Up in Arms

I have no idea why the rating for this film is so low! This was the first Kaye film I saw and, now after having seen most of his others it's still my favorite.

I had this preconception about Danny Kaye that he just made some early, cheesy musicals. Well, that is kinda true... but he is such an amazing, funny performer! One of my new favorites. Who woulda thunk it.

The first Danny Kaye vehicle, this film still has the power to make me laugh. The action revolves around a hypochondriac named Danny Weems who is hopelessly in love with a beautiful nurse named Mary (played by the lovely Constance Dowling) at the hospital he works as a doorman at, while completely unaware of the attentions of her multi-talented best friend and fellow nurse, Virginia (played by the talented Dinah Shore, a singer known to those alive in the '70s as the host of "Dinah! & Friends"). Meanwhile, Danny introduces his handsome roommate Joe to Virginia, but Joe and Mary end up hitting it off, though Danny is completely oblivious to it all.

This movie was contemporary with World War II, of course, and the real action begins when Danny is drafted by the U.S. Army despite the multiple ailments he believes he has. Joe joins up along with him, and -- of course -- the two nurses join up as well. And the movie goes along from there.

As with Kaye's other well-known movies, "Up In Arms" is a virtual showcase of his comedic talents when they were still very fresh and seemingly spontaneous. The musical numbers are particularly enjoyable.

This is a film one needs to see if one needs a good, clean laugh. I saw this movie as a kid a decade ago when I was home from school and sick, and Danny Kaye kept me laughing throughout the whole thing -- it definitely made me forget my troubles.

The only downside to this film is the stereotypical characterisation of the Japanese soldiers seen near the end, but the viewer must remember when this film was made, and that wartime propaganda like this was common. In comparison to others from that era, the comedy is fairly tame.

My rating for this movie is 10 out of 10. They truly don't make them like this any more.

This is not Danny Kaye's best effort. That would be The Court Jester, as far as I am concerned. This movie was badly written. It wasn't horribly acted but the actors weren't given anything much to work with. Danny deserved better and so did Dinah Shore. She should have been a much bigger movie star than she was. She was very talented and had excellent screen presence. Too bad this movie is one of her few movies.

At the end of the day, don't waste your time. If you want to see GOOD Danny Kaye movies, find The Court Jester, The Inspector General, White Christmas...or his dramas The Five Pennies or Skokie. He was a brilliant comedian AND dramatic actor. Don't use this movie as an example of his best work.

This recently showed on Turner Classic Movies and I was lucky enough to catch most of it. The film is old and features some cartoonesque lampooning of racial stereotypes (especially the Japanese, but hey it was made in 1944 - do the math), but nothing as offensive as incidental references made in the modern media. Danny Kaye's antics had me in stitches and the ladies are still lovely despite the age of the material - the song-and-dance silly humor is unlike anything you'll find in Hollywood these days but was quite fitting at the time. Overall it was highly entertaining and I would not mind watching it again either alone or with company.

One of the funniest movies of all-time. Danny Kaye's first film. Catapulted him from a virtual unknown to an international super-star. Two songs co-authored by his wife, Sylvia Fine, did the trick for him: "The Lobby Number" and "Melody In 4-F." These two songs put Danny's virtuoso tongue-twisting genius on full display. Danny Kaye plays a hypochondriac who is drafted into the Army in World War II and ends up single-handedly capturing a platoon of Japanese soldiers in the South Pacific while winning the heart of beautiful songstress Dinah Shore. Now, 60 years later, the film remains thoroughly enjoyable, and no other entertainer has emerged who can equal Danny Kaye's extraordinary comedic talents. If I had to make a list of the 10 funniest films ever made, "Up In Arms" would surely be on that list.