La realidad de un sueño

If you want suspense, drama, excitement - find another movie. This is pure entertainment with a huge cast of top name stars. The story is a poor excuse to parade the big names, but who cares about plot when you have this historical document demonstrating how "old fashion decent folks" used to behave. The canteen was real, the stars banded together to do their part for the war effort. As a retired military officer I remember the good days when the military was respected and treated just as good as it was shown in the movie.

I could never imagine todays self centered stars banding together to do something similar to the Hollywood canteen. Hurray for Hollywood - the real entertainment folks with true talent.

Hollywoodcanteen was made in 1944 as World War II was hitting it's peak. This star-studded film, captures a time now long gone-the glamor which was Hollywood.

Robert Hutton plays Corporal Slim Green. A purple-heart winner on a one week leave in Hollywood, California. After catching the local sights, he goes to the Hollywoodcanteen for servicemen in the hopes of meeting his dream girl, Joan Leslie. The innocence of this romance is a real trip down memory lane; when a kiss, a gentle touch, and a starry-eyed stare meant everything.

Dane Clark as Hutton's sidekick from New York, Sgt. Nolan, steals the show. Clark is at his finest, as the wounded buddy trying his best to find a girl of his own. He finally does in the stunningly beautiful Janis Paige. As Angela, Paige is witty, sexy, and sets the screen ablaze.

The farewell ending at the train station (re-acted in the 1979 Richard Gere film, YANKS), is one of the most moving and romantic in screen history.

An enjoyable, upbeat, romantic, and entertaining movie.

The film is an excellent period piece... one of those Hollywood wartime spectaculars that sort of carries out that sense of wartime thrift -- use just enough plot to glue the songs lightly together, and make sure you wave the flag enough to produce some enthusiasm for the "Buy War Bonds" trailer. The plot's thin, the music's good, the dancing OK, and it's actually pretty cool to see stars being "themselves." Peter Lorre and Sidney Greenstreet are hilarious in a two-minute gag that evokes "The Maltese Falcon."

I've got a weak spot when it comes to these all star extravaganzas which can never be again. With the old Hollywood studio system gone there's no place where all this talent can gather under one roof for the same picture. Put a film like this today it would have the budget of a second world country.

The plots of these things are invariably silly, in this one it's GI Robert Hutton becoming the one millionth serviceman to enter the Hollywood Canteen and he gets an all expense weekend there with the girl of his dreams, Warner Brothers star Joan Leslie. That was part of the mythology of the day, if the film were done at Columbia Rita Hayworth might have been the object of Hutton's desires. That one I can believe a little more.

The Hollywood Canteen in real life was the inspiration and personal project of Bette Davis and John Garfield and they preside over the film and it's many guest stars, mostly from the Warner Brothers lot.

One exception to the rule was Roy Rogers who came over from Republic Pictures and brought the Sons of the Pioneers with him. I wonder what Herbert J. Yates got out of Jack Warner for Rogers's services? Anyway Roy gets to introduce the Cole Porter classic Don't Fence Me In in this film.

Later on the Andrews Sisters sing it and they had a big hit record with Don't Fence Me In with Decca though they sang it with a well known crooner from that other studio Paramount for Decca Records.

Joan Crawford made her first appearance at Warner Brothers in this film after leaving MGM. She dances with GI Dane Clark who after seeing combat in the Pacific faints at the realization he's dancing with JOAN CRAWFORD. Those were the days.

Still I love these films so.

"Hollywood Canteen" is the story of the actual organization that fed and entertained soldiers during World War II, started by Bette Davis and John Garfield, both of whom appear in the film. Actual female movie stars served as hostesses and danced with the lonely soldiers. In this story, Slim (Robert Hutton) meets his fantasy woman, Joan Leslie, at the Canteen, and when he later becomes the one millionth man to enter the Canteen, he's allowed to choose her as his date for the weekend. Dane Clark plays his buddy.

If you were at Warner Brothers in the '40s, you were in this movie, with very few exceptions. There was some wonderful musical performing as well, tops in my book being Carmen Cavallaro and Jack Benny's duet on the violin with Joseph Szigeti. You can also hear the Andrews Sisters, Roy Rogers and Trigger, Eddie Cantor, Benny Goodman and many others.

All of the women looked stunning, including Davis, Alexis Smith, Eleanor Parker, Jane Wyman, Joan Leslie, Barbara Stanwyck, Ida Lupino, Joan Crawford, and an unbelievably young and gorgeous Janis Paige. There were also appearances by Dennis Morgan, Jack Carson, Sidney Greenstreet, Helmet Dantine, Paul Henried, and Peter Lorre.

It was all very interesting but some of the numbers went on a bite long. However, if you're of that era, it will bring back some tremendous memories. Hutton (Barbara Hutton's cousin) was an interesting actor, likable and very reminiscent of Jimmy Stewart. He continued to work in Hollywood for another 30 years but never achieved stardom. Most fascinating to me was seeing and hearing Kitty Carlisle as she performed "Once to Every Heart," realizing that this film was made 62 years ago - and Kitty just performed her nightclub act, at 95, in New York City. God bless her.

By the way, female servicewomen were not allowed in the Hollywood Canteen. I can't remember who it was, but eventually someone started tea dances for the women soldiers to give them someplace to go on leave. For shame.