Pretty rotten cinema came out of PRC for this World War II musical that does absolutely nothing for the war effort. It's about a movie star (William Reynolds) and bandleader (Henry King) who enlist and end up putting on the big all soldier show. When the two Jewel duet at the very beginning, I had to look up to make sure that one of them singing was not Frances Langford and indeed it was one of the men who was singing in a high-pitched voice. And that's the movie star. It's ironic to see someone cast as a movie star who in real life could never be a movie star, and to be cast in the lead of a musical at a poverty row seats indicates that someone behind the scenes was just desperate to get it done.
For semi name value, there are two funny men of the 1930s, big dumbbell Maxie Rosenbloom and heavy accented Harry Parke AKA Parkyakarcass. The issue here is that the material simply isn't funny. The songs all have a generic patriotic sound to them with one warning number, "Zip Your Lip", filled with hideous rhyming lyrics. There's an attempt at a romantic triangle that falls flat, leaving little interest in the story at all. One clever moment does happen when King and his band go in one door in civilian clothes and come out another in uniforms. Other than that, this is truly a forgettable movie musical that will never be compared to any of the musicals that came out of the A Studios. In fact, I'll take any of the Andrews Sisters B musicals from Universal and watch them in a marathon over sitting through this hour long misfire ever again.
For semi name value, there are two funny men of the 1930s, big dumbbell Maxie Rosenbloom and heavy accented Harry Parke AKA Parkyakarcass. The issue here is that the material simply isn't funny. The songs all have a generic patriotic sound to them with one warning number, "Zip Your Lip", filled with hideous rhyming lyrics. There's an attempt at a romantic triangle that falls flat, leaving little interest in the story at all. One clever moment does happen when King and his band go in one door in civilian clothes and come out another in uniforms. Other than that, this is truly a forgettable movie musical that will never be compared to any of the musicals that came out of the A Studios. In fact, I'll take any of the Andrews Sisters B musicals from Universal and watch them in a marathon over sitting through this hour long misfire ever again.