Up in Arms (1944)

Hypochondriac Danny Weems gets drafted into the army and makes life miserable for his fellow GIs. He's also lovesick when it comes to pretty Mary Morgan, unaware that she's in love with his... See full summary »

Director:

Elliott Nugent

Writers:

Don Hartman (original screen play), Allen Boretz (original screen play),

Stars:

Danny Kaye, Dinah Shore, Dana Andrews

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Danny Kaye	...	Danny Weems
Dinah Shore	...	Virginia
Dana Andrews	...	Joe
Constance Dowling	...	Mary Morgan
The Goldwyn Girls
Knox Manning	...	Narration (voice)
Louis Calhern	...	Colonel Ashley
George Mathews	...	Blackie
Benny Baker	...	Butterball
Elisha Cook Jr.	...	Info Jones
Lyle Talbot	...	Sgt. Gelsey
Walter Catlett	...	Major Brock
George Meeker	...	Ashley's Aide
Tom Keene	...	Ashley's Aide (as Richard Powers)
Margaret Dumont	...	Mrs. Willoughby

Storyline

Hypochondriac Danny Weems gets drafted into the army and makes life miserable for his fellow GIs. He's also lovesick when it comes to pretty Mary Morgan, unaware that she's in love with his best friend Joe.

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Plot Keywords:

best friend | hypochondriac | army | dream | ship | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 March 1944 (Brazil)

Also Known As:

Anyámasszony katonája

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Samuel Goldwyn Company, The, Avalon Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was the first time that Danny Kaye appeared with Virginia Mayo who went on to star with him in four additional films. She appears as one of the "Goldwyn Girls".

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Connections

Featured in Moments in Music (1950)

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Soundtracks

"All Out For Freedom"
(1944)
Music by Harold Arlen
Lyrics by Ted Koehler
Sung by soldiers boarding the ship and during the end credits

User Reviews

I just got up off the ground laughing

As a general Rule, I hate Hollywood musicals - Certain Musicals. This is just my personal taste and no offense to those who love musicals. Mostly because, and I bet a lot of people will agree with me, the music is just badly written. Always there are exceptions to the rule, and one of those being Danny Kaye (Another being Kay Kaiser).

The Technicolor on this is just fantastic and the music and lyrics are of the best of the Danny Kaye films. It is a great comedy on it's own having a pretty hilarious premise and several incidents that have you howling in laughter even after 60 years or so. Danny Kaye is a dailectition of superb talent, and his fake Scottish in this movie is hilarious.

Finally, Danny Kaye was a Musical genius, and I do not know any other entertainer who could use his flapper and a musical instrument as well. I have laughed Long Hours due to this guy all through my life, even if I have seen the film several times! Hahaha! Dinah Shore has a real swell number as well- Kind of in the middle of the film. I like Dinah Shore as his "leading lady" - I like how she is dressed, I love the sharp shoulders on her costumes, she was about as odd as he was. And this oddity is what made this film so classic. His most beautiful leading lady was always Virginia Mayo, but Shore is really funny and so it is a good match up.

Of course there is the Danny Kaye­™ "Dream Sequence" and this one is fantastic. I love the flaming Women Torches- Goldwyn always made a little mini production out of those sequences. I don't know if Danny himself suggested these, but several of his movies have them and "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" Practically consists of them. Wonder Man is another. So of course "Up in Arms" has a couple very good imagination sequences like that, including the ending.

But nothing is as good as Kaye standing in front of a full Orchestra, dementing the music. This film has one scene in particular, where you can certainly say, that music, used as a comedy tool, works very well.