5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautifully Acted Feel Good Drama!!, December 21, 2002
By A Customer
Sissy Spacek stars as a second rate wartime USO Girl entertainer trying to make the bigtime.It's a beautifully acted feel good movie!!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Verna- Little Girl, Big Dreams, August 30, 2009
This review is from: Verna - USO Girl (Broadway Theatre Archive) (DVD)
It was at least 10 years ago when I first saw "Verna - USO Girl." I never forgot this story and the poignant portrayal by Sissy Spacek. I was thrilled when I found I could get it from Amazon. This film was everything I remembered, and more. I'm sharing it with everyone I can get to sit still long enough and we cry every time.
Jere Covington
Claremore OK
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A little gem, May 26, 2009
This review is from: Verna - USO Girl (Broadway Theatre Archive) (DVD)
I bought this DVD some time ago but only got around to playing it on the occasion of Memorial Day 2009. I'm glad I did. The talent - actors, writers, direction - is top-notch which is rather surprising since it was a made-for-TV production (i.e., small budget). It was shown nationwide by PBS as part of the Great Performances series on January 25, 1978 and then dropped out of sight.
What gives it an aura of authenticity is that it was filmed on location on US Army combat training centers in Germany. I suspect that the soldiers in the film were loaned by the US Army to be "extras." The same with the military equipment.
The cast is top notch. The hard part for them is playing "down" to the talent level of their characters who are essentially vaudevillians. Sissy Spacek in the title role is very convincing as someone who imagines that she is on her way to stardom but really has only "third-rate talent." (Two years later she won an Oscar for her role in "Coal Miner's Daughter" and has received many awards since.)
One curiosity. There is no mention of Howard Da Silva on the keep case and yet he has a big role in the film. Amazon corrects that oversight - deservedly so.
This is apparently a transfer from VHS. Indeed, the original production may have been originally taped for TV. There is a warning screen on the DVD that the conversion to digital exposes the flaws in the original media. Never mind. As the story unfolds, you won't care.
Finally, this little film is a tribute to all the USO troupers - men and women who slogged through the mud, danced in the dirt, sang in the tropical sun and the rain, lived in tents, bounced around in trucks, told bad jokes and took big risks in combat zones and military bases around the world - who gave what talent they had so GIs could have a laugh and see some feminine pulchritude if only for a little while.
God Bless Them All.
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