6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thanks For the Memories, May 9, 2005
This review is from: Entertaining the Troops [VHS] (VHS Tape)
This documentary of how Hollywood mobilized to support our troops at home and abroad during WWII is unequaled. It is by far the finest of its kind ever made and everyone needs to own this warm and affectionate tribute to both the troops and those who did all they could to keep morale up when the outcome was in doubt.
There are wonderful still photos and film footage supplemented by modern day interviews with no less than Dorothy Lamour, Maxene Andrews, Frances Langford, Bob Hope, Patty Thomas and Tony Romano. The latter four were all part of Bob's troupe, who sit around a patio table and remember what those tours were really like.
It shows shots of Clark Gable, Alan Ladd, Jimmy Stewart and Glenn Miller, who served during the war. Miller would not come home. But it mostly deals with how Hollywood went all out to do everything possible for the country and the troops. The documentary moves very swiftly and is entertaining and mesmerizing.
It shows the importance of radio shows like Mail Call going out to the troops by request and the Andrew Sisters and others making V-Discs for them. The Andrew Sisters would bring a little of home to G.I.'s in camps everywhere and Maxene shares her memories of their tours in the modern day.
There is footage of Bing and Bob and Bogie, and Abbot and Costello, and rare footage of G.I. Jill. Dinah Shore is shown giving a tour of The Hollywood Canteen. On that particular night, a laughing Hedy Lamarr would sign autographs for the boys, who were greeted at the door by no less than a smiling Deanna Durbin and Lana Turner. Red Skelton would make the soldiers laugh for awhile. As Dorothy Lamour points out in a modern day interview, there was a happy atmosphere in Hollywood as everyone came together to hold up morale so we could win the war.
Irene Dunne, Ronald Colman, Greer Garson and Hedy Lamarr are shown boarding the war bond train with 50 other major and minor Hollywood stars to tour the country raising funds for the war effort. It was Dorothy Lamour who led the way in this effort. She recounts how she had been inspired by Mary Pickford's efforts during WWI selling war stamps.
It was Lamour who got in touch with the Secretary of Treasury and volunteered to sell bonds. She sold an incredible 300 million in cash going all over the country while Paramont supported her and worked around her war bond schedule. Footage of Carole Lombard giving a speech selling bonds becomes all the more poignant as we hear Lamour relate how it was she who had recommended Lombard as someone who would unselfishly help out the effort. Lombard would become a casualty of war when her plane crashed coming home to her husband Clark Gable from an Indiana war bond rally and she was lost forever.
There is a heavy dose of USO camp tours with some priceless film footage. Jack Benny and Carole Landis are shown hamming it up for the boys. But it is the incredible footage of Bob Hope and his troupe that anchor this portion. They share their memories as those still remaining at the time this documentary was filmed set down and reminisce.
Bob recalls a dangerous landing in which they almost lost their lives, and Frances Langford recalls her "Purple Hearts Diary" column for the Hearst papers, which was born out of their visits to the hospitals. Bob and Jerry Colonna would act crazy and do anything to brighten the spirits of the injured young men. A young and drop dead beautiful Patty Thomas would remind the boys what they were fighting for.
Frances Langford let her emotions show too much at first, but after Bob took her aside she learned not to cry every time she saw the wounded. Her columns were poignant and showed those back home just what kind of sacrifice their sons and husbands were making for their country. There is some great footage of that gang giving shows to the troops. Hope and Colonna would horse around, Patty would look pretty in skimpy outfits and dance up a storm, and Frances would sing wonderful songs like "I'll Be Seeing You" and "I'm In the Mood For Love." The boys were starved for "back home" and Frances gave it to them.
Hope and the gang all agree that it was their privilege to entertain the troops, no matter how bad or dangerous it got. He recalls one particular show they were talked into doing when they were all sick. He only found out later that 60 percent of that group was lost a few days later in battle. He was glad they'd done the show and so were the others.
There is so much that is great here it can't be described. It's all crammed into a breezy 90 minutes that goes by faster than a fighter jet. You'll find yourself watching this multiple times over the years just as I have. This may never have a DVD release so you may as well resign yourself to picking this one up whatever you have to do. A documentary everyone needs to own.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
