1h 39min | Comedy, Musical, Romance | 18 December 1944
Director: Mark Sandrich
Stars: Bing Crosby, Betty Hutton, Sonny Tufts.
Daniel Dare ... choreographer (as Danny Dare)
Sam Ledner ... dance supervisor: "That Old Black Magic" sequence (uncredited)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036912/
4th of 26 film credits for ST (b. 1911); he's familiar from The Seven Year Itch ('55), the only other film I own where he's credited. Apparently the song Accentuate the Positive with BC (both in blackface) was really his voice, since he studied opera; no trace of opera in his delivery here. He died at age 58 in '70, with his last film credit in '67.
BH plays twins, one reserved, the other manic (and already a rabid fan of BC before meeting him). When BC is allowed to join the navy, BH (manic one first) join the Waves. In order to be near BC, she sends in a letter, supposedly from BC, suggesting he organize a recruitment show for the Waves, which will include the BH twins who sing/dance. Both twins fall for BC, and manic tries to eliminate the competition with ST's help.
Because manic BH is disdained by characters onscreen, she's less annoying to me.
10 songs, some with production numbers.
A wonderful song, That Old Black Magic, is turned to mush here by showing BC super-crooning it with a huge (controlled) flame burning onstage behind him. I say super-crooning, because he's even more syrupy and does more trills than his usual delivery. Plus he looks really bored; I wonder if that was Keely Smith's inspiration for her persona (although she's also sarcastic; she's the "owner" of that song in my mind. I actually thought it was a Louis Prima tune, but it's listed on this IMDb Soundtrack as Arlen & Mercer. Lots of major singing stars have recorded this.)
The film ends with a film within it (projected onstage behind the live performers), showing a bevy of jobs that women are filling in the Navy so the men can fight. The singers (large female chorus) even state outright: Join the Navy as the last lyric/line of the film. (No, not In the Navy from The Village People: different generation.)
A solid documentary 10-20 min short would have been as effective, or more so. And we wouldn't have to suffer through ST, double BH and bored BC. Maybe if this had some good comic support: a Eugene Pallette or EEHorton, Franklin Pangborn, Donald Meek, Charles Butterworth, Charles Ruggles, Eric Blore... (A woman would have to be serious with this recruiting theme. Although maybe the twins could have a meddling mother/aunt/agent: Spring Byington, Billy Burke, Helen Broderick, Marjorie Main, Alice Brady, Elisabeth Patterson, Zasu Pitts, Eve Arden...)
Previously rated 6; not horrid enough to downgrade.
Paramount, dir. Sandrich; 6-
