Musical comedy star Jimmy Leighter wants to get away from show biz and his leading lady Winnie Clark, so he joins the Army. There he gets the order to put on a show, Winnie Clark appears in...
1h 17min | Musical | 6 April 1944
Director: Charles Barton
Stars: Ann Miller, Joe Besser, Larry Parks
Val Raset ... dance director
Stanley Donen ... assistant choreographer (uncredited)
bootleg; mediocre print
In the Tap! Appendix for Judy Clark, Condos Brothers, Roland Dupree, Joyce Horne, Ann Miller. But Roland Dupree and Joyce Horne are not in the IMDb credits, nor the onscreen credits.
On IMDb, this lists 3 individual Condos bros: Harry, Frank and Steve "as The Condos Brothers" where the onscreen credits list only "Condos Brothers". As noted in ch3 below, Harry/Frank looks like Nick to me.
The Soundtracks page is spare, listing 8 songs (5 by one writer, 3 by a team), and listing the performers for only 3 of them. I have no way to enhance that.
The disc has 16 chapters, length 5 min each. Songs/dances:
On IMDb, this lists 3 individual Condos bros: Harry, Frank and Steve "as The Condos Brothers" where the onscreen credits list only "Condos Brothers". As noted in ch3 below, Harry/Frank looks like Nick to me.
The Soundtracks page is spare, listing 8 songs (5 by one writer, 3 by a team), and listing the performers for only 3 of them. I have no way to enhance that.
The disc has 16 chapters, length 5 min each. Songs/dances:
 |
| 2 Condos Bros in flight, '44, Hey, Rookie. Pretty sure it's Nick on the left, Steve on the right. The movie camera cropped their heads. |
- ch1. Joe Sawyer as Sergeant and male chorus (inductees) sing the title song.
- ch2. (In the base canteen), song w/ lyrics "a wave in his hair and a wac on his hand" probably sung by Hi-Lo Jack and the Dame, followed immediately by
- ch3 (~10:40). Condos Brothers (2 of them, looks like Nick and Steve to me) tap their toes off. First we hear the sound and see the feet of a seated dancer. The speed of those taps made me sure it would be CB. Then pan over to feet of a standing dancer, and I KNOW it's them from the style of movement. The pan widens to full body, and before we see the face, the arm movements lock it in as Steve. Soon the seated dancer joins in, and, among other moves, we get the manic 5-tap wing. They travel through the room, mostly dancing in unison. It's a glorious 2 minutes, well worth the $ spent. They look like they're having fun, and when the dance is done, they raise their arms, smile and say together "That's all." I wonder how long I could watch that on a loop. Here's a fuzzy blurry version of just their number.
- ch4. (Onstage in civilian-land, maybe B'way) production number There Goes Taps about a soldier writing his sweetheart AM, sung first, then Danced by Ann Miller (in a sheer dress backlit to show her legs in silhouette) and Bill Shawn. Very elegant, no tapping. The singer is smooth enough to be Bob Haymes, maybe. Can't tell if the singer also dances with AM.
- ch5. GI quartet audition on the street, play & sing lyrics "my so what serenade"
- ch7. GI baritone sings & plays accordion. The voice could be Bob Haymes, joined by Hi-Lo Jack and the Dame. Lyrics name the British and Americans.
- ch9. Hal McIntyre's Orchestra play some good swing music.
- ch9. Bob Evans and Jerry, a ventriloquist act, eventually sing When Irish Eyes are Smiling. Pretty good, as such things go. Audience is revealed: huge number of GI's and guests.
- ch10. Streamlined Sheik sung & danced onstage by AM as a tapping belly dancer, although she doesn't tap much. Seems cut short, and this print is 4 mins shorter than IMDb time.
- ch12. AM & LP sing You're Good for My Morale on request after serving food at a base outdoor event. Then a boy & girl (blonde) sing/dance this song, joined by yet another boy/girl (brunette). The first boy could be an older version of this, where he's credited with Judy Clark and Joyce Horne in some other production. The credits list Judy Clark and the Solid Senders; I'd bet that's the blonde (Judy), the brunette and the 2 boys. IMDb has this as the only credit for "The Six Solid Senders." <sigh>
- ch14. The show of the soldier, by the soldier, for the soldier begins. When the Yard Birds Come to Town sung by 12-man chorus.
- ch15. LP & AM sing You're Good for My Morale
- ch15. LP, AM & large male chorus sings It's a Swelluva Life in the Army onstage
- ch16. drill footage with Hey Rookie reprise by large male chorus.
Between the musical numbers we have novice soldiers being trained, and getting ready to put on the show (building the stage, etc.) Joe Besser demonstrates why he would be a good fit for the 3 Stooges ('57-'59 per Wikipedia). Joe Sawyer does his usual Sergeant-y thing.
This is short on AM tapping, which might be the effect of some lost footage (see ch10 above.) And I would have preferred more Condos Bros.
This is a pretty good musical (plenty of performance within 77 mins.) It's not so great that I'd really recommend it. But my rating is influenced by the fact that this title has only 19 votes right now, averaging 7.3. So I'm bumping up from 6+ to 7-, hoping that a clean print would do that anyway. And I've been thinking that all my 6+'s should turn into 7's.
Columbia, dir. Barton; 7-
