Review of This Is the Army

This World War 2 movie directed by Michael Curtiz of 1942's Casablanca fame, adapted from the 1942 Broadway musical by Irving Berlin was designed to boost war time morale in the U.S. Film was made for the Army Emergency Relief Fund and it made lots of money. The stage version had no plot, but this film is a lot better with a story, even if the story is very loose ended. The movie is mostly about Irving Berlin's time in both wars trying to pull all soldier show. Irving Berlin's story is being told by the character of Jerry Jones (George Murphy) who served his country during World War 1 by putting up a musical call 'Yip Yip Yaphank'. Like Berlin, he notice how successful, it was, with his enlistment son, Johnny (Ronald Reagan) try to use the show to gather up money. George Murphy was amazing in the role. You can't help feeling emotional when he reunited with his old war buddies to do the 'Yip Yip Yaphank' number again. Reagan looks fantastic in this film where he plays stage manager Johnny Jones. Its sucks that he can't sing, but at less, he can acted. Both pair of future California politicians were great. Irving Berlin even show up in the film. He composed most of the film's 19 songs, and broke screen protocol at the time by singing one of them. He performed, 'Oh! I hate getting up in the morning'. I have to say, while Berlin is one of the greatest song writers in the world, he isn't one of the best singers. The movie very mirrors, how the stage play went, even to the point, where the entire cast march off to 'We're on Our Way to France'. One song he didn't use was 'God bless America' which became a huge success later on, when singer Kate Smith sang the song on Armistice Day in 1938. Her performance in the film is probably one of the main highlights. Kate Smith is not the only personal celebrity to be in the film, as there are many others. One of the weirdest ones is boxer Joe Louis. Thank Goodness, he didn't sing at all, but honestly, he can't even act. I can't barely understand what he was saying. Besides because use for marketing to get Black Americans to see the show; he was pretty much useless. Honestly, I have a love/hate relationship with this movie when dealing with black characters. For good side, I'm glad, Berlin integration the army before the army did. Still, it was a bit 'mess up' to see soldiers in black face doing musical numbers. Then have Blacks dancers appear on stage simultaneously. I really can't love the "That's What the Well-Dressed Man in Harlem Will Wear" and 'Mandy' number, but it was well done. I know it came with the times where minstrel shows were popular, but gees "politically incorrect" right there. Also, I didn't like the dance number because it had little to do with the Army life. The whole Latin American dances seem out of place. I know US was trying to gain Latin America's countries support for the war effect at the time, but men in drags wasn't what Latin Americans wanted to see it. It was deem offending to them. Another scene that seem out of place is the whole celebrity spoof impersonation about hamburger. It's spoof Broadway stars, but it wasn't really funny. The comedy skit, after the first dance number was a little better. The whole Canteen scene was a bit odd. I had this whole vibe that it was supposedly a brothel due to the lyrics. Plus, they even had a madam type character in the play. I know, the burliest of the men in drag was used for laughs AKA "Ladies of the Chorus" number, but the whole scene in the Canteen had this homosexuality sexual orientation feel to it. I didn't mind it, but I thought women who served were under look in this movie. I know it has a all-male military-cast; but as have a Army Nurse Corp number. Frances Langford sings "What Does He Look Like" was great. Needed more of that. I love how the show is nearly hijack by the US Navy. I also love the Air Corps number, "American Eagles/With My Head in the Clouds". What an emotional number. Although the core of the movie consists of the musical numbers, the movie also contains a veneer of a plot involving the wartime love interests of both the father and the son. A sub-plot running the movie was Johnny telling his sweetheart that they cannot marry until he returns, since he doesn't want to make her a widow, but they find themselves going against their feelings. Glue together by this plot, this movie is 2 hours of great variety of entertainment, from show-stopping tap dance numbers, an acrobatic number, and even magic tricks. I love the comedy of the magic tricks. Overall, my favorite song is "This is the Army Mr. Jones". The only other song contemporary audiences might still recognize besides 'God Bless America'. "This Time We Will All Make Certain" was a great song for the ending. Some critics hate it for being propaganda. My answer to that is yes, it is propaganda and so what. It was better than what Europe was propaganda at the time. The film hasn't aged well, as it full of scratches and discoloring. At times, a few seconds of film seem to be either cut out of the film or just lost over time. The sound quality isn't that good as well. Some DVDs out there have a horrible quality so watch out. Since the movie is in the Public Domain, you can pretty much find it anywhere. A good quality is kinda rare. Though far from being great, this film has qualities that deserve the highest merit.