Meet the People

One of lucy's (wartime) films before she found her groove in "I love lucy". This one has some pretty big names... rags ragland, virginia obrien, dick powell. Bert lahr ( the cowardly lion) and june allyson. Even dick elliott (the mayor on andy griffith) bill swanson wins a date with big starlet julie hampton. But what he really wants is for her to help put on the show he has written. But when the producer changes it all around, swanson goes back to his day job. Will this show ever get made? Some pretty raw humor, for a show made in the 1940s. Although it's pretty tame, compared to modern standards. Some funny bits. And digs at mussolini and hitler, since the united states had been in the war for a couple years by now. Performances by groups that were popular at the time. It's a little un-even, but the overseas troops were probably glad to see entertainers and familiar faces on the big screen. Too many songs for me. Did bert lahr really need to sing so long? They should have let virginia o'brien do more songs! It's okay. Not much of a story, but great to see all the familiar faces together in one film. Directed by charles reisner.... he had worked with the marx brothers and buster keaton.

This is typical wartime let's-pull-together propaganda, and it's very entertaining. A tour-de-force with a great cast, leading to a riotous "Heil, Schicklgruber!" sequence with the fabulous Spike Jones entourage, and a sieg-heiling chimpanzee as Adolf Hitler! It holds up well today as both great entertainment and as a glimpse into the national mood of the time. Highly recommended to all!

Forget the period propaganda or the corny jokes. This movie has some sensational music in it, great arrangements & great singing, especially one of the greatest songs written by one of the greatest teams: Rogers & Hart's "I Like to Recognize the Tune". A gorgeous rendition by one of the most beautiful pop songs ever written or performed. Worth reviving this movie (& then there's Spike Jones).

Let's put on a show for the war effort...or some arrogant playwright or something. Dick Powell plays a pompous jerk who somehow finagles a famous actress (Lucille Ball) into not only falling in love with him but also getting his play produced. The movie is basically the struggle to get the play made. The struggle, by the way, is only such because of Powell's temper tantrums. Good grief who thought this character was appealing? Powell is a likable actor but here he sulks his way through the whole film. "My show! My show! My show!" Shut up already you whiny baby. This guy wants his precious play to be authentic to real working class people, but he never seems real or working class himself.

Powell also has poor romantic chemistry with Lucille Ball. For her part, Lucy is a bit wooden and lacking the brilliant spark we all know she possessed. The supporting players like Virginia O'Brien, Bert Lahr, and June Allyson are the best part of the cast. There's also an annoying guy doing bad impressions. I'm not going to bother looking up the actor's name. Just know he's awful.

The movie is way too long for such a thin plot and commits the cardinal sin for any musical comedy: it's hardly ever fun. The musical numbers are so-so, with O'Brien's "Say That We're Sweethearts Again" being the standout. It's probably the only thing that you walk away from this film remembering.

For having been made at MGM, "Meet the People", didn't get the usual treatment by the studio. The film was shot in black and white and there are no lavish production numbers. The movie was based on a musical revue that played in Los Angeles during WWII. It has its share of propaganda, since most of the action takes place around a navy yard where war ships were constructed.

The best thing in the film are some of the songs that were composed for it. The best song heard on the film is "I Like to Recognize the Tune", composed by Richard Rogers and Laurenz Hart. The other great number is one in which Spike Jones and his City Slickers appear dressed as Mussolini, Hitler, and figures on the wrong side of the war, as they sing a parody of a sextet of "Lucia di Lamermoor".

Lucille Ball plays Julie Hampton. She was at the height of her good looks and cut a lovely figure. Her love interest is played by Dick Powell, an actor with a lovely manly voice who was also at a good point of his career. Bert Lahr, Virginia O'Brien and a young June Allyson, soon to be Mrs. Dick Powell, appear in supporting roles.

The film was directed by Charles Reisner and the black and white cinematography was by Robert Surtees that has kept its crispness in spite of having been shot more than sixty years ago. The film would be a curiosity piece by fans of Lucille Ball.