The Gang's All Here (1943)

A soldier falls for a chorus girl and then experiences trouble when he is posted to the Pacific.

Director:

Busby Berkeley

Writers:

Walter Bullock (screenplay), Nancy Wintner (story)

Stars:

Alice Faye, Carmen Miranda, Phil Baker

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Alice Faye	...	Edie Allen
Carmen Miranda	...	Dorita
Phil Baker	...	Phil Baker
Benny Goodman	...	Benny Goodman
Benny Goodman and His Orchestra	...	Benny Goodman's Orchestra (as Benny Goodman Orchestra)
Eugene Pallette	...	Andrew Mason Sr.
Charlotte Greenwood	...	Mrs. Peyton Potter
Edward Everett Horton	...	Peyton Potter
Tony De Marco	...	Tony
James Ellison	...	Andy Mason
Sheila Ryan	...	Vivian Potter
Dave Willock	...	Sgt. Pat Casey
Bando da Lua	...	Dorita's Orchestra

Storyline

Playboy Andy Mason, on leave from the army, romances showgirl Eadie Allen overnight to such effect that she's starry-eyed when he leaves next morning for active duty in the Pacific. Only trouble is, he gave her the assumed name of Casey. Andy's eventual return with a medal is celebrated by his rich father with a benefit show featuring Eadie's show troupe, at which she's sure to learn his true identity...and meet Vivian, his 'family-arrangement' fiancée. Mostly song and dance.

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Plot Keywords:

national film registry | song and dance | brass band | disembodied head | man wearing a top hat | 

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Taglines:

What a gang of song hits! (Trade paper ad).

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Portuguese

Release Date:

24 December 1943 (USA)

Also Known As:

Banana split

Filming Locations:

Stage 16, 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The songs for this film were originally written for the eventually abandoned MGM picture "Babes in Hollywood".

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Goofs

Boom mic shadow on wall as Edie enters Vivian's bedroom.

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Quotes

Tony De Marco: [noticing Vivian Potter for the first time] You are beautiful!
Mrs. Peyton Potter: He speaks English!
Edie Allen: Its wolf talk, that's international.

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Connections

Referenced in The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter (1980)

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Soundtracks

Let's Dance
(uncredited)
Written by Gregory Stone, Josef Bonime and Fanny Baldridge

User Reviews

You've Never Seen Anything Like It

Something between a fever-dream and a screwball comedy, THE GANG'S ALL HERE is the Fox Musical at its most extravagant. With everthing from Charlotte Greenwood doing her trademarked high-kick routine to Carmen Miranda in a ten-story banana headdress, there's never a dull moment (that might let you concentrate too closely on the plot, which can most charitably be described as serviceable). The picture is a carnival of character bits, ridiculous shtick, and mind-boggling transitions. Edward Everett Horton gets covered with Carmen's lipstick and claims it's ketchup -- "Yes, and from a Brazilian tomato!" ripostes his wife (Greenwood, who really is terrific here). Eugene Pallette growls "Don't be a square from Delaware!" when he wants his pal Horton to get hep and join in the latest dance sensation. A New York nightclub has a stage large enough for what looks like all of a tropical island (for Carmen's immortal "Lady in the Tutti-Frutti Hat" number, truly a Freudian nightmare), and a number set in a Westchester backyard features more trick fountains than two Esther Williams epics.

In the end, it all just stops, with a 30-second plot resolution ("oh, yes, didn't I tell you? He's loved you all along!" or some such) in order to make room for the finale, the most dizzying number yet: a paean to the polka-dot (featuring Alice Faye's most effortful emoting ever on the line "...But the Polka Dot...Lives...On!") that segues into a ballet featuring neon hoops, vast rolling dots, kaleidoscopic trick photography, and, finally, an endearingly primitive blue-curtain effect that shows the heads of all the principals (and hundreds of chorus girls) bouncing along to a reprise of the hit ballad "A Journey to a Star." Well, THE GANG'S ALL HERE may not be quite that, but it's certainly a journey into a different era in filmmaking.