Tuesday, June 28, 2022

Something for the Boys

20th Century Fox, 1944
Starring Carmen Miranda, Vivian Blaine, Phil Silvers, and Michael O'Shea
Directed by Lewis Seiler
Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter and others

Our first two All-American Weekdays reviews covers tales of helpful citizens setting up canteens or hotels for servicemen and their wives during World War II. This started out on Broadway as a vehicle for Ethel Merman with Cole Porter music. 20th Century Fox initially bought it as a vehicle for Betty Grable, but by the time they go to filming it, the white-hot Miranda had taken her role, with Vivian Blaine as the romantic lead. How do they work out in the very peculiar story of three cousins and the mansion they inherit? Let's begin with actress Blossom Hart (Blaine) as she learns about the mansion she and her cousins just got and find out...

The Story: Blossom's cousins, hustler and inventor Harry (Silvers) and defense plant worker Chiquita (Miranda), join her when they learn they all jointly inherited an old mansion in Georgia. The mansion turns out to be a dilapidated wreck that no one's paid property taxes on in years. Paying the taxes on the mansion will leave them heavily in debt. 

Salvation comes in the form of Sargent Ronald "Rocky"  Fullton (O'Shea) and his men. Fulton was an orchestra leader before the war, and Sargent Laddie Green (Perry Como) was his singer. They suggest turning the mansion into a rooming house for the wives of service men. His men pitch in to help with the repairs, and they put on a show to pay for them. 

Trouble comes first in the form of Rocky's snooty fiancee Melanie Walker (Sheila Ryan), who thinks the house was arranged just for her. Chiquita and Blossom don't put up with her snobbery for long...but she gets them into trouble and has the manor shut down. Chiquta and Harry make up for the mess by using Chiquta's ability to pick up radio shows with her teeth to help out the Blue Team when the soldiers hold war games. 

The Song and Dance: Well, you can't say this one isn't unique. It's probably the second most-creative wartime musical I've seen after the truly bizarre Where Do We Go From Here? How many musicals do you know of where the leading lady can pick up radio signals with her teeth? Miranda and Silvers have some great gags, whether the former is butchering English or the latter is trying to develop elaborate "inventions" in the kitchen that prove to be useful only in driving the obnoxious Melanie away. Terrific costumes and sets for a 40's musical too, especially once they clean up the mansion, with color that pops off the screen. 

Favorite Number: We open with Vivian Blaine and the chorus performing Cole Porter's title song under the credits and at the theater where Blaine works. Blaine, Miranda, O'Shea, and Silvers wonder "Wouldn't It Be Nice?" to have a hotel helping the soldiers and making them all rich. Como kicks off one of his early hits, "I Wish I Didn't Have to Say Good Night," but Blaine sounds even better when she does a solo. Blaine and the chorus don frilly pink polka dot aprons and a short green dress and parasol to sing about how they're "80 Miles Outside of Atlanta" in the big show. Miranda leaps into "Bactua Nego" with gusto, flinging around the skirt of her white gown. Como once again begins "In the Middle of Nowhere" with the chorus, and it's again finished by Blaine in a balcony. 

Silvers gets the big solo routine here, his tribute to the South when they're trying to distract the Red Army from leaving. He dons a marker goatee to sing of the "Southland," regaling Blaine and the soldiers with several southern standards and the new "Climbin' Up them Golden Stairs." Miranda finishes things off with the chorus and another tropical-themed routine, "Samba-Boogie."

Trivia: Judy Holliday turns up in her third role, in a short but important bit as Miranda's fellow defense worker who points out women have gotten metal in their teeth and started picking up radio waves. 

Perry Como's film debut. 

What I Don't Like: You can't get fluffier than a World War II musical where the leading lady wins war games by picking up radio waves with her teeth. This is about as wartime as you can get, from the references to the housing shortage to Chiquita working in a defense plant. I really do wish they'd kept more of the original show, too, including the rest of Porter's songs. In the original show, Blossom was the one who got the radio waves in her teeth, and instead of ending with silly war games that seemed to exist only to pad out the story, they had a spy in their midst. And while O'Hara is likeable enough and sings decently alongside Blaine, he and Como come off as little more than bland window dressing. Como's barely seen outside of his two big songs. 

The Big Finale: Recommended only for major fans of Como, Miranda, or wartime musicals. For everyone else, this is a random rainy-day watch at best. 

Home Media: DVD only, either solo or as part of The Carmen Miranda Collection.

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