I Won't Play

Some of the second line talent of Warner Brothers went into the cast of I Won't Play with the emphasis on the singing and looks of Janis Paige and the acting of Dane Clark. At least I hope that's what Jack Warner had in mind and not the other way around.

The setting is one of those thousands of atolls fought for and taken by the US Marines and they're now on occupation duty temporarily. One of the company nicknamed Fingers played by Dane Clark and he's really getting on everybody's nerves.

He was a piano player before the war and to hear him tell it there wasn't anyone from Bing Crosby to Judy Garland he didn't help with their careers. Especially one new starlet named Kim Carroll. But when an old beat up upright piano is found, all of a sudden he's shy about showing off that talent.

His buddies are giving the braggart quite the treatment until Kim Carroll played by Janis Paige shows up. After that in the words of Hercule Poirot all is revealed.

The highlight of the short is Janis Paige singing Body and Soul. Janis was one beautiful talented lady who never quite made it on the big screen. Her best role was reserved for Broadway when she starred in The Pajama Game. Although Doris Day got her best musical part in the film version, it would have been nice if Paige's performance could have been preserved.

I Won't Play got an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Subject for 1944 and it holds up well today. And while World War II is of the past, the subject matter is eternal. No one really likes a braggart, but it's nice when they have something to brag about.

Somewhere in the South Pacific, some marines are holding an advance position. There's not much to do but yarn, and Dane Clark is the champion at that. According to him, he fixed Rhapsody in Blue for Gershwin, got Sinatra his first gig and arranged his music for him, and made Janis Paige a star. Also he's a great piano player. The other marines don't know what to make of him until they get a piano.... which he refuses to play. Then they shun him, until Janis Paige, on a USO tour, makes a stop for refueling and puts on a show.

It's Dane Clark being a sleazy sort of guy, which he did a lot in this stage of his career. He was, of course, much more, as he would demonstrate over the next 44 years and more than 150 screen appearances.

Joe (Dane Clark) is a rather unpopular guy in his unit fighting in the South Pacific. That's because he is a name-dropper...and he claims not only to know some of the biggest stars but claims to have actually helped the likes of George Gershwin and Frank Sinatra to hit it big! He's obviously a blowhard and time and time again, the guys try to trap him in his lies. Imagine their surprise when one of the folks Joe claims to have helped in her career lands at their base! Now, it's time to put up or shut up, Joe!

This is well acted and shows that Warner Brothers could make some nice short films to help the war effort. It hold up nicely over time and is worth seeing.

I Won't Play (1944)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Oscar winning short about an Army blabbermouth (Dane Clark) who keeps telling the men in his squad that he helped form and influence several Hollywood stars. None of them believe him when they receive a new piano that he refuses to play but a Hollywood actress (Janis Paige) shows up to change their minds about their friend. This is an extremely well directed short by Crane Wilbur that features good work from both Clark and Paige. Paige also gets to show off her singing voice with a wonderful version of Body and Soul.

A Warner Brothers Short Subject.

The biggest liar in the Marine Corps claims to be a musical genius, but his buddies get mighty sore when a piano is delivered to their South Seas island base and the fellow says `I WON'T PLAY.'

Propelled by the wise guy personality of Dane Clark and the loveliness of Janice Paige (who gets to sing `Body and Soul'), here is an enjoyable, lighthearted little film which still should entertain viewers today. This is the type of fast-moving escapist fare that was so valued by weary movie audiences as World War Two dragged into its sixth year.

Often overlooked or neglected today, the one and two-reel short subjects were useful to the Studios as important training grounds for new or burgeoning talents, both in front & behind the camera. The dynamics for creating a successful short subject was completely different from that of a feature length film, something like writing a topnotch short story rather than a novel. This particular film was the winner of the Academy Award for the Best 2-Reel Live Action Short for 1944.