Tras ellos ellas

Kay Francis, Carole Landis, Martha Raye and Mitzi Mayfair entertain troops in London and Africa with some love interests thrown in to try and make a story. Some star guests also make an appearance but they are not very good.

This film is about 4 women doing their wartime turns for soldiers at different camps. There is no storyline and their acts are pretty dreadful. While I was watching the film, I had a phone call asking me what I wanted from MacDonalds. I replied that I wanted a Big Mac, a Quarter Pounder with cheese, a cheeseburger and small fries coz I had 3 bottles of wine the night before and was craving junk food. When I resumed watching the film, the girls were riding camels and even though I had no idea what was happening, I can guarantee 100% that I missed absolutely nothing. There are 2 good moments in the film - one is Carole Landis singing lit up by lighters as the lights go out because of an air raid, and the other is Mitzi Mayfair dancing - she can kick the back of her head! Overall verdict - a Big Mac is better than a Quarter Pounder with cheese.

Wartime musical comedy about four actresses (Kay Francis, Martha Raye, Carole Landis and Mitzi Mayfair, playing themselves) touring with the USO. The film is based on the book of the same name written by Landis, based on her experiences with the USO. Some good musical numbers but the comedy (mostly Raye) is the pits.

Landis is beautiful and glamorous as always. Francis seems matronly and out of place. Raye hams it up as she often did in her films. Her brand of comedy isn't to my tastes. Mayfair I was unfamiliar with prior to this film. She doesn't really leave an impression here, good or bad. She's the Zeppo of the group I guess. Support from Dick Haymes and Phil Silvers. Also features Jimmy Dorsey, Betty Grable, Alice Faye, and Carmen Miranda as themselves.

Four Jills in a Jeep was inspired by a book that Carole Landis wrote about the tours she made with USO overseas at the beginning of American participation in World War II. Besides Carole, the other three performing with her on this tour were Kay Francis, Mitzi Mayfair and Martha Raye.

When 20th Century Fox did this film they appealed to the fantasy of every GI in the field as well those potentially going overseas. Not only do the stars entertain the boys over there, but they get romantically involved with a few of them. Talk about a morale booster.

Besides the four stars playing themselves, Alice Faye, Betty Grable and Carmen Miranda came on via radio broadcast from the Armed Forces Radio broadcast show Command Performance USA. All of them reprised numbers that they had sung in Fox musicals.

In addition to the female film stars Four Jills in a Jeep was the feature film debut of singer Dick Haymes. After Crosby and Sinatra, Haymes was probably the best known male singer of the Forties. He had a smooth baritone and really knew his way around a lyric. He introduced a song How Blue the Night that became a hit for him and just in time to record as the famous musicians strike against the record companies was just concluding.

Seeing Dick Haymes in an army uniform is quite ironic indeed as it was later brought out about how he had claimed Argentine citizenship in order to avoid the draft. Haymes was born in Argentina of visiting American parents. His career sank like an anchor after that one.

Phil Silvers did a version of the character he later perfected as Sergeant Bilko in the Fifties on television. Martha Raye who also made it big on television in the Fifties, complements Silvers well in the comedy department. Phil's a funny guy all right, but he should only be taken in moderation. Martha of course entertained our troops in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam with the same enthusiasm that you see here on the screen.

With Jimmy Dorsey and his band in the cast for some up to date Forties swing, what more could you get in a Forties musical. A nice film, I'm sure appreciated both at home by the Rosie the Riveteer crowd and the troops abroad.

Except for the musical numbers, this picture was a waste of time and talent by all concerned. The humor is strictly cornball and the plot is non-existent, the acting stilted and self-conscious. The sole bright spot is Martha Raye, who shows off her particular brand of manic comedy as well as a pretty fair singing voice. The usually dependable Phil Silvers is also on hand in a thankless role which does him no credit.

Four entertainers volunteer to go overseas to entertain the troops, and are placed in artificial plot circumstances and unfunny situations. Was this really the best the studio could do? Was there no plausible storyline to put performers in while waiting for a song spot? As stated, the musical numbers are the only reason to watch this almost unwatchable movie. Special thanks go to Betty Grable and Alice Faye for their singing cameos, and to the Jimmy Dorsey band for livening up the proceedings.

It is a good, light-hearted story for the day. Funny and cute. Does not follow the genre of today of having to be realistic. Even at that, it is a great reference to 40's fashions and styles, and the girls are great. Martha Raye is just beginning to slap stick in the Phillis Diller style of later years, Carole Landis is just SO gorgeous, Kay Francis only lisps once (which I caught, but didn't understand until I read about it later), Mitzy Mairfair dances beautifully with such powerful legs that one wishes she would have done more movies, and it is so fun to see Phil Silvers in a row that had to be a prelude to Sgt. Bilko eventually. Overall, it was a very delightful film of an era long passed.