So You Want To Be In Pictures (1947)

 

So You Want To Be In Pictures - 1947

Coming up next is 1947's "So You Want To Be In Pictures", an installment in the "So You Want To..." franchise.  This time Joe McDoakes is headed to Hollywood to be an actor, and it's a lot tougher than he anticipated.

The film's cast includes George O'Hanlon, Art Gilmore, Jack Carson, Robert Hutton, Joan Leslie, Fredric March, Janis Paige, Ronald Reagan, Alexis Smith, Martha Vickers, George Chandler, and Bess Flowers.

So you want to be in pictures.  You want to work for a big movie studio like Warner Brothers?

You want to come home at the end of a day's filming to a fashionable Bel Air mansion?

You want to attend those big Hollywood premiers and sign autographs like Joan Leslie?

You want to eat at fashionable restaurants and have your name called over the loudspeaker for everyone to hear?

Well, first you have to learn your craft.  Joe McDoakes is currently doing just that.  He's taking some acting lessons by recording.  These lessons teach him to use voices and mannerisms just like Charles Boyer and Ronald Colman.

Unfortunately for Joe, when he gets a call from the studio for a job, the only thing he can do are Charles Boyer and Ronald Colman accents, which are not what the director is looking for.

While Joe is searching for the perfect part, we are introduced to a few of the studio stars who have made it big, including Ronald Reagan, Janis Paige, Alexis Smith, Wayne Morris, Robert Hutton, and Martha Vickers.

Finally, a part is found for Joe.  It's not much, but it's definitely something!

He gets to be actor George O'Hanlon's stand-in.  It's not a great day at the office when you get a pie in the face.  But, hey, never turn down work, right?

Cast rundown:

   George O'Hanlon...............................Joe McDoakes/Himself

   Jack Carson......................................Man Giving Directions

   Robert Hutton...................................Himself

   Joan Leslie........................................Herself

   Fredric March....................................Himself

   Janis Paige........................................Herself

   Ronald Reagan..................................Himself

   Alexis Smith......................................Herself

   Martha Vickers...................................Herself

   George Chandler................................Sammy

   Bess Flowers.....................................Woman At Brown Derby

   Art Gilmore.......................................Narrator

And that's it for So You Want To Be In Pictures.  I love the narrator's familiarity with all the actors in the film.  "There's Ronnie Reagan!" and "There's Robert Hutton and Martha Vickers.  Hiya, kids!"  It's great fun.  It's hilarious to watch George O'Hanlon put on a Charles Boyer accent.

As always, if you wish to leave a comment, please remember our posting rules.