Belleza, ritmo y amor

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."

Sailor Johnny Webster (Eddie Bracken) and his pals are on shore leave in California. Johnny's dad Pop (Victor Moore) is the head of Paramount Pictures, which is also where Johnny's girlfriend Polly (Betty Hutton) works. Only Polly and Pop have been lying to Johnny, as Pop is only a lowly guard at the front gate. They decide to try and continue with the ruse, which results in comic hi-jinks as they try to avoid the real studio chief Mr. DeSoto (Walter Abel). This all leads up to a big show put on by the stars of Paramount for the Navy boys.

As corny, frivolous, and plotless as these all-star wartime crowd-pleasers are, I still like them. Maybe it's the upbeat attitude, the stars goofing around, or the rapid pacing, I'm not sure, but they seldom fail to leave a smile on my face. Having Betty Hutton and Eddie Bracken as the leads in the main "story" doesn't hurt, either, as they are both manic and funny. One of the aspects of this particular extravaganza that stood out for me were the lovely ladies in energetic dance numbers.. Paramount kept this one in theaters longer than usual, and it ended up being one of the top ten hits of the year. It also nabbed Oscar nominations for Best Score (Robert Emmett Dolan) and Best Song ("That Old Black Magic").

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

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!