1h 5min | Comedy, Musical, Romance | 9 November 1942
Director: Alexis Thurn-Taxis
Stars: Henry King, Mary Healy, Jack Heller
watched online, mediocre copy.
Look at the initials of the studio: PRC (and that's what they show onscreen). Is this where the nickname Poverty Row came from, or did they name the company to mock it?
I only recognize Maxie Rosenbloom (a real-life former boxer), playing a former boxer.
This is a blatant propaganda film to stir up the populace for war. Here are the 4 of the 5 song titles, all written by 2 composers + 2 lyricists, and the composers were the storywriters for the film:
- The Yanks Are Coming
- I Must Have Priorities On Your Love (referring to priorities set on resources for war production/ support of armed forces)
- There Will Be No Blackout Of Democracy (blackouts as a precaution against air raids)
- Zip Your Lip (don't share information about the military, don't spread rumors)
The songs are pretty good. Not Rodgers and Hart good, but ok. They are dead on-point, but why not?
The refreshing thing here, likely only "refreshing" because I'm watching in time sequence, is that one of the characters objects to being recruited. He only wants to serve if he can be at least a captain, and goes so far as to propose that to the authorities. (He can avoid the draft because his elder brother is already serving.) The weakness of the story is that he changes his mind, and his personality, rather suddenly. We see an event that disrupts him, but don't really get a clue why it turns him in the direction it does.
If asked to recommend movies to show the attitudes about the war, I'd include this. But as a film, it's not great, and likely there's no good print publicly available.
Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC), dir. Thurn-Taxis; 6-
