Hey, Rookie (1944)

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... See full summary »

Director:

Charles Barton

Writers:

Doris Colvan (play), E.B. 'Zeke' Colvan (play),

Stars:

Ann Miller, Joe Besser, Larry Parks

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ann Miller	...	Winnie Clark
Joe Besser	...	Pendelton (Pudge) Pfeiffer
Larry Parks	...	Jim Leighter
Joe Sawyer	...	Sergeant
Jimmy Little	...	Bert Pfeiffer
Selmer Jackson	...	Col. Robbins
Larry Thompson	...	Capt. Jessop
Barbara Brown	...	Mrs. Clark
Charles Trowbridge	...	Gen. Willis
Charles C. Wilson	...	Sam Jonas
Syd Saylor	...	Cpl. Trupp
Doodles Weaver	...	Maxon
Hi-Lo Jack and the Dame	...	Specialty
Harry Condos	...	Specialty (as The Condos Brothers)
Frank Condos	...	Specialty (as The Condos Brothers)

Storyline

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 a camp show, hears about his task and offers him his help. He thinks, she does it for her publicity only, so he doesn't want to know anything about this, till he finds out, that she has no such intentions.

---

Plot Keywords:

big band | sergeant | based on play

---

Taglines:

Smiles and Miles of Entertainment!

---

Genres:

Musical

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 April 1944 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Forrest J Ackerman's film debut.

---

Connections

Featured in The Lady with the Torch (1999)

---

Soundtracks

"Streamlined Sheik"
Written by Henry Myers, Edward Eliscu and Jay Gorney
Danced by Ann Miller

User Reviews

Morale Booster for the Nation at War

I love this movie... it has funny bits of business and great songs like "I Hear Taps" and "You're Good For My Morale", sung by Larry Parks and Ann Miller. The story is about Jim Leighter (Parks), a producer of hit musicals, who enlists in the Army during wartime. He wants to forget about his ex sweetheart (Miller) who walked out on his last production. Leighter's C. O. at Fort MacArthur directs him to put on a show for the men and some visiting Army brass on two hundred and fifty dollars... in his spare time... and in three weeks. How will he do it, especially since his ex girlfriend has shown up to "help" him?

Joe Besser is a delight as "Pudge", a lazy "rookie" who pitches in to help. Besser later became one of the Three Stooges. Also appearing uncredited in the cast is Forrest J Ackerman, the famed "Mr. Science Fiction", in his very first cameo. Forry was the real life editor of the Fort MacArthur Bulletin/Alert that is shown in the picture.