During World War II, a big drive to get homefront women to help the war effort by enlisting in the WAVES (the Women's Naval Reserve) makes the Alison twins, Rosemary and Susie (both played by Betty Hutton, pictured at left), leave—temporarily—their nightclub singing gig to join up. Rosemary, a brunette and 12 minutes older than her sister, is the quieter, more sensible twin; Susie is blond and rambunctious and acts like a teenager. She also has a huge crush on Johnny Cabot (Bing Crosby), a Sinatra-like crooner who makes young girls scream when he sings. Meanwhile, Johnny, turned down for service due to being colorblind, and his buddy Windy (Sonny Tufts), a sailor on leave, meet up with the Alison sisters (Windy knows them already) and Susie becomes even more determined to become Johnny's one and only—though Johnny finds himself falling for the more demure Rosemary. Soon, the Navy loosens its restrictions and allows Johnny in, which is important to him as he comes from a Navy family. He's excited about getting ship duty, but when Susie sees a sign asking for ideas to help recruitment, she sends in an anonymous suggestion that Johnny put together a big show (in order to keep him in port and near her). The big shots like the idea and soon, Johnny is reluctantly facing life away from active service. Rosemary, who was getting sweet on him, thinks that Johnny made the suggestion himself to avoid ship duty. The four of them keep playing tricks on each other to either advance or impede romances until all is cleared up at the last minute, just before Johnny's ship is ready to sail.
Crosby was on a hot streak in the movies in the 40s: the Road movies with Bob Hope, Holiday Inn, Going My Way (for which he won an Oscar). But between classics, he made some films that have not stood the test of time so well, and this is one. The strong propaganda element is just one of the reasons this has dated. Another is Bing's relatively lazy performance—he seems to know that this is second-rate material and glides through it, waiting to get back to his radio show, or his next classic (which would be The Bells of St. Mary's). But there are some pleasures to be had. I was impressed with Betty Hutton, an actress I've never taken to. Here, she does a nice job of playing two completely different personalities. As Susie, she plays up her usual persona of a feisty, in-your-face attention getter, but she's even better as Rosemary, dialing down her energy and her quirks to create such a different kind of character, you almost wonder if that really is Betty Hutton. Crosby's scenes with Tufts, who comes off a little like a dopey second-string John Wayne, play well. The two of them(pictured at right) sing "Accentuate the Positive," which was nominated for an Oscar and went on to become a standard; unfortunately, they perform it in blackface, for no plot-driven reason, so it's uncomfortable to watch. I was sure that Tufts was lip-synching to someone else, but it turns that he started in show business as a singer. Crosby also has some fun portraying a Sinatra knock-off, even doing a little Sinatra parody when he sings "That Old Black Magic." I enjoyed seeing Noel Neill, TV's Lois Lane on the 1950s Superman series, get a slice of the spotlight during a musical comedy sequence, "If Waves Acted Like Soldiers"—during which Crosby gets to do some effeminate mincing as he did from time to time. Not one of Crosby's best, but interesting as period propaganda. [DVD]
During World War II, a big drive to get homefront women to help the war effort by enlisting in the WAVES (the Women's Naval Reserve) makes the Alison twins, Rosemary and Susie (both played by Betty Hutton, pictured at left), leave—temporarily—their nightclub singing gig to join up. Rosemary, a brunette and 12 minutes older than her sister, is the quieter, more sensible twin; Susie is blond and rambunctious and acts like a teenager. She also has a huge crush on Johnny Cabot (Bing Crosby), a Sinatra-like crooner who makes young girls scream when he sings. Meanwhile, Johnny, turned down for service due to being colorblind, and his buddy Windy (Sonny Tufts), a sailor on leave, meet up with the Alison sisters (Windy knows them already) and Susie becomes even more determined to become Johnny's one and only—though Johnny finds himself falling for the more demure Rosemary. Soon, the Navy loosens its restrictions and allows Johnny in, which is important to him as he comes from a Navy family. He's excited about getting ship duty, but when Susie sees a sign asking for ideas to help recruitment, she sends in an anonymous suggestion that Johnny put together a big show (in order to keep him in port and near her). The big shots like the idea and soon, Johnny is reluctantly facing life away from active service. Rosemary, who was getting sweet on him, thinks that Johnny made the suggestion himself to avoid ship duty. The four of them keep playing tricks on each other to either advance or impede romances until all is cleared up at the last minute, just before Johnny's ship is ready to sail.
Crosby was on a hot streak in the movies in the 40s: the Road movies with Bob Hope, Holiday Inn, Going My Way (for which he won an Oscar). But between classics, he made some films that have not stood the test of time so well, and this is one. The strong propaganda element is just one of the reasons this has dated. Another is Bing's relatively lazy performance—he seems to know that this is second-rate material and glides through it, waiting to get back to his radio show, or his next classic (which would be The Bells of St. Mary's). But there are some pleasures to be had. I was impressed with Betty Hutton, an actress I've never taken to. Here, she does a nice job of playing two completely different personalities. As Susie, she plays up her usual persona of a feisty, in-your-face attention getter, but she's even better as Rosemary, dialing down her energy and her quirks to create such a different kind of character, you almost wonder if that really is Betty Hutton. Crosby's scenes with Tufts, who comes off a little like a dopey second-string John Wayne, play well. The two of them(pictured at right) sing "Accentuate the Positive," which was nominated for an Oscar and went on to become a standard; unfortunately, they perform it in blackface, for no plot-driven reason, so it's uncomfortable to watch. I was sure that Tufts was lip-synching to someone else, but it turns that he started in show business as a singer. Crosby also has some fun portraying a Sinatra knock-off, even doing a little Sinatra parody when he sings "That Old Black Magic." I enjoyed seeing Noel Neill, TV's Lois Lane on the 1950s Superman series, get a slice of the spotlight during a musical comedy sequence, "If Waves Acted Like Soldiers"—during which Crosby gets to do some effeminate mincing as he did from time to time. Not one of Crosby's best, but interesting as period propaganda. [DVD]
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