Tnis is at best a very uneven film, with very misleading billing. Humphrey Bogart, who gets first billing, appears for about 3 minutes in a very forgettable and poorly done cameo. (No, he doesn't try to sing.) Olivia de Havilland and Ida Lupino appear together in a rather mediocre dance number. Bette Davis, though she can't sing, puts in a great appearance singing "They're either too young or too old," and Errol Flynn does a remarkably good job with his song and dance number. Alexis Smith looks very elegant and graceful in her dance number, though it is true that she is lifted through the air by various male dance partners as much as she actually dances herself, which helps. Still, she looks very beautiful for her 3 minutes of screen time. Ann Sheridan looks good in her song too, but it is so mediocre that there's not much she can do with it, and since she doesn't get to do any glamorous dancing, the number is forgettable.. The same applies to Jack Carson and Alan Hale, both very talented actors, who get saddled with a truly dead song and dance duo.
In fact, the weakest element in this movie is the music, which is almost all forgettable.
These various cameo appearances are fitted into a frame: Dennis Morgan is trying to break into show biz as a singer, while EE Horton and SZ Sakall, who are way down on the billing, are trying to put on a charity variety show. The three of them, plus Eddie Cantor, who plays himself and is very funny doing so, are the actual stars of this movie, though you would never guess it from the billing. All four are good.
There are other forgettable musical numbers, including several with Dinah Shore, who comes off as having no personality, a rousing if forgettable number for Black singers and dancers in which Hattie McDaniel holds up her own, and a monologue of sorts with John Garfield that's not half bad, but only because he's a good actor.
In short, a largely mediocre effort. If you like any of the stars who do the cameos, you will want to see them do their 3-5 minute bits. If you're looking for 2 hours of entertainment - this movie runs just over 2 hours - you won't find it here, though.
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I've just watched it again two years later. Perhaps I'm in a more charitable mood, but this time I got more pleasure out of it. It really only works if you know the work of the various actors who appear, as most of them either play against type - like Errol Flynn or his frequent side-kick, Alan Hale - or satirize themselves, like John Garfield, who is really very good playing a highly exaggerated version of his usual tough guy. Ann Sheridan is a knockout in her number, thanks to her dress and the way she moves; you really don't notice that she wasn't a great singer. That's the case for most of these cameo performances: they're done by often very fine actors who didn't normally sing and dance on screen. Most seem to be having a good time doing something they didn't usually get to do, and none of them embarrass themselves. Bette Davis definitely couldn't sing, but she brings off her number through sheer personality. The same goes for many of the others.
If you don't know the classic Warner Brothers movies of the 30s and early 40s, this won't hold you. If you know how these stars normally appeared, you may get a kick out of seeing them do something very different, or making fun of what they normally did.
In fact, the weakest element in this movie is the music, which is almost all forgettable.
These various cameo appearances are fitted into a frame: Dennis Morgan is trying to break into show biz as a singer, while EE Horton and SZ Sakall, who are way down on the billing, are trying to put on a charity variety show. The three of them, plus Eddie Cantor, who plays himself and is very funny doing so, are the actual stars of this movie, though you would never guess it from the billing. All four are good.
There are other forgettable musical numbers, including several with Dinah Shore, who comes off as having no personality, a rousing if forgettable number for Black singers and dancers in which Hattie McDaniel holds up her own, and a monologue of sorts with John Garfield that's not half bad, but only because he's a good actor.
In short, a largely mediocre effort. If you like any of the stars who do the cameos, you will want to see them do their 3-5 minute bits. If you're looking for 2 hours of entertainment - this movie runs just over 2 hours - you won't find it here, though.
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I've just watched it again two years later. Perhaps I'm in a more charitable mood, but this time I got more pleasure out of it. It really only works if you know the work of the various actors who appear, as most of them either play against type - like Errol Flynn or his frequent side-kick, Alan Hale - or satirize themselves, like John Garfield, who is really very good playing a highly exaggerated version of his usual tough guy. Ann Sheridan is a knockout in her number, thanks to her dress and the way she moves; you really don't notice that she wasn't a great singer. That's the case for most of these cameo performances: they're done by often very fine actors who didn't normally sing and dance on screen. Most seem to be having a good time doing something they didn't usually get to do, and none of them embarrass themselves. Bette Davis definitely couldn't sing, but she brings off her number through sheer personality. The same goes for many of the others.
If you don't know the classic Warner Brothers movies of the 30s and early 40s, this won't hold you. If you know how these stars normally appeared, you may get a kick out of seeing them do something very different, or making fun of what they normally did.