Saluting Our Veterans - Idol On Parade

Columbia, 1959

Starring Anthony Newley, William Bendix, Anne Aubrey, and Lionel Jeffries

Directed by John Gilling

Music and Lyrics by various

Let's celebrate Veteran's Day overseas and honor those who fought and died in Europe with this British comedy. Elvis Presley being drafted into the Army in 1958 made so many headlines, it became fodder for everything from Broadway musicals to TV show episodes. Anthony Newley was an up-and-coming star songwriter and performer in England around the same time. He'd started out as a child actor in the late 40's, but by 1959, was one of the most popular singers in the country. This low-budget black and white comedy was the movie that made him a star, but does it still entertain 60 years after Elvis came back from the Army? Let's begin with Newley's character, rock star Jeep Jackson, at one of his concerts and find out...

The Story: Jeep is shocked when he's mistaken for another J. Jackson and called into military service. He's not popular at first. He's used to the rock star life and keeps trying to sneak out the camp or return to his recording career. He's popular with his fellow recruits, who enjoy hearing him sing spoofs of the officers, but not with said officers. Irish Drill Sargent Lush (Bendix) is particularly fed up with his antics. The ladies are more pleased, especially Caroline (Aubrey), the friend of wealthy Bertie Barnett (Jeffries). It's not until he records a best-selling ballad that the rest of the camp comes to appreciate him...and he begins to realize that there's a lot more to serving your country than playing jokey songs about your superior officers.

The Song and Dance: Bendix and Newley are almost the whole show in this cute spoof of Royal Army life in 1959. Newley is charming enough that I can understand why he was so popular in 1959. Although his singing style is closer to crooning than Elvis, he still has a way with his own songs and other people's. Bendix is hilarious as the lug of a drill sergeant who spends most of his time screaming at Jeep, and even manages a semi-credible Irish accent.

The Numbers: We open with "Idle On Parade" as we see why girls are so crazy about Jeep at one of his concerts. "Won't Get No Promotion" is his spoof of the officers, including Lush, for the men in the barracks. "I've Waited So Long" is performed several times, including Jeep's attempt to sing it after having done drill sergeant work with Lush and the silkier version heard on that hit record. "Idle Rock-a-Boogie" and "Saturday Night Rock-a-Boogie" are his songs performed near the end, before he leaves.

Trivia: The movie the soldiers go see, The Cockleshell Heroes, was one of Anthony Newley's earliest film appearances. 

Known in England as Idle On Parade.

What I Don't Like: This is pretty obviously a British B comedy from the late 50's. Jefferies isn't bad as the snobbish Bertie, but Aubrey's character isn't much more than a love interest. Despite "I've Been Waiting So Long" being a #3 hit in England, the songs aren't all that memorable, and the plot is even less-so. The second half in particular, with Jeep managing to continue his singing career, gets a little too fluffy for its own good. 

The Big Finale: Only for the most ardent fans of Newley, Bendix, or the British or rock musicals of the 50's and early 60's.

Home Media: Only on DVD in the US as part of the Sony Pictures Screen Classics By Request made-to-order DVD line.

DVD

Saluting Our Veterans - Sergeant Deadhead

American International, 1965

Starring Frankie Avalon, Deborah Walley, Eve Arden, and Fred Clark

Directed by Norman Taurog

Music by Guy Hemric; Lyrics by Jerry Stymer

Let's honor those men and women who explore the final frontier and travel to the far reaches of space this Veteran's Day with this unusual war comedy. Though it features many regulars from the Beach Party series, this one has more in common with the fluffy musicals Taurog directed from the 30's onward. How strange is this story of a soldier whose accidental trip into orbit ends up changing more than his knowledge of the stars? Let's begin at an Air Force Base, where the title soldier (Avalon) is trying to set off his own rocket, and find out...

The Story: Sergeant O.K Deadhead (Avalon) constantly ends up in the brig, thanks to his experiments and antics. His fiancee Airman Lucy Turner (Walley) works on the base as well and is frustrated when he turns up in the brig again. They were to have been married that day. After fellow prisoners Private McEvoy (Harvey Lembeck) and Private Filroy (Johh Ashley) break him out, he flees for what turns out to be an experimental rocket carrying a chimpanzee into space. After Deadhead ends up in orbit, General Fogg (Clark) and his assistant Lieutenant Kinsey (Arden) have no choice but to pretend that was the plan all along.

When Deadhead returns to Earth, he's a changed man. Turns out that his trip through space has blended his personality with that of the chimp. He's now egotistical and aggressive, to the annoyance of Fogg and disappointment of his fiancee, who preferred him when he was gentler. Fogg and Admiral Stoneham (Cesar Romero) hire look-a-like Sergeant Donovan (Avalon) to take his place with his fiancee at their wedding. After he ends up in the brig again, Deadhead begins to realize that he's changed and breaks out to take Donovan's place. Captain Weiskopt (Gale Gordon) still wants Donovan in his place, but no less than the President of the United States (Pat Buttram) is fine with Deadhead the way he is.

The Song and Dance: Avalon gives one of his better performances, both as the goofy Deadhead and the smoother Donovan, in this extremely peculiar attempt to cross the antics of the Beach Party films with a more traditional military-based musical. In fact, I'm impressed with just how much of a musical this is. No randomly-inserted rock bands or goofy dance routines here. There's a march number for the military ladies in the opening, a number for the girls, duets for Walley and Avalon, and even a comic number for Arden. Of the adults, Clark and Arden have the most fun as the exasperated head of the base who just wants his plans to work and the head of the women's corps who loves him. Also look for Reginald Gardiner as a distracted officer and Buster Keaton doing his own material as the base handyman.

The Numbers: We open with that march number performed by the women's corps over the credits as Lieutenant Kinsey leads Deadhead to the guardhouse, "Hurry Up and Wait." The girls wonder "How Can You Tell?" the guy is right for you in their barracks at night. Lieutenant Kinsey tells the girls that "You Should Have Seen the One That Got Away" at Deadhead and Lucy's wedding, while Donna Loren sings about that "Two Timing Angel." Lucy insists "Let's Play Love" on their honeymoon night to the shy Donovan...and Deadhead turns it around and chases her when he replaces him. When Lucy wonders why Deadhead acted so differently after he returned from space, he insists that "The Difference In Me Is You."

Trivia: There was to have been a sequel, Sergeant Deadhead Goes to Mars, but it was canceled after this was a disappointment at the box office. 

What I Don't Like:  Did I mention how strange and fluffy this is? The romantic comedy stuff with the kids getting married doesn't really seem to fit with the military story or with the shenanigans from Beach Party regulars like Harvey Lembeck and Buster Keaton. It's also a little unusual for one of the American International musicals. As mentioned, this is a full-out musical. There's the brief wedding party, but no rock groups, and no one goes to the beach. The military setting also explains the increase in character actors and the lack of Annette Funicello. She doesn't even turn up in a cameo. The music is ok, but not terribly memorable.

The Big Finale: Not the best of the American International teen musicals of the early-mid 60's, but worth a look once on Veteran's Day if you're a fan of Avalon or the Beach Party films.  

Home Media: Easy to find on DVD and streaming.

DVD

Amazon Prime                  

Saluting Our Troops - Skirts Ahoy!

MGM, 1952

Starring Esther Williams, Vivian Blaine, Joan Roberts, and Barry Sullivan

Directed by Sidney Lanfield

Music by Harry Warren; Lyrics by Ralph Blane 

This year, we honor the women who have served our country with this unusual MGM musical. The WAVES, the Women's Naval Reserves, was largely disbanded in 1948. The Korean War made it necessary to recruit women for war duties again, so the WAVES were restarted. Hollywood jumped in to help recruit new members with this tale of three women from different backgrounds who join up and find love and adventure in basic training. How well did they do? Let's begin by seeing why each of those women joined the WAVES and find out...

The Story: Mary Kate Yarborough (Roberts), Whitney Young (Williams), and Una Yancey (Blaine) meet in basic training at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center near Chicago. Midwestern girl-next-door Mary Kate was left at the altar by her fiancee Dick (Keefe Brasselle), who wanted to see the world. Long Island socialite Whitney left multiple fiancees at the altar over the years. Brooklyn shopgirl Una is hoping to follow her sailor fiance Archie (Dean Miller) to Paris. 

Una and Whitney easily take to the Naval life. Mary Kate is initially homesick, until Dick turns up and says he doesn't think she can handle it. She stays to prove that she can be fully and truly independent. Whitney's having her own problems. She falls for the camp's doctor Lieutenant Paul Elliot (Sullivan) when they meet at a nightclub, but after he defends her against three WACs who picked a fight with her. He tells her she lacks discipline. Una tries to get them back together at a dance, to no avail. Whitney following him to a theater only ends in an argument over her abandoning suitors and him being snobbish. At least, no matter what else happens or where they're assigned after graduation, the ladies have each other...and the self-confidence they've gained from their military training.

The Song and Dance: Two things make this stand out from most musicals revolving around soldiers in the Armed Forces. First of all, this being about women recruits changes a lot. The ladies chase men, but they're also loyal to each other and their friendship. Unlike the guys, they don't want to just see the world. They want to prove that they can make a difference and take care of themselves. Finding a man is important, but so is finding themselves. Second, most musicals about military life tend to revolve around the soldiers' adventures on leave. This is one of the few to be set in a boot camp and show the women actually training. 

Williams is sassy and fun as the mouthy socialite looking for a cause besides avoiding marriage. Roberts starts slow, with Mary Kate spending most of the first half of the movie crying and moping. Once she faces Brasselle and that Naval board, she gains a spine and becomes a lot more interesting. You really do hope she stays. 

Favorite Number: Our first number isn't until nearly 10 minutes in, but it's Blaine, the five look-a-like DeMarco Sisters who always stick together, and the chorus to tell Mary Kate that they're "Glad to Have You Aboard." Williams and the DeMarcos have a number together at a talent show, with them swabbing the deck while tossing buckets of water at Williams and wondering "What Makes a Wave?" The three ladies join together at a polished pink tea room to wonder "What Good Is a Gal Without a Guy?" The DeMarco Sisters wonder the same when they reprise the song at the boot camp later in the film. 

Band singer Billy Eckstine makes one of his few film appearances in the night club sequence, crooning "Hold Me Close to You." Brasselle gets the ballad "I've Got a Funny Feeling" at another night club later in the film. Debbie Reynolds and Bobby Van get a random dance routine in goofy neon outfits to "Oh By Jingle" as a USO number for the ladies. The sweet "Navy Waltz" has Williams dancing with Emmett Lynn as the DeMarcos and the Chorus perform the dreamy number in the back ground. A black drill unit do a lively precision marching number to an instrumental version of the title song. 

They do manage to sneak in two low-key water ballets for Williams. She performs dives and dances in the water with two small children, Bubba and Kathy Tongay, who did their own water ballets in the early 50's as the Aquatots. Williams gets a solo water routine later, "dancing" with an inflatable Navy toy. 

Trivia: Sadly, Kathy only lived for a year after the release of this film. She died tragically after her father forced her to dive off of a 33-foot high platform in Miami, Florida. Her father was sentenced for manslaughter and served ten years. Bubba later became a lifeguard in Miami.

Williams redesigned the Navy swimsuits seen in the film, as she called the originals inappropriate for swimming. She also didn't get along with Lanfield and called him out for bullying Vivian Blaine.

This would be Lanfield's last movie. 

What I Don't Like: For all the seriousness of the military setting, this is a pretty goofy, fluffy musical. Most of the numbers have nothing to do with anything, including the Reynolds/Van romp that's dropped into the middle of the movie for no other reason than to have a big dance routine. The movie can't seem to decide whether it wants to emphasize the ladies striving for their independence and how important their relationships with each other are, or push the romances. Williams has absolutely no chemistry with the dull Sullivan, who is not only older than her, but acts like a jerk. Blaine has the opposite problem - she's a little too much at times, seemingly playing to the Guys & Dolls stage audiences instead of the camera. It's also pretty obvious this was not intended to be a Williams vehicle. Her two water sequences were forced in with a crowbar, and they look it. 

The Big Finale: While far from the best thing Williams ever did, it's charming enough to be worth a look for major fans of hers or lovers of the big MGM musicals of the 1940's and 50's. 

Home Media: On DVD and streaming, the former in a remastered edition from the Warner Archives.

DVD

Amazon Prime

Saluting Our Troops - Up In Arms

Samuel Goldwyn Productions/RKO, 1944

Starring Danny Kaye, Dinah Shore, Dana Andrews, and Constance Dowling

Directed by Elliot Nugent

Music and Lyrics by various

We salute the men and women of the Armed Services for Veteran's Day with Danny Kaye's first feature-length movie and vehicle for Goldwyn. Ever since Eddie Cantor left in the late 30's, Goldwyn had looked for another star comedian of his caliber. He found him in former nightclub comic Kaye, who had just scored a major success on Broadway in the stage hit Lady In the Dark. Goldwyn spared no expense for Kaye's first film, pairing him with beloved radio singer Shore and heartthrob Andrews in what amounted to a World War II-themed remake of Cantor's first sound film Whoopee! How does the story of a hypochondriac who ends up in the Army look today? Let's start in the hospital, where elevator operator Danny Weems (Kaye) constantly rattles on to people about their non-existent health problems, and find out...

The Story: Nurse Virginia Merrill (Shore) is in love with Danny, but he's in love with another nurse, Mary Morgan (Dowling). Mary's really interested in Danny's best friend Joe (Andrews). Danny is horrified when he's drafted into the Army. All those germs overseas! Joe joins up to keep an eye on him. Mary and Virginia are also enlisted as Army nurses. Danny smuggles Mary onboard their transport ship to the South Pacific, but they're caught and he ends up in the brig. 

He's still in prison after they land on the South Seas island. That works to his advantage when he's inadvertently rescued by a troop of Japanese soldiers. He's going to have to do a lot more than worry about these guys' health when he has to impersonate their head commander and capture them himself!

The Song and Dance: Kaye bursts out of the gate running on his first try. He did a few low-budget shorts in the late 30's, but nothing like this. He runs with it, sometimes literally, whether he's rattling off lists of his non-existent symptoms (and everyone else's), or doing a song and dance in literal Hell with Shore. Shore's not bad as the nurse who is really interested in him. She manages to hold her own with him in the Hell number and sounds gorgeous on her ballads. 

Favorite Number: Kaye's best number is early in the film, when he recreates what sounds like Goldwyn's idea of the  musical Something For the Boys in lobby of a movie theater. He even gets the patrons doing a Carmen Miranda conga line at one point. Shore performs the gentle ballad "Now I Know" while making a record for the folks back home at a carnival. "All Out For Freedom" is the big rousing chorus number as everyone, the soldiers and the nurses, march onto the transport boat. The chorus also joins in for Shore's other ballad, the bluesy "Tess' Torch Song" on board ship. Kaye's other patter number, which he performs to distract the troops from Mary's presence, is "Melody In 4 F." 

The one for the books is Kaye's dream sequence near the end of the film. We first have him in a pastel nightclub, complete with pale blue goat on a leash, as he's about to marry his Mary. That dream turns quickly into something quite different as the Goldwyn Girls trade pastel bridesmaids dresses for slinky black gowns as they recline against spindly trees and Shore comes out scatting in a tight black gown. 

Trivia: Goldwyn originally planned to have the Disney short "The Gremlins" as the fantasy sequence, but the spot and short were eventually scrapped.

Dowling's film debut. Virginia Mayo can be spotted in the chorus. 

What I Don't Like: This hasn't dated any better than Whoopee! In fact, despite having a different story, it shares the same problems - namely, stereotyped minority characters and an extremely stiff second couple. Andrews, charismatic as he is, was never really comfortable in musicals. Dowling is so dull, you can't really understand what either man sees in her. The last 20 minutes, with Danny leading a troop of Japanese soldiers around while dressed as a stereotypical Japanese officer, will be more than a little uncomfortable for many viewers today. Not to mention, the sudden switch to action comedy doesn't really work well with the slapstick farce that came before it. There's also the abrupt ending, with one last doctor gag from Danny before a sudden, nonsensical reprise of his fantasy/Hell number with Shore and the Goldwyn Girls.

The Big Finale: This is only for major fans of Shore, Andrews, and Kaye or wartime musicals. Everyone else is advised to check out Kaye's better vehicles like The Court Jester or White Christmas before coming anywhere near here. 

Home Media: Available on streaming and on DVD as part of the Warner Archives set Danny Kaye: The Goldwyn Years. 

DVD - Danny Kaye: The Goldwyn Years

Amazon Prime

Saluting Our Troops - Best Foot Forward

MGM, 1943

Starring Lucille Ball, William Gaxton, Virginia Weidler, and Tommy Dix

Directed by Edward Buzzell

Music and Lyrics by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane

This Veteran's Day, we salute our troops-in-training with the second military school comedy I've reviewed in a little over a month. It also has a lot in common with Meet the People. Once again, Ball plays a glamorous star courted by an average guy in an adaptation of a stage success. We trade the "common man" and steel workers for military cadets in awe of Lucy's sass and her legs...and their dates who wish they'd get their minds off stars and onto them. How well does all this come off on the big screen? Let's start at Winsocki Military School in Philadelphia with the arrival of the dates for their big prom and find out..

The Story: Bud Hooper (Dix) wrote movie star Lucille Ball (herself) a letter inviting her to the prom. Encouraged by her agent Jack O'Reilly (Gaxton), she accepts as a publicity stunt. Her arrival was the last thing Bud expected, or anyone else at the school. He cancels his date with his actual girlfriend Helen Schlesinger (Weidler), who is furious when she finds out, and tells the teachers and chaperones that Ball is Helen. 

The prom, with Harry James and His Music Makers (themselves) playing the tunes, goes over smashingly...until Helen and her jealous friends reveal to everyone who Ball really is. Bud may be the one who pays for the ensuing mayhem, unless Ball goes to bat for him and reminds the school board that he's just a normal kid in love. 

The Song and Dance: There's energy to spare in this cross between a teen musical and a military show. The kids have a great time with the wild farce; Nancy Walker, Gloria DeHaven, and June Allyson make the most of their limited screen time as Helen's jilted friends. At the very least, Ball seems a little bit more awake fending off the love-besotted cadets and sparring with Gaxton than she did in among the welders in Meet the People. I also appreciate that, unlike our previous military academy comedy About Face, the cast appears to be the right age for military school and their roles. And unlike most Broadway adaptations from this time, almost all of the songs from the original show were retained, with only two additions. 

Favorite Number: The girls open things with "Wish I May Wish I Might" with the eager boys as they arrive at the school to an energetic chorus. Disgusted by the performance of the classical piece "The Flight of the Bumblebee" at the prom, Walker, Allyson, and DeHaven explain why "The Three Bs" - the barrelhouse, the blues, and the boogie woogie - are where it's at. The dates make "My First Promise" to the boys as they waltz through arbors so the guys can give them rings. Ball (dubbed by Gloria Grafton) gently admits to Bud "You're Lucky" to still be a kid with few responsibilities. The movie begins and ends with it's major hit and most famous number, the rousing march "Buckle Down, Winsocki," sung by the boys over the credits and as a drill formation at their graduation. 

Trivia: Allyson, Walker, and Dix were all in the original cast of the 1941 Broadway version, which ran for almost a year. Another movie star, Rosemary Lane, played the glamor girl who accepted Bud's invitation. It hasn't been on Broadway since, but it was adapted for TV in 1954 and successfully revived off-Broadway in 1963, in a cast that included Liza Minnelli and Christopher Walken. 

This was Virginia Weidler's last movie. 

What I Don't Like: And no wonder. All she does in this film is pout and whine over her boyfriend abandoning her. Granted, he should have been more honest about Ball and his request, but she acted like a baby. Considering how much fun Allyson, DeHaven, and especially Walker are having, I really wish all three of them had more to do. Walker at least gets to fire off a few good wisecracks about her status as the world's most undesirable blind date. Wish the boys weren't so interchangeable, too. Other than a few wearing glasses, they all look alike. I'm not sure how the girls can tell them apart, let alone complain about them chasing Ball. 

Oh, and despite James' presence, other than "Buckle Down" and "Three Bs," the songs just aren't that memorable. Many of them are riddled with dull choreography or go on for way too long. 

The Big Finale: Enjoyable enough fluff for fans of the four leading ladies, big band music, or 40's musicals. 

Home Media: On streaming and DVD, the latter from the Warner Archives. 

DVD

Amazon Prime

Saluting Our Troops - At War With the Army

Paramount, 1950

Starring Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Mike Kellin, and Angela Greene

Directed by Hal Walker

Music by Jerry Livingston; Lyrics by Mack David

Goofy, gangly Jerry Lewis and suave Dean Martin made it big on early TV and in nightclubs before they appeared in their first hit movie, My Friend Irma. Part of their contract with Paramount allowed them to film one film outside the studio per year. This would be the only film to exercise that clause, which ended with a protracted legal battle between the studio and the stars. Was it worth the fuss? Let's head to an army base in Kentucky, where First Sergeant Vic Puccinelli (Martin) is bemoaning his status behind a desk, and find out...

The Story: When Vic isn't continually attempting to get shipped overseas so he'll actually have something to do, he's romancing the local ladies. Millie (Jean Ruth) spends the entire movie wandering around the barracks looking for him. He's also stringing along local girl Helen Palmer (Polly Bergen). Private First Class Alvin Korwin (Lewis) wants leave as badly as Vic wants action. His wife just had a baby, and he wants a chance to meet it. His attempts at convincing their rather dumb drill sergeant McVey (Mike Kellin) come to naught. Meanwhile, everyone on-base wishes the soda machine in the office would finally work and are trying to figure out who their commander (William Mendrek) is getting his information from.

The Song and Dance:  There are some fairly funny moments in this film, especially in the second half. Lewis has some good moments in a blond wig and dress, singing a bad French song to a very drunk Mendrek in a bar, and trying (and failing) to make it through a difficult obstacle course. Martin has slightly less to do besides complain, but he does do well playing alongside nasal Ruth and Bergen in her third film. The two men come together for the big base show they've been practicing for, including their genuinely funny impersonations of Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald in Going My Way. 

Favorite Number: "Beans" introduces us to Private Korwin and the rest of the barracks as they lament over the quality of the food they're being served. Helen and Vic sing the ballad "You and Your Beautiful Eyes" together in a local restaurant. 

Trivia: At War With the Army was originally a short-lived, non-musical play on Broadway. Kellin and Kenneth Forbes repeat their stage roles.

What I Don't Like: For their first vehicle, Martin and Lewis don't have a lot of time together. When they are together, Martin is usually berating or ordering Lewis around. Only their song and dance in the finale and the Going My Way spoof feels anything like their other films. The addition of a few outside sequences (like the obstacle course) and songs can't make it feel less like a filmed play, either. The first half in particular is mostly tied to the barracks, and other than a few gags, can seem a little static. 

The Big Finale: Not my favorite from either of these two, separate or together, by a long-shot, but there's enough decent bits to recommend it if you're a fan of either star.

Home Media: Possibly due to that protracted legal battle, this movie entered the public domain in 1977. It's easy to find in cheap copies all over the place, on disc and streaming. Streaming company Tubi currently has it for free with ads. 

DVD

Blu-Ray

Tubi