Due ragazze e un marinaio

...because...I dunno... there were just bad signs everywhere. An MGM musical in black and white? I was afraid of even more of "the Nazis are eeeeeevil" pronouncements that get overdone in WWII films. Believe me, I get that they were evil. And plus I have just never gotten the allure of June Allyson and that husky voice.

But I was on Christmas break and it was part of a Turner Classic Movies tribute to those in the film industry who died in 2016 - in this case Gloria DeHaven - so I thought I'd give it a whirl. This one pleasantly surprised me.

In a way the title does give the paper thin plot away - one sailor (Van Johnson as swabbie John Dyckman Brown III) in love with one of two girl performers (DeHaven and Allyson as the Deyo sisters, Jean and Patsy respectively). Complications ensue. But the fun is in the journey not the destination.

There are some possible dark sides to this film. It starts out with Jean as an infant and Patsy a toddler watching over her backstage while mom and dad perform in vaudeville. A few years pass and now Jean is the toddler and dad is performing alone. It is said "mom made the big time" but you wonder - did mom run out on dad and her daughters? Is mom actually dead and dad just doesn't want to tell them? You're never told.

The scene skips to present day - 1944 - and the girls are a sister act in a night club and then run a canteen for soldiers out of their apartment after that. But those childhood years of Patsy watching Jean have taken their toll, because now Patsy watches Jean like a hawk, making sure she doesn't take up with the wrong man while she doesn't seem to have time for a man at all. Is this a residue of what happened as children? Does Patsy not want Jean or herself to end up like mom? Again, nothing deep is ever said, but you have to wonder.

And then somebody starts sending orchids to Jean. This alone has Patsy watching the nightclub audience wondering which one is the secret admirer. But when this (probably) same anonymous person gives them an old abandoned warehouse so they can enlarge their canteen - what they thought was a secret wish - and supplies all of the food and manpower to transform it, Patsy really goes into PI mode because now she is afraid some rich guy is out to make Jean a sadder but wiser girl. And the misunderstandings just go from there.

In the meantime there is plenty of great music from Harry James,Jose Iturbi and orchestra, Lena Horne, Xavier Cugat and orchestra, and even Gracie Allen comes over from Paramount for a comical bit - minus George. Jimmy Durante performs here, but he also has a bit of drama and tragedy that figures into the plot - he's living like a hermit in the warehouse when the girls take possession - and he really surprised me with his dramatic range.

Then there are those weird outfits Allyson and DeHaven wear. A couple of times one is wearing what appears to be the top to a dress with a particular pattern and the other is wearing the skirt. Is this some visual way of saying that one is pretty on the inside while the other is pretty on the outside? Jean is LOOKING for a rich guy and is pretty naïve yet mercenary, so Patsy has reason to worry. Meanwhile Patsy is not at all interested in the trappings of wealth. Or maybe I'm reading way too much into what was just meant to be some MGM musical fluff.

I'd recommend this one. It was released right before D-Day, so things were looking optimistic on the homefront for the first time in a long time and the mood of this film rather goes along with that. It's almost an early "welcome back" film for all of the guys and gals in the service at the time.

TWO GIRLS AND A SAILOR (1944) is mindless fluff featuring a string of guest stars and musical acts, meant to cheer audiences up while WWII raged on overseas.

In the tradition of many other wartime musicals, the film is almost like sitting through a concert. A simple plot serves as an excuse for a parade of musical numbers that aim to entertain the cinema-goers as much as the in-movie club patrons. It's pure escapism. Throw in some romance, some comedy, and a dash of patriotism and you have a very pleasant movie indeed.

And TWO GIRLS AND A SAILOR is a very pleasant movie. Fluff, yes, but it's fun. June Allyson and Gloria DeHaven play showbiz sisters who sing at a nightclub and entertain servicemen at their apartment. Thanks to the generosity of a mysterious admirer, the girls are able to open their own canteen to put on shows for the men in uniform. But what happens when both sisters start falling for the same guy (Navy sailor Van Johnson)?

Both actresses are charming and do a nice job. Gloria DeHaven is very beautiful, but it is June Allyson as the protective older sister who wins us over. I've never considered myself much of a June Allyson fan, but she certainly was talented and her performance here (singing, dancing, acting, comedy) is great.

Jimmy Durante provides solid comic relief and even sings his hit "Inka Dinka Doo". Van Johnson plays an all-American good guy, a sailor who happens to be a multi-millionaire. Tom Drake is Johnson's rival for DeHaven's affections, an Army sergeant who's really kind of a jerk.

MGM showcases many of its top musical acts throughout the film, including popular trumpeter and bandleader Harry James, the exotic Xavier Cugat Orchestra, jazz vocalist Lena Horne, deadpan singer Virginia O'Brien, the singing Wilde Twins (sisters Lee and Lyn), and piano maestro Jose Iturbi. Even Gracie Allen shows up for a comedic piano number.

Thinly plotted musicals aren't always my thing, but there's something very likable about this production. Allyson, DeHaven, Johnson, Durante, and Henry Stephenson (as Johnson's grandfather) are all great. The musical acts serve as a 1940s time capsule. The story is sweet and innocent. Just sit back and be entertained.

This movie was made in the years when life was turmoil, when Europe was at war and the US military was more than visible. Consequently the plot twists and turns but you know it will turn out happy. I was enthralled by the movie. Lots of humor and sisterly love draw you into the plot. The mystery of who will end up with whom keeps you riveted. But most of all June Allyson and Van Johnson together, in their 1940's lovemaking way, make this one of the best movies I've seen in a long time.

This was one of my grandmother's favorite films and she bought it when it came out on video. I have watched it so many times, I am afraid that the tape is going to fall apart. I hope that it becomes available on DVD soon! The characters are interesting and the story is touching. The songs, costumes, and dance numbers are unforgettable. The array of stars in this film makes it fun to watch to see who's coming up next. I want my children and grandchildren to be able to watch it as well. It is family tradition for myself, my sister, and my grandmother to watch it together.If you can find this video somewhere, I definitely recommend it!

This slight musical comedy from 1944 was a blockbuster of its year. Its one of those Stage door canteen where G.I.s are entertained by hit musicians of their including the popular band and orchestra leader Harry James and Xavier Cugat. The big hit "Young man with a horn" is featured prominently. The songs are lovely and generally feel orchestrated and operatic as this is a Joe Pasternak production. Like a Bruckheimer, a Selznick, a Freed or a Ross Hunter, you know a Pasternak when you see it. That is, slight plots with certain scenes that are written and play better than the whole movie and make you wish they were in another movie. There is usually a love plot involving dueling sisters, mother and daughter, or jealous daughters to their dads. The actresses are pretty and young. The songs, hits of their day but taken out of their time and the situations, they lack the oomph for classic appreciation unlike the movies of Arthur Freed. Take note, there is a dream sequence in this movie that is begging for one of those Freed musical numbers but instead we get Jimmy Durante shenanigans that lifts the weight from the scene. Thorpe, the journeyman director at MGM who made a lot of hits, directs in his usual flat and placid style that gets the job done and not much more. If only Pasternak aimed higher, varied the formula a little, he could have been a champion, not just a contender.