Later, Raft's character is approached by a black soldier asking for entertainment for his fellow troops. Raft vows to do so, and we cut to Louis Jordan and his band performing for an all-black regiment. Unlike the previously seen white troops, who were seated on bleachers in an amphitheater setting, the black soldiers are all seated on the ground, with the band performing in the back of a pickup truck. It's a stark reminder of the advancements made since this period. This scene does contain one of the film's best moments, though, when it begins to rain and Raft jumps up into the back of the truck and does some exuberant dance moves. The movie earned one Oscar nod, for Best Song ("I Walk Alone"), performed by Dinah Shore.