The Girls He Left Behind (1943)
"The Gang's All Here" (original title)

A soldier falls for a chorus girl and then has trouble because he is posted to the Pacific.

Director:

Busby Berkeley

Writers:

Walter Bullock (screenplay), Nancy Wintner (story),

Stars:

Alice Faye, Carmen Miranda, Phil Baker

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Alice Faye	...	Edie Allen
Carmen Miranda	...	Dorita
Phil Baker	...	Phil Baker
Benny Goodman	...	Benny Goodman
Benny Goodman Orchestra	...	Benny Goodman's Orchestra
Eugene Pallette	...	Andrew Mason Sr.
Charlotte Greenwood	...	Mrs. Peyton Potter
Edward Everett Horton	...	Peyton Potter
Tony De Marco	...	Tony
James Ellison	...	Andy Mason
Sheila Ryan	...	Vivian Potter
Dave Willock	...	Sgt. Pat Casey
Bando da Lua	...	Dorita's Orchestra

Storyline

Playboy Andy Mason, on leave from the army, romances showgirl Eadie Allen overnight to such effect that she's starry-eyed when he leaves next morning for active duty in the Pacific. Only trouble is, he gave her the assumed name of Casey. Andy's eventual return with a medal is celebrated by his rich father with a benefit show featuring Eadie's show troupe, at which she's sure to learn his true identity...and meet Vivian, his 'family-arrangement' fiancée. Mostly song and dance.

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Plot Keywords:

chorus girl | dance | soldier | variety | nightclub | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Portuguese

Release Date:

24 December 1943 (USA)

Also Known As:

Banana split

Filming Locations:

Stage 16, 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Busby Berkeley was free to do this film because Arthur Freed had him fired from Girl Crazy after he shot the film's ending number, "I Got Rhythm", due to Judy Garland's collapse due to overwork. Norman Taurog took over the direction of "Girl Crazy" and, rather than pay him his contract salary for not working, MGM loaned Berkeley to 20th Century-Fox for this film.

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Goofs

As the passengers disembark the ship within the first 3 minutes of the film, a series of mechanical-looking large shadows can be easily seen moving across the painted backdrop of buildings intended to be far in the distance.

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Quotes

Mrs. Peyton Potter: [after meeting Dorita] That hat! I'd better watch my lampshades and bell-cords!

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Connections

Featured in Busby Berkeley: Going Through the Roof (1998)

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Soundtracks

"Silent Señorita"
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Leo Robin
Sung by the chorus toward the end of the "Lady in the Tutti Frutti Hat" number

User Reviews

Yes, they have some bananas

I'll get to the plot of "The Gang's All Here" in a minute, because the plot isn't the most memorable part of this movie. The most memorable part is the bananas.

About 20 minutes into the movie, a towering hat of Technicolor fruit appears on the screen, followed by its owner--'40s "Brazilian bombshell" Carmen Miranda. She proceeds to do a number called "The Lady in the Tutti-Frutti Hat," accompanied by chorus girls who bear bananas. Six-foot-tall bananas that continuously droop and sprout until number's end, when the chorus girls, worn out by the burden of this mutated fruit, lay down for a long siesta on a stage dressed up like an island.

There's a reason this number occurs so early on: It takes you the rest of the movie to convince yourself you actually saw this in a 1943 movie.

But then, this is Busby Berkeley, a director who staged his musical numbers as though he was declaring war. And next to kitsch, war is pretty much the motivator here.

The wafer-thin story involves Andy (James Ellison), a soldier who woos and wins Edie (Alice Faye), a canteen dancer, the night before Andy goes off to World War Two. In what seems an instant, Andy gets decorated and returned home to a victory party thrown by the family of Andy's childhood sweetheart and fiancee--who, unfortunately for Edie, is not Edie.

Will the heartbreak be resolved? Do you really care? The plot is mostly an excuse for some snappy repartee between major '40s stars (in particular, Eugene Pallette and Edward Everett Horton are hilarious), and the kind of musical numbers that seem to drop out of thin air. (In a couple of scenes, Benny Goodman and his orchestra stroll by and do some songs just for the heck of it.)

"The Gang's All Here" is really a 1943 time capsule, but an eye-popping rouser of one. They don't make 'em like this anymore. They didn't make 'em much like this back then, either. It's not out on video or DVD, so look for its sporadic broadcasts on cable TV.