2h 1min | Comedy, Musical, War | 14 August 1943 | Color
Director: Michael Curtiz
Stars: George Murphy, Joan Leslie, George Tobias, Ronald Reagan.
LeRoy Prinz ... production number stager (as Leroy Prinz)
Robert Sidney ... production number stager (as M/Sgt. Robert Sidney)
Official release, but seemingly faded color (looking at the faces). Then again, it's a lot of army uniforms, which are not colorful.
23 songs in the Soundtracks by Irving Berlin, all say 'sung by' someone. Also stated there, Mandy is Choreographed by lead dancer Fred Kelly (brother of Gene), dancing with chorus, but the number is in blackface for the men, and tropical makeup for the men in drag, so confirming that is FredK is not possible. But the man in the purple trousers does dance well. I like the choreography, and especially like the fact that the men in drag are doing the same movements as the men in blackface. None of the movement is subservient nor gender specific, despite the extreme specificity of the costumes. The one exception: at the end, the 'women' jump into their partners' arms horizontally, and FK looks like he's struggling as the curtain descends.
In the Tap! Appendix for Stumpy Cross, George Murphy, Fred Kelly. In the Soundtracks, it states That's What the Well-Dressed Man in Harlem Will Wear is Performed by James Cross, unidentified tap partner, and Chorus with speed bag accompaniment by Joe Louis. Well, James Cross is Stumpy, and the unidentified partner looks exactly like Eddie Hartman from Ship Ahoy ('42), namely Stump & Stumpy, and part of their routine is the same as they did there. The chorus men do an excellent job of tapping a non-trivial routine in unison.
Tap dancing is used well in multiple places, but all of it is men, because that's the premise here: servicemen putting on shows for servicemen.
The commentary track, almost all by Dr. Drew Casper (with Joan Leslie for a chunk of time) is interesting. I won't say more to let me enjoy it again fresh; in fact, I'd advise listening to the c.t. BEFORE watching the film next time. For me, the film needs help being appreciated fully. For instance, the finale, with lots of soldiers singing and moving onstage: per the c.t. that's 500 men all moving at once, and doing it well. WB built the biggest sound stage yet for the film.
But the storyline and acting gets in the way for me. And some of the vaudevillian comedy does too. So if I follow my own advice, and do c.t. first, and still don't like the film better than 6, I should recommend to myself to skip the story, and ffwd to the dancing.
In the Tap! Appendix for Stumpy Cross, George Murphy, Fred Kelly. In the Soundtracks, it states That's What the Well-Dressed Man in Harlem Will Wear is Performed by James Cross, unidentified tap partner, and Chorus with speed bag accompaniment by Joe Louis. Well, James Cross is Stumpy, and the unidentified partner looks exactly like Eddie Hartman from Ship Ahoy ('42), namely Stump & Stumpy, and part of their routine is the same as they did there. The chorus men do an excellent job of tapping a non-trivial routine in unison.
Tap dancing is used well in multiple places, but all of it is men, because that's the premise here: servicemen putting on shows for servicemen.
But the storyline and acting gets in the way for me. And some of the vaudevillian comedy does too. So if I follow my own advice, and do c.t. first, and still don't like the film better than 6, I should recommend to myself to skip the story, and ffwd to the dancing.
Warner, dir. Curtiz; 6
