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| Star Spangled Rhythm - 1942 |
Coming up next we have 1942's "Star Spangled Rhythm" a celebrity filled film about a young man coming home on shore leave to see his father. He presumes his dad is a movie executive, and he is in for quite a surprise when the truth comes out.
The film's cast includes Victor Moore, Betty Hutton, Eddie Bracken, Walter Abel, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Franchot Tone, Fred MacMurray, Ray Milland, Lynne Overman, Dorothy Lamour, Paulette Goddard, Veronica Lake, Mary Martin, Dick Powell, Alan Ladd, William Bendix, Jerry Colonna, Susan Hayward, Arthur Treacher, Walter Catlett, Sterling Holloway, Cecil B. DeMille, Preston Sturges, Vera Zorina, Gary Crosby, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Anne Revere, Irving Bacon, Tom Dugan, and Barbara Pepper.
Johnny Webster and his buddies are excited to be on a little shore leave from the US Navy during World War II. Once on dry land, they have one destination in mind: Hollywood.
He calls up his dad, who he believes is a big movie executive at Paramount Studios, to let him know that he is bringing a bunch of friends to see where his dad works.
The truth is that his dad, Pop Webster, is just a gateman at the studio. He was a big name during the silent film era. After his film career ended, he didn't want his son to think bad of him for being a gateman. So, he invented a loftier career for himself.
Pop talks with Johnny's fiancée Polly, who works at Paramount as a telephone operator. Polly comes up with a plan.
They "borrow" the office of an executive who is off the lot, and make a few changes.
Then with a wardrobe change, Pop is all set to be the big-shot producer by the time Johnny arrives.
He even treats Johnny and his friends to some free drinks, all courtesy of the office's owner.
Of course, Pop does get a little carried away. He insults such big-time directors as Cecil B. DeMille (The Ten Commandments) and Preston Sturges (The Lady Eve/The Palm Beach Story).
When Polly takes the boys on a tour of the studio, Pop gets back to his post at the studio gates. The executive whose office he borrowed comes back on the lot, and Pop is very nervous that he will find out about what he was up to.
As the boys get ready to leave, Pop tells them it's too bad they can't stay longer, because he would organize a show with a lot of stars for the guys.
Well, Johnny thinks that's a great idea, and without consulting Pop, he goes right to his commanding officer and tells him about the idea for the show. Of course, the ship captain thinks it's wonderful.
While Pop and Polly are trying to organize a few celebrities for the show, they get caught by the executive and his secretary and are fired on the spot.
Now, poor Pop has to address an auditorium full of naval staff who are expecting to see some stars and a show. He tries to tell them that the whole show is off and that he is very sorry. Pop gets very confused when the audience begins to clap wildly and excitedly.
Unbeknownst to him, Polly succeeded in getting the stars to do the show. They rally behind Pop, who couldn't be more excited to see the faces of such people as Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour.
The show begins with Bob Hope as the M.C. His opening joke starts the night off. "How do you do, fellas? This is Bob 'Paramount' Hope telling you sailors
to use a certain toothpaste and you’ll
always have the right kind of film on your teeth."
He introduces Paulette Goddard, Dorothy Lamour, and Veronica Lake, who are "three very unhappy ladies of the silver screen". In a very amusing song, they bemoan the image the studio has made them portray. They seem to be eternally clad in "a sweater, a sarong, and a peekaboo bang."
Of course, they give credit where credit is due. "For these costumes that we wear we take no credit. And we'd like to tell you all from whence they sprang. Three designers that we know set the fashion long ago. Mussolini, Hirohito, and a Peekaboo Bang."
There is also a beautiful staged dance by Norwegian ballerina Vera Zorina. The dance and the scenery are very striking together.
My personal favorite of the performances is a sketch called "If Men Played Cards As Women Do". It's absolutely hilarious. Fred MacMurray sits down and complains about shopping all day and having a run in his socks. "I'll be glad when summer comes and I can go without socks," he says as he tries to pinch together the run.
And when the host goes to get one of them a glass of water, the gossip commences. Ray says, "I wanted to get that water myself. I'm just dying to see his kitchen." To which Lynne replies, "If it's anything like his bathroom, it's a mess."
And when Ray spots a mouse, all four men jump on table and chairs and hike up their pantlegs. "Somebody get a broom," yells out Lynne.
Eddie "Rochester" Anderson has a hip song called "Sharp As A Tack" that gets the room swaying.
Bob Hope does a funny bathtub sketch. He's having a good old time playing with his navy when an air raid warden comes in and tells him they've got to go.
The warden is shocked when Bob stands up wearing a pair of trunks. "Well you never know who's gonna drop in," Bob tells the warden.
Bing Crosby does a big finale number called "Old Glory", which extolls the virtues of America and all that she stands for. "This is your future, yours and mine. There aren’t any Germans, Italians, or Japs
gonna push us off our hard
won, homemade Rand McNally maps." He also sings about the things that made America great. "How about Washington? I mean all three. George and Martha and Booker T."
As Bing sings, the bugle blows for Johnny and his crewmates to ship out. Johnny says goodbye to Pop and Polly as he walks out to his ship with his friends. (By the way, the head of the studio gets Pop and Polly new jobs when he hears about everything they've gone through to get the show together.)
While the men are leaving the auditorium, Bing sings, "We hail them, and we won't fail them. Old Glory flies on."
Cast rundown:
Victor Moore......................................Pop Webster
Betty Hutton......................................Polly Judson
Eddie Bracken....................................Johnny Webster
Walter Abel........................................B.G. DeSoto
Bing Crosby.......................................Himself
Bob Hope..........................................Himself
Fred MacMurray..................................Himself
Franchot Tone....................................Himself
Ray Milland........................................Himself
Lynne Overman..................................Himself
Dorothy Lamour..................................Herself
Paulette Goddard................................Herself
Veronica Lake.....................................Herself
Mary Martin........................................Herself
Dick Powell........................................Himself
Alan Ladd..........................................Himself
William Bendix...................................Himself
Jerry Colonna.....................................Himself
Susan Hayward..................................Herself
Arthur Treacher...................................Himself
Walter Catlett.....................................Himself
Sterling Holloway................................Himself
Cecil B. DeMille...................................Himself
Preston Sturges..................................Himself
Vera Zorina........................................Herself
Gary Crosby.......................................Himself
Eddie "Rochester" Anderson.................Himself
Anne Revere.......................................Sarah
Irving Bacon......................................New England Farmer
Tom Dugan........................................Adolf Hitler
Barbara Pepper...................................Blonde
And that's it for Star Spangled Rhythm. Besides what we've profiled here, there were some other pretty great performances, such as a segment with Dick Powell, Mary Martin, and the Golden Gate Quartet. A sketch during the show by Bob Hope and William Bendix is also very well done. This film was made as a morale booster, with the intent to be shown to the troops overseas. Filming was done at Paramount Studios and also at the Naval Training Center in San Diego, California.
