Star Spangled Rhythm (1942)
Victor Moore, whose voice will worm his way into anyone’s heart, is a lowly security guard at Paramount Studios. His son is in the Navy and is under the impression his dad has been promoted to Vice President, so when he gets on leave, Victor has to think fast to keep up the charade. Luckily, he’s got a friend in the secretarial department, Betty Hutton, and she comes up with a genius scheme to fool the boys. She impersonates several different secretaries on the phone and manages to get the real VP, Walter Abel, banned from the studio lot so Victor can take his place in the office! Poor Walter—but his scenes are absolutely hilarious. If the entire movie was this part of the plot, it would be great.
Unfortunately, the rest of the movie is chock-full of lousy songs and skits to entertain the soldiers. This one of those variety shows that brought dozens of stars together to entertain the troops. Most of these types of movies aren’t very good, and while this one is definitely at the top end, the songs are terrible and the variety show that gets put on during the last half-hour of the film is incredibly boring. Still, if you watch this one, you’ll get to split your sides laughing at Victor Moore and Walter Abel’s antics. You’ll also get to see Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Fred MacMurray, Cecil B. DeMille, Preston Sturges, Veronica Lake, Dorothy Lamour, Franchot Tone, Paulette Goddard, William Bendix, Alan Ladd, Ray Milland, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, Arthur Treacher, Sterling Holloway, Vera Zorina, Mary Martin, Jerry Colonna, Macdonald Carey, Marjorie Reynolds, and Susan Hayward for about five minutes each.
To be fair, not every number in this movie is terrible. There’s a hilarious sketch entitled “If Men Played Cards Like Women” during which Franchot Tone, Fred MacMurray, Ray Milland, and Lynne Overman recite female dialogue with straight faces. For example, Franchot leaves to get Ray a glass of water, and immediately after he’s gone, the other three lean in to each other. “I wanted to get that water myself,” Ray says, “I’m just dying to get a look at his new kitchen.” “If it’s anything like his bathroom, it’s a mess,” Fred concludes. They end the skit by all jumping on their chairs in fear of a mouse. In a mostly silent skit, Bob Hope hides from William Bendix in the shower so William doesn’t suspect Bob of having an affair with his wife. “This woman is as honest as the day is long,” Bob maintains. Jerry Colonna pops out of the closet and says, “It was a short day, wasn’t it?”
Want to watch it? Click here to watch it on ok.ru. And thanks "Classic Movies Kristine Rose" for posting!
More Bing Crosby movies here!
More Susan Hayward movies here!
Unfortunately, the rest of the movie is chock-full of lousy songs and skits to entertain the soldiers. This one of those variety shows that brought dozens of stars together to entertain the troops. Most of these types of movies aren’t very good, and while this one is definitely at the top end, the songs are terrible and the variety show that gets put on during the last half-hour of the film is incredibly boring. Still, if you watch this one, you’ll get to split your sides laughing at Victor Moore and Walter Abel’s antics. You’ll also get to see Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Fred MacMurray, Cecil B. DeMille, Preston Sturges, Veronica Lake, Dorothy Lamour, Franchot Tone, Paulette Goddard, William Bendix, Alan Ladd, Ray Milland, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, Arthur Treacher, Sterling Holloway, Vera Zorina, Mary Martin, Jerry Colonna, Macdonald Carey, Marjorie Reynolds, and Susan Hayward for about five minutes each.
To be fair, not every number in this movie is terrible. There’s a hilarious sketch entitled “If Men Played Cards Like Women” during which Franchot Tone, Fred MacMurray, Ray Milland, and Lynne Overman recite female dialogue with straight faces. For example, Franchot leaves to get Ray a glass of water, and immediately after he’s gone, the other three lean in to each other. “I wanted to get that water myself,” Ray says, “I’m just dying to get a look at his new kitchen.” “If it’s anything like his bathroom, it’s a mess,” Fred concludes. They end the skit by all jumping on their chairs in fear of a mouse. In a mostly silent skit, Bob Hope hides from William Bendix in the shower so William doesn’t suspect Bob of having an affair with his wife. “This woman is as honest as the day is long,” Bob maintains. Jerry Colonna pops out of the closet and says, “It was a short day, wasn’t it?”
Want to watch it? Click here to watch it on ok.ru. And thanks "Classic Movies Kristine Rose" for posting!
More Bing Crosby movies here!
More Susan Hayward movies here!