Starring The Andrews Sisters, Dick Foran, Shemp Howard, and Jennifer Holt
Directed by Edward F. Cline
Music and Lyrics by various
We jump back two decades to begin our All-American weekdays with this wartime romp. Universal's musical output during the war consisted mainly of Deanna Durbin operettas and low-budget, high-energy programmers like this one. The Andrews Sisters were one of the most popular acts of the war years. While their main fame was on records and radio, they also occasionally turned up in B-films like this one. They're not the only star names of the big band era who can be found here, either. We also get Harry James and His Music Makers and Foran, a then-popular radio crooner. How does all of this fit in with the story of radio singer Lon Prentice (Foran), whose high-and-mighty attitude doesn't make him popular with his fellow GIs? Let's begin at a nightclub, where Prentice is singing with Harry James and his band, and find out...
The Story: Prentice is furious when he's rejected from the draft due to one flat foot. He manages to get surgery...and not only is he accepted, but so are James and his orchestra. They're all under the dubious leadership of one Sargent Mugsy Shavel (Howard). Shavel is furious when Lieutenant Howard Mason (Richard Davies) lets Prentice get away with not training, as he thinks it's a waste of time. No one else is happy about that, either, least of all Mason's daughter Joyce (Holt). While he tries to show her he's worthy of being a soldier, Shavel competes with singer Lancelot Pringle "Biff" McBiff (Joe E. Lewis) for the love of his fiancee, Bonnie-Belle (Mary Wickes).
The Song and Dance: With a story that goofy, song and dance are the main things of interest. I do like that this doesn't take itself seriously for a second. Everyone knows this is low-budget fluff and just has fun with it. Look for that incredible dance routine featuring the Jumping Jacks and Jills (along with Donald O'Connor and Peggy Ryan) towards the end of the movie. I also think this has one of Shemp Howard's best performances away from the Three Stooges. He's hilarious with the soldiers and gets some of the film's best lines. Mary Wickes has a fine time as the woman who isn't used to all these guys being after her, too.
Favorite Number: We open at the nightclub where Foran sings the lively title number and "I'm In the Army Now." The Andrews Sisters get "Three Little Sisters" and "Johnny Get Your Gun Again" with James. Singer Helen Forrest joins James and his orchestra for "You Made Me Love You." The trio sing "Steppin' Out Tonight" and "Six Jerks In a Jeep" with their driver on the way to camp. James, now the camp bugler, gets a "Concerto for Trumpet." Foran performs the bluesy "Nobody Knows the Troubles I've Seen" to convince Holt he really is a good singer. Lewis' main solo is "I Love the South."
The big number is in the finale. It starts off sweet and romantic, with the Andrews Sisters putting over what would become one of their most popular songs, "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree." This goes straight into James and the orchestra's instrumental jam session. O'Connor, Peggy Ryan, and the Jacks and Jills show off some pretty darn amazing jitterbugging as they whirl up a storm over the dance floor. It ends with the Sisters insisting "We've Got a Job To Do" as the men shove off for overseas...including Donald and Prentice.
What I Don't Like: For all their star status, the Andrews Sisters don't really have much to do beyond their numbers. Surprisingly, given their popularity in other Universal programmers of the time, neither do Donald O'Connor and Peggy Ryan. Foran never did develop much personality. He comes off as smarmy and entitled, and it doesn't get much better once he reforms.
The Big Finale: If you love wartime musicals, the big band era, or the Andrews Sisters, jump in the jeep and head off to camp to check this out.
Home Media: This is in the public domain, so it's easy to find anywhere. Tubi currently has it for free with ads.
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