Pin Up Girl (1944)

Glamorous Lorry Jones, the toast of a Missouri military canteen, has become "engaged" to almost every serviceman she's signed her pin-up photo for. Now she's leaving home to go into ... See full summary »

Director:

H. Bruce Humberstone

Writers:

Robert Ellis (screen play), Helen Logan (screen play),

Stars:

Betty Grable, John Harvey, Martha Raye

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Betty Grable	...	Lorry Jones aka Laura Lorraine
John Harvey	...	Tommy Dooley
Martha Raye	...	Molly McKay
Joe E. Brown	...	Eddie Hall
Eugene Pallette	...	Barney Briggs
Skating Vanities	...	Specialty Skaters
Dorothea Kent	...	Kay
Dave Willock	...	Dud Miller
The Condos Brothers	...	Specialty Dancers (as Condos Brothers)
Charlie Spivak	...	Himself
Charlie Spivak Orchestra	...	Themselves

Storyline

Glamorous Lorry Jones, the toast of a Missouri military canteen, has become "engaged" to almost every serviceman she's signed her pin-up photo for. Now she's leaving home to go into government service (not, as she fantasizes, to join the USO). On a side trip to New York, her vivid imagination leads her to True Love with naval hero Tommy Dooley; but increasingly involved Musical Comedy Complications follow.

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Plot Keywords:

canteen | love | roller skating | showbiz | deception | 

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Taglines:

Your No. 1 BoxOffice Star In Her No. 1 BoxOffice Hit!

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical | Romance | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 April 1944 (USA)

Also Known As:

Imagine Us

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$1,615,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to the 'Hollywood Reporter', the "midget comedy weight-lifters" Hercules and Dolly were listed as being as part of this movie's cast but they do not feature in the final film as it is.

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Connections

Featured in The Story of Film: An Odyssey: Episode #1.5 (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Yankee Doodle Hayride"
(uncredited)
Music by James V. Monaco
Lyrics by Mack Gordon
Performed by Martha Raye with Charlie Spivak and His Orchestra
Danced by the Condos Brothers

User Reviews

Patriotic delirium ..."Red Robins, Bobwhites and Bluebirds" ??

Betty Grable and Fox capitalizing (but not crassly) on the musical star's real-life pin-up status with WWII-era soldiers by casting her as a Washington, D.C. secretary who moonlights on the weekends as an entertainer with the U.S.O. Via some innocent and girlish, wide-eyed deception, she wins the heart of a Naval war hero who is led to believe she's a Broadway headliner. Grable doesn't sport the one-piece swimsuit she wears in that legendary pin-up, nor she does exploit her famous legs. Rather, she's displayed here as a nice, decent, small town lass who has somehow allowed several dozen soldiers to propose marriage to her (she doesn't take the offers seriously, so why should the men?). In between fabrications and costume changes, Grable sings, dances, and (most improbably) gets to play drill sergeant to a large company of WAC's in precision march. This last number is quite a mad capper for the picture, which maniacally represents a bygone era of nightclubs, canteens, novelty songs, and rollerskating dancers sporting red, white, or blue ostrich-feather fans. Martha Raye sings too (and gets to have a surprisingly catty side) before she and Grable's pal Dorothea Kent are both unceremoniously forgotten about midway through the film. ** from ****