This Is the Life

Even though they made lots of musical comedies for Universal during World War II, this is the last of the Donald O'Connor-Peggy Ryan movies I'm reviewing on this site since the studio blocked many of the others from being uploaded on YouTube. As in many of them, Peggy has a torch for Donald but he has it for someone else, here being Susanna Foster. She in turn, has the hots for a medical Major (Patrick Knowles) who ends up being turned down for another service round because he's no longer physically able enough. Then there's his former wife (Louise Albritton) who's an independent photographer to deal with. But never mind all that and just enjoy Donald and Peggy in their dances and songs and even Ms. Foster when doing her operatic numbers. There's also a handsome young male singer (Ray Eberle) singing "All or Nothing at All" and an African-American quartet (Bobby Brooks Quartet) warbling a song in falsetto with one of them then talking in baritone! So on that note, This Is the Life was a very enjoyable B-musical for the era. P.S. Jonathan Hale, playing O'Connor's father, was in between playing Mr. Dithers from what was originally supposed to be the final entry of the Blondie movie series-Footlight Glamour-to the new beginning one of a year later called Leave It to Blondie. And I just watched again on YT, Peggy's number-"Let's Play House"-from Here Come the Co-eds which was a wonderfully comic number with Lou Costello in which he says, "I feel just like Donald O'Connor!"

Watch out Gloria Jean-Susanna Foster has a huge set of pipes on her! Susanna is caught in a wonderful love triangle: her funny, adorable childhood friend Donald O'Connor and the older, mature, handsome army doctor Patric Knowles. To complicate matters, Donald is the object of Peggy Ryan's affections. She claims they've been involved for ages and ages, and when he says they just met the night before, grins and says, "Yeah, but how I've grown up since last night." If you think that's funny, you'll like the rest of This Is the Life.

Chock-full of quips like, "I was out with my girlfriend and her boyfriend, and we ran into his wife," Wanda Tuchock's adaptation of Sinclair Lewis and Fay Wray's play is hilarious. Five minutes don't pass without a laugh, which in the middle of WWII, was no doubt appreciated by audiences. There is some drama to the movie, though, even among the cast. This was filmed before Donald O'Connor was sent overseas, and released while he was fighting to maintain his popularity with American audiences. While it was true that he was able to return and pick right up where he left off, it is a little eerie to watch the movie knowing that the scrawny kid was fighting while we were watching him dance the jitterbug. In the plot, Donald's character is expecting his draft letter any day, and in real life, he was drafted on his eighteenth birthday.

But, to end on a light note, This Is the Life is very funny, as well as sweet and romantic. When Peggy describes her ideal man, Donald quips back, "You don't want a man, you want a shampoo, a massage, and a bottle of horseradish." Check out this teenie-bopper flick; it's one of the good ones.

"This Is the Life" is one of Universal's early films in the studio's effort to get in on the popularity of musicals that MGM had cornered since early in the previous decade. Other studios also got on the band wagon, so to speak. This is a nice cross between the very early revue type of musicals that resembled vaudeville productions, and the rich musical plays that various studios would make.

The plot is a familiar one and good for the performances - a young girl falls for an older "hero" while she looks on the boy her age as immature. But her attraction and the stringing out of the older male's possible attachment gets a little tedious after awhile That stretches the credibility of the actors, when one wants to yell at Patrick Knowles (Major Hilary Jarret) to just tell Angela (Susanna Foster) that he isn't interested, "and stop bugging me." He's more than double her age (18) older. Of course, then there would have to be some other avenue for the various scenarios that follow. And, it's in those that this movie is very good.

With the mixed-up attractions - Jimmy Plum (Donald O'Connor), then Harriett West Jarret (Louise Allbritton) and Sally McGuire (Peggy Ryan), the best of the comedy takes place. The screenplay is not great, but the writers came up with some very funny stuff in the dialog. O'Connor especially has some lines that evoke hearty laughter. And that is then capped off with some very good songs and dance numbers - from lively jitterbug, to romantic pop tunes, to operatic numbers. The latter is provided by Foster who was noted for her ability to reach a B above the high C. Foster only had a dozen films to her credit when she left Hollywood after 1945.

O'Connor was just 19 when this movie was made. He had already been in several films, from childhood on, and he would go on to have a long film career. He would be in the smash hit musical of 1952, "Singin' in the Rain," and won the best actor Golden Globe for that film. But through the mid-20th century O'Connor was most known and recognized as Peter Stirling, the human friend and owner of Francis the talking mule. He made half a dozen movies with Francis from 1950-55.

This movie has some wonderful entertainment in the dancing talent and singing of Peggy Ryan - including a couple numbers with O'Connor. She made several films with O'Connor - always as an older teenager, but never the sweetheart of Donald. O'Connor said that Ryan was the best dancer he ever danced with. And that's saying something when Vera-Ellen was second best. Ray Eberle sings a popular song of the day with his band, and the Bobby Brooks Quartette sings

The movie is set in real time, during World War II. This was one of half a dozen films that Universal rushed O'Connor through before he was drafted and spent two years in the Army Air Corps overseas. Universal spread out the releases over this time. When this film came out in June 1944, O'Connor had already been in the Army four months.

In one very funny scene Angela is daydreaming that she's on the big stage concluding a great song and in the wings watching her is her hero, Maj. Hilary Jarret. Only his entire Army uniform is draped with medals from neck to waist. Angela's a terrible cook - her pancakes are rubbery and not all cooked through. The major and others know this but Jimmy scarfs them down, and later comments about giving her recipe to someone else.

The very good comedy writing and musical performances are the reasons for my eight stars for this film. Here are some favorite lines.

Jimmy Plum, "Are you gonna believe me, or are you gonna believe what you just saw?"

Sally McGuire, "Oh, Jimmy all my life I've wanted a man. A man who'd make my hair stand on end; who'd send chills up and down my spine; who'd bring tears to my eyes." Jimmy Plum, "You don't want a man. You want a shampoo, a massage and a bottle of horseradish."

Jimmy Plum, "Anyway, everybody in town's talking about you two." Angela Rutherford, "They are? What do they say?" Jimmy, "Well, there's two schools of thought. Either you're robbing the grave or he's robbing the cradle."

Angela Rutherford, "A boy at 18 is still a child. A girl at 18 is a mature woman."

Angela Rutherford, "And I won't even cook, if you don't want me too."

Aunt Betsy, "Yes, you can't control fate." Jimmy Plum, "No, but sometimes you can give it a little push in the right direction."

Angela Rutherford, "What a disagreeable woman." Jimmy Plum, "From a man's point of view, she's a very glamorous woman."

Angela Rutherford, "I don't blame you a bit for getting rid of her." Maj. Hilary Jarret, "I didn't. She got rid of me."

Jimmy Plum, "Her mind's an open book to me. Most of the pages are blank."

Sally McGuire, "Hello, glamour boy." Jimmy Plum, "Hello Sally." Sally, "What's dragging you down?" Jimmy, "Well, I was out with my girlfriend and her boyfriend and we bumped into his wife and she said..." Sally, "Wait a minute. Say that again and say it slower."

Jimmy Plum, "She certainly is sophisticated." Sally McGuire, "Who, Angela?" Jimmy, "No, the major's wife. I didn't even get to first base with her." Sally, "You mean the major's wife?" Jimmy, "No, Angela." Sally, "Oh, I see, heh. I was a little mixed up at first, but now I'm becoming confused."

Harriet West Jarrett, "When you've been burned once, you don't go out looking for fire to play with."

Enjoyable/cute musical comedy from Universal in 1944. It's the story of an 18 year old girl ( Susanna Foster) who gets a serious crush on an older Army officer ( Patric Knowles ) and the efforts that Donald O'Connor goes thru to keep them apart as he is in love with her. Susanna sings 3 songs--one being "A Song in my Heart". She has an operatic voice and I had to lower the sound whenever she hit a high note--which she often did! Peggy Ryan also sang some numbers. Her voice is a tad squeaky. She was nutty for O'Connor, but he had eyes only for Foster. Patric Knowles looked great and his scenes with Louise Albritton worked well--she being his former wife with whom he is still in love with.

Army Doctor Patric Knowles is recovering from illness in a small town where aspiring singer Susanna Foster pursues him. He's much too old and much too noble to respond at first, especially as his host, Jonathan Hale, has a son, Donald O'Connor in love with her. Donald is caught between being a dancer in Peggy Ryan's troupe -- she's in love with O'Connor -- but Donald is caught between being drafted and wanting to study medicine. Miss Foster goes to New York to study singing. She and her aunt stay at Knowles' house while he waits to see if he can return to the army, and Miss Foster gets him to agree to give her an engagement ring. When O'Connor shows up, he's heartbroken. Then they all run into Louise Allbritton, and the youngsters decide that the two older people are still in love. Sorting this out takes a bunch of musical numbers, with Miss Foster singing collatura numbers, O'Connor and Miss Ryan doing dance numbers, and, Ray Eberle and his orchestra and Bobby Brooks' quartet showing up in case you think there should be another three or four numbers, or even if you don't.

Universal had bought a play co-written by Upton Sinclair and Fay Wray for Deanna Durbin. Miss Durbin, however, turned it down, so they cast Miss Foster, who was on salary as a threat to Miss Durbin, in the role. I'm guessing they added O'Connor & Miss Ryan and the others because why not. The result is a bit disjointed, with a big patriotic finale and a happy ending that comes out of nowhere. In the meantime, you'll hear Miss Foster sing some opera, some Ruodolf Friml, and some Rodgers & Hart, while O'Connor and Miss Ryan dance up a storm.