Hollywood Canteen

Almost every face in this movie was a notable star but only a handful are remembered today. A few, like Joe E. Brown, I knew only from caricatures in cartoons.

The musical performances are the best part, in fact, I fast-forwarded through most of the cringe-worthy story sections to concentrate on those. The story almost seems like a horrible joke on any real servicemen who might have seen this.

As others have noted, one of the highlights is the Golden Gate Quartet number. I've read that studios had to plan scenes with substantial black performers ( i.e. those not portraying servants) so that they could be cut from the movie without damaging the story. Southern white audiences demanded that. It is very much in evidence here. Unlike most of the other musical segments they have no tie-in with the action on the floor.

Too bad someone couldn't come up with a better story to tie it all together but the time-capsule nature of it makes up for some of that.