June Allyson and a young Gloria De Haven made a very appealing stage pair of sisters, especially for the many men far from home in wartime. Thus, I suppose that we, in subsequent decades, can excuse the overly drawn out quest to discover the identity of their unbelievably generous anonymous benefactor, which occupies much of the time between musical numbers. This gives us more time to be with the girls and their colorful surrogate father, Jimmy Durante. However, it's rather disconcerting to have June often sad and sometimes crying over her apparently fruitless crush on Van Johnson's character: John Brown III: a navy sailor from a local family.The actual screen play is total nonsense, if sometimes intriguing. Tom Drake( the boy next door in "Meet Me in St. Louis") plays an army NOC from an onion-growing Texas farm, who competes with Van for Gloria's attention. Durante is the girls' down and out elderly show business friend. In the later part of the film, Henry Stephenson, as Van's wealthy grandfather, supplements Durante as the girls' surrogate father and adviser in romantic matters.(The girls' vaudevillian parents inexplicably vanished after the first scene of the film, when the girls were just tiny tots).
I think most people would agree that the musical highlights of the film include the following:(1) the "Sweet and Lovely", followed by "A-Tisket-a-Tasket", duet by the girls, backed by the Harry James Orchestra (2)a series of closely spaced performances, beginning with another duet by the girls: "A Love Like Ours", backed by the James Orchestra, quickly followed by the Xavier Cugat Orchestra, first featuring Lina Romay doing the "Rhumba Rhumba", then backing Carlos Ramirez's excellent rendition of "Granada". (3) The June-James collaboration in "Young Man With the Horn" and (4)Durante's classic "Inka Dinka Doo". Helen Forrest's "In a Moment of Madness", James' "Estrellita", and Lina Romay's all too brief "Babalu" were also good, as was Lina's somewhat comical dance with Ben Blue. If you would like to see more of Lina, she did several stage numbers, as well as being a significant part of the drama, in the complex Randoph Scott western "The Man behind the Gun". Columbian Carlos Ramirez would again be the featured singer in the elaborate "Begin the Beguine" production in the Porter biop "Night and Day". The "Take It Easy" number briefly featured several singers, but mostly focused on Virginia O'Brien. I would have much preferred focusing on the gorgeous Wilde twins and skipping the signature wide-eyed deadpan performance of O'Brien. For a better look at the Wilde twins, check out "Andy Hardy's Blonde Troubles", or "Twice Blessed", as well as a very brief song bit in "'Til the Clouds Roll By".
Why, oh, why was Lena Horne given a song with lyrics obviously meant for a man (like Nat Cole) to sing??. To see her at much better advantage, check out the Technicolor "Broadway Rhythm", released the same year, "'Til the Clouds Roll By", or the B&W "Stormy Weather". Why was famous comedienne Grace Allen just given an idiotic sour note piano recital to do??. Why wasn't she teamed with Durante(in the absence of George Burns) for a comedic skit or scene?? Why weren't Van Johnson's vaudevillian talents exploited in his interactions with the girls, instead of his being presented as a rather faceless sailor?? Perhaps we could then better understand the girls' sudden infatuation with him. To me, Jose Iturbi's diverting inclusion in the drama and musical performances didn't really add anything significant. Check out "Anchors Aweigh" or "Music for Millions" for a much more favorable presentation of his piano talent. I would much rather have listened to another of Helen Forrest's better songs, or another classic Latin song by Carlos Ramirez, or perhaps a duet by Carlos and Lina Romay, or a number by Van and one or more of the Deyo or Wilde sisters.
In summary, while this B&W musical-variety show hybrid includes some classic musical performances, and the stars provide a generally good time, given all the talent included, it could have been much better. Also, it would have been nice if MGM had splurged and filmed it in Technicolor, as they had the previous year with "Best Foot Forward", which also featured June and Gloria, among others. Gloria was also featured in two other MGM musicals in '44: the B&W "Step Lively", with Sinatra and George Murphy, and the Technicolor musical-variety show hybrid "Broadway Rhythm". I can't tell you which of the 3 is best, they are all so different. June was reunited with Durante and Jose Iturbi that same year in the wartime drama-musical "Music for Millions". A few years later, she would again be teamed with Durante, with Kathryn Grayson replacing De Haven as her sister, in the B&W musical comedy "Two Sisters from Boston". I haven't seen either these, but reviewers generally say they are good.
I think most people would agree that the musical highlights of the film include the following:(1) the "Sweet and Lovely", followed by "A-Tisket-a-Tasket", duet by the girls, backed by the Harry James Orchestra (2)a series of closely spaced performances, beginning with another duet by the girls: "A Love Like Ours", backed by the James Orchestra, quickly followed by the Xavier Cugat Orchestra, first featuring Lina Romay doing the "Rhumba Rhumba", then backing Carlos Ramirez's excellent rendition of "Granada". (3) The June-James collaboration in "Young Man With the Horn" and (4)Durante's classic "Inka Dinka Doo". Helen Forrest's "In a Moment of Madness", James' "Estrellita", and Lina Romay's all too brief "Babalu" were also good, as was Lina's somewhat comical dance with Ben Blue. If you would like to see more of Lina, she did several stage numbers, as well as being a significant part of the drama, in the complex Randoph Scott western "The Man behind the Gun". Columbian Carlos Ramirez would again be the featured singer in the elaborate "Begin the Beguine" production in the Porter biop "Night and Day". The "Take It Easy" number briefly featured several singers, but mostly focused on Virginia O'Brien. I would have much preferred focusing on the gorgeous Wilde twins and skipping the signature wide-eyed deadpan performance of O'Brien. For a better look at the Wilde twins, check out "Andy Hardy's Blonde Troubles", or "Twice Blessed", as well as a very brief song bit in "'Til the Clouds Roll By".
Why, oh, why was Lena Horne given a song with lyrics obviously meant for a man (like Nat Cole) to sing??. To see her at much better advantage, check out the Technicolor "Broadway Rhythm", released the same year, "'Til the Clouds Roll By", or the B&W "Stormy Weather". Why was famous comedienne Grace Allen just given an idiotic sour note piano recital to do??. Why wasn't she teamed with Durante(in the absence of George Burns) for a comedic skit or scene?? Why weren't Van Johnson's vaudevillian talents exploited in his interactions with the girls, instead of his being presented as a rather faceless sailor?? Perhaps we could then better understand the girls' sudden infatuation with him. To me, Jose Iturbi's diverting inclusion in the drama and musical performances didn't really add anything significant. Check out "Anchors Aweigh" or "Music for Millions" for a much more favorable presentation of his piano talent. I would much rather have listened to another of Helen Forrest's better songs, or another classic Latin song by Carlos Ramirez, or perhaps a duet by Carlos and Lina Romay, or a number by Van and one or more of the Deyo or Wilde sisters.
In summary, while this B&W musical-variety show hybrid includes some classic musical performances, and the stars provide a generally good time, given all the talent included, it could have been much better. Also, it would have been nice if MGM had splurged and filmed it in Technicolor, as they had the previous year with "Best Foot Forward", which also featured June and Gloria, among others. Gloria was also featured in two other MGM musicals in '44: the B&W "Step Lively", with Sinatra and George Murphy, and the Technicolor musical-variety show hybrid "Broadway Rhythm". I can't tell you which of the 3 is best, they are all so different. June was reunited with Durante and Jose Iturbi that same year in the wartime drama-musical "Music for Millions". A few years later, she would again be teamed with Durante, with Kathryn Grayson replacing De Haven as her sister, in the B&W musical comedy "Two Sisters from Boston". I haven't seen either these, but reviewers generally say they are good.