This Is the Army

I first saw this film on cable in the late 1970's, and was mesmerized by the story and the music. Certainly, as many people comment, it is propagandistic, but it is also a masterpiece, showcasing an almost-forgotten time. Irving Berlin is one of this country's most prolific and best-loved songwriters, and this musical extravaganza is an homage to his talent and genius.

The cast is unique and wonderful. The main characters are played solidly by "name" stars, but the musical ensemble cast (real U.S. soldiers at the time) are what set this film apart.

A reviewer complaining that it isn't "realistic" overstates the point. So what if you think an "average" army base couldn't produce a cast for a show like this. Film is a medium that attempts to suspend reality and let you enter a place, situation, relationship, time period, etc. that you might not otherwise get to experience. It's sometimes the view of one person's "reality," a manifestation of their own "vision."

My copy of this film is on a very old (early 80's) VHS copy, a low-end bargain release which is of marginal quality, but I love every minute of it. I certainly hope someone reviews some of the specific DVD choices out there, I'd like to get the DVD before I wear out the VHS!

If you enjoy a good flag-waving, patriotic musical, this is a film you will enjoy. If you enjoy Irving Berlin's music, it's a soundtrack you will enjoy. Personally I'd put this on a par with the 1942 film, "Yankee Doodle Dandy," and both films share a few cast members!

This movie is a classic of World War II movies. It was made as a moral booster during the war, and includes the music of Irving Berlin. One thing to note especially is the song "Someday I'm going to murder the bugler" which is sung by Irving Berlin himself (wearing his own WWI uniform).

In order to really appreciate this movie you need to understand the world in which it was made, which was a whole lot different than 2004. There was a world war and everyone was concerned about stopping evil. (as opposed to today, where everyone is concerned about how terrorism, or the fight against it, is going to disrupt their daily life)

This movie was made as a way to give people something to feel good about, and show patriotism.

Just watched again this, the third of the "war musicals" I'm reviewing for these next few days of which Something for the Boys and Thank Your Lucky Stars were the first two, having seen This is the Army previously during the summer of 1987 on USA Network and again several years later on a Diamond Home Video VHS tape. With the Warner Bros. DVD providing a much better print than the last couple times I've seen this, I managed to have a much better time watching it. In fact, the only times I've cringed were during the blackface "Mandy" number (though the dances-led by Gene Kelly's brother Fred-were enjoyable) and during the "Stage Door Canteen" sketch where we get lame banter of one man dressed as Lynn Fontaine and another as her husband Alfred Lunt, not to mention having another man impersonating European thespians praising the hamburger. Otherwise, this movie had mostly enjoyable comedy especially whenever Alan Hale, Sr.-who is very much like his "Skipper" son in lovable blustery-is on screen, drama with Lt. Ronald Reagan and Joan Leslie debating the merits of marrying before leaving for battle, and musical highlights-like when Kate Smith sings her stirring and iconic rendition of "God Bless America" or even when composer Irving Berlin makes his entrance in his old uniform singing "Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning" (not to mention an additional song filmed exclusively for English audiences called "My British Buddy" which is an extra on the disc). And the number "That's What the Well-Dressed Man in Harlem Will Wear" isn't all that offensive concerning the African-American performers though I don't think it really was necessary to have boxer Sgt. Joe Louis in this as he just punches a bag during it. All in all, this was a rousingly patriotic show that really delivered. P.S. I have to note that co-screenwriter Capt. Claude Binyon came from my birthtown of Chicago, Ill. And when I first watched this, during the commercials, I switched to other channels and saw live coverage of President Reagan and his wife Nancy consoling various people on the death of loved ones. I'm guessing this was related to the event of May 17 of that year (two days before I graduated from Belaire High School) when 37 American sailors were killed on the U.S.S. Stark after it was set afire by two missiles from an Iraqi airplane. Talk about coincidence...

As a twenty-year resident of Yaphank, New York, which is on Long Island about 60 miles east of Manhattan, I've learned some of the background of this movie.

Irving Berlin wrote "Yip, Yip, Yaphank" while stationed at Camp Upton in Yaphank during WW I. (Camp Upton is now the Brookhaven National Laboratory.) For this show, which was indeed written to be performed by the soldiers, Berlin wrote "Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning" and the melody of "God Bless America," which was actually cut from the show in its original form.

The show even ran briefly on Broadway in 1918 with a Camp Upton cast, according to the Internet Broadway Data Base.

After the war ended, the songs were put away, then brought out for the morale-boosting efforts of WW II. Berlin frequently rewrote and reused his songs; he revised the lyrics of "God Bless America" for Kate Smith and the rest, as they say, is history.

I watch this movie often. I love the music. I wish I knew more about the man who sang the song ''Mandy''. I enjoy this movie every time like its the first time. I'm proud to own a video tape copy. I would like to see it available on DVD someday