This short, made in 1940, has many caricatures of Hollywood celebrities who were popular at the time. Many subtle (and not so subtle) references are made. Here is the complete list of celebrities, in order of appearance, along with relevant notes:
OPENING
The film opens with a printed invitation to Jack's party. The coupon for a free lunch (for 50 cents) is a poke at Jack's on-screen stinginess.
Jack Benny (as "Jack Bunny") and Mary Livingstone (Benny's real-life wife and partner until her retirement) appear. Livingstone pokes fun at Jack's outfit and weight. ----
GUESTS ARRIVING AND LEAVING:
Bob Hope walks in.
Bette Davis walks in, dressed as Queen Elizabeth from her 1939 movie "The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex".
Andy Devine, a regular on Benny's show, walks in with his trademark "Hiya Buck!", which he frequently used.
Spencer Tracy walks up to Mary with the line "Miss Livingstone, I presume," a parody of his 1939 movie "Stanley and Livingstone".
As this happens, Kay Kyser pops in from the left, in the cap and gown he wore on his "Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge", and does his signature high-speed "That's it! That's it! Yeah yeah yeah yeah!"
Robert Donat leaves, dressed as he was in his "Goodbye Mr. Chips" role, and Livingstone delivers that line.
---
FIRST BEACH SCENE (left to right)
Carole Lombard, Don Ameche, Fred MacMurray, Loretta Young, Robert Taylor
---
FOR SALE SIGN of rafts:
George Raft, with his well-known coin flipping, a trick he learned when making "Scarface" (1932). Raft got stereotyped as a heavy and never really broke out of that mold during his career.
---
ON THE WATER:
Clark Gable, floating against the current,
Greta Garbo, trying to surf in oversize shoes (and no surfboard). This was a barb at her allegedly large feet, which got a bit of media attention in the day. In reality, Garbo's feet were said to be size 8AA.
---
SCENE FROM JULIUS CAESER AT BEACH:
Cesar Romero is laying on the sand, and John Barrymore delivers the line "I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him" and starts shoveling sand.
--- COVER YOU WITH SAND SCENE:
Ned Sparks, with his signature deadpan face and grumbling, is laying on the sand. Fanny Brice, in her "Baby Snooks" role, comes up and asks him if she can cover him with sand.
Sparks's deadpan expression was so well-known, the it was said to have insured his face for $100,000 with Lloyds of London, such to be paid if anybody could make him smile. It turned out later that it was a publicity stunt.
---
SECOND BEACH SCENE (Before entertainment): left-to-right:
Charles Boyer (seated), Adolphe Menjou (standing), Claudette Cobert, James Cagney, Alice Faye
---
ORCHESTRA, DANCE SCENE, AND ARIA:
Eddie Anderson (as Benny's longtime servant Rochester (here "Winchester"), with another shot at Benny's miserliness.
Phil Harris, Benny's longtime orchestra leader, (as "Pill Harris") calls Benny "Jackson", something he did frequently on Benny's show.
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers do a dance number.
An unnamed girl, probably a caricature of Deanna Durbin, sings a brief excerpt from Arthur Penn's aria "Carissima". The aria was actually sung by Warner Brothers studiosinger Gloria Curran, who would repeat the number in the 1947 cartoon short "Back Alley Oproar". Durbin even manages to bring a slow, painful smile to Ned Sparks's face.
As Durbin is singing, we see Mickey Rooney, in his Andy Hardy role, preening. Durbin throws the flower his way, but it goes to Cary Grant instead.
Of course, no Jack Benny party would be complete without Jack playing the violin. This manages to clear out the entire guest list, and even Winchester/Rochester tries to leave. The short fades with Jack's customary "Good night, folks."
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