Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
very good musical and big name stars--but forget that flimsy plot, February 11, 2008
This Is The Army is a star studded musical with so many song and dance numbers it's amazing they squeezed in a plot! Indeed, the plot is perhaps the flimsiest of any musical plot I've ever seen. Dancer Jerry Jones (George Murphy) stages a show to boost morale after he's recruited into World War I; and after he's injured in the war he works as a theatrical producer. Jerry's song, Johnny Jones (Ronald Reagan), follows in his father's footsteps with his own involvement in World War II helping to stage shows to raise money for the war campaign during World War II.
The only other theme in the plot is Johnny Jones's refusal to marry his girlfriend until after the war ends. Will she wait for him or leave him? Watch the movie and find out!
But the real value of this movie is yet to come. The plot is merely an excuse for a parade of musical numbers that are extremely entertaining. In addition to George Murphy dancing and Ronald Reagan acting, we get a cameo by Frances Langford as she sings "What Does He Look Like." Kate Smith sings her signature song "God Bless America" with two rarely heard opening verses; and Joe Louis shows off his boxing strength during a song and dance number. Irving Berlin himself even performs; he sings "Oh How I Hate to get Up in the Morning" with George Murphy and other very talented people onstage.
The sets are not very well made although the set for the air corps musical number from the World War II show stunned me with its props. In addition, there have been a number of comments regarding how uncomfortable some people felt seeing too many numbers with men in women's clothing. The men really only wore the clothing in three or four numbers at most; and I think at the time it was all meant in good fun. When I read what one or two reviewers wrote I half expected to see men wearing women's clothing all the way through the picture! That was not the case. There is, however, an embarrassing blackface number that reflects the insensitivity of the times toward African-Americans. Ouch!
I agree with the reviewer who writes that the quality of this print is awful. The print is scratched, poorly pasted together and at times a few seconds seem to have been either cut out of the film or simply lost. They need to restore this print fast; and the sound quality wasn't the best, either. Sigh.
Overall, This Is The Army provides a rather simple, forgettable plot as an excuse to display a marvelous assortment of excellent, strong musical numbers. I highly recommend this film for lovers of classic movie musicals; and fans of the stars in this film will enjoy this also.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
You get what you pay for., November 20, 2005
Though this is a classic musical, this release is a rip off. The quality is what you'd expect a pirated copy would be. The video is faded, scratched up and dirty. The audio is almost nonexistant. I had my surround system up to 60% just to hear it and was blasted at the end.
Save your money on this pig in a poke.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Entertainment!, November 8, 2006
Held together by a flimsy plot, this is 2 hours of sheer enjoyment, with a variety of entertainment, from show-stopping tap dance numbers, comedy skits, an acrobatic number, and even magic tricks, and the film also includes of course, two actors that were to become political figures, our 40th president, Ronald Reagan, and U.S. Senator from California (1965-71) George Murphy.
Reagan looks fantastic in this film where he plays stage manager Johnny Jones. His presence and stature, lean and broad-shouldered, is amazing, as is his warmth and charm. This, as well as "Kings Row", are my two favorite Reagan films that I've seen so far. Lt. Reagan only made his military pay for this film ($250.00 a month) while Murphy earned $28,000.00...and Irving Berlin, whose terrific score earned him an Oscar, donated his proceeds to the Army Emergency Relief Fund.
Expertly directed by Michel Curtiz, Irving Berlin's music is a delight (we get to hear him sing "Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning"), and the choreography by LeRoy Prinz and Robert Sidney is outstanding.
The film, which has the feel of a revue, starts out with Berlin's WWI show, "Yip ! Yip ! Yaphank", and segues into the WWII section, with the next generation performing the show (Reagan plays Murphy's son). Based on the Broadway show that toured the nation and the world as a morale booster for the military, "This is the Army" is an unpretentious and jolly gem, and though some of the numbers are "politically incorrect" for this day and age, those same numbers are also the best in the show, like "Mandy", which is done in blackface, "That's What the Well-Dressed Man in Harlem Will Wear" (brilliantly danced by a man who is uncredited, and also featuring boxing champ Joe Louis), and a choice sequence, the humorous "Stage Door Canteen", with the burliest of the men in drag, and marvelous impersonations of actors, the best being "Herbert Marshall" speaking on the qualities of a hamburger.
The songs include:
"For Your Country and My Country" Gertrude Nielsen & Chorus
"My Sweetie", George Murphy & Chorus
"Poor Little Me, I'm on KP", George Tobias & Chorus
"We're on Our Way to France", George Murphy & Chorus
"God Bless America", Kate Smith
"What Does He Look Like", Frances Langford
"This is the Army Mr. Jones", Sidney Robin, William Roerich, Henry Jones & Chorus
"I'm Getting Tired so I can Sleep", James Burell & Chorus
"Mandy", Ralph Magelssen & Chorus
"Ladies of the Chorus", Alan Hale & Chorus
"That's What the Well-Dressed Man in Harlem Will Wear"
"How About a Cheer for the Navy", Chorus
"Hostesses of the Stage Door Canteen", Chorus
"I Left My Heart at the Stage Door Canteen", Earl Oxford
"American Eagles/With My Head in the Clouds", Robert Shanley & Chorus
"Oh How I Hate to get Up in the Morning", Irving Berlin, George Murphy, George Tobias, Charles Butterworth & Chorus
"This Time We Will All Make Certain", Robert Shanley & Chorus.
Though far from being great, this film has qualities that deserve the highest merit; for the superb tap dancing and the energetic talent of the performers and for the unabashed patriotism Hollywood has long forgotten, this is 5 star family viewing.
(DVD buyers beware...there are several editions available, with some having a "bootleg" quality, and some mighty awful...though still quite enjoyable if the price is right)
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