Monthly Archives: November 2023

Musical Monday: Oh! What a Lovely War (1969)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Oh! What a Lovely War (1969) – Musical #758

oh what a lovely war

Studio:
Paramount Pictures

Director:
Richard Attenborough

Starring:
The Smith family: Wendy Allnutt, Colin Farrell, Malcolm McFee, John Rae, Corin Redgrave, Maurice Roëves, Paul Shelley, Kim Smith, Angela Thorne, Mary Wimbush

Extended guest star appearances: John Mills, Dirk Bogarde, Phyllis Calvert, Jean-Pierre Cassel, John Clements, John Gielgud, Jack Hawkins, Kenneth More, Laurence Olivier, Michael Redgrave, Vanessa Redgrave, Ralph Richardson, Maggie Smith, Susannah York

Also starring: Vincent Ball, Pia Colombo, Paul Daneman, Isabel Dean, Christian Doermer, Robert Flemyng, Meriel Forbes, Frank Forsyth, Ian Holm, David Lodge, Joe Melia, Guy Middleton, Juliet Mills, Nanette Newman, Cecil Parker, Natasha Parry, Gerald Sim, Thorley Walters, Anthony Ainley, Michael Bates, Fanny Carby, Cecilia Darby, Geoffrey Davies, Edward Fox, George Ghent, Zeph Gladstone, Peter Gilmore, Ben Howard, Norman Jones, Paddy Joyce, Angus Lennie, Harry Locke, Clifford Mollison, Derek Newark, John Owens, Ron Pember, Dorothy Reynolds, Norman Shelley, Marianne Stone, John Trigger, Kathleen Wileman, Penelope Allen, Maurice Arthur, Freddie Ascott, Dinny Jones, Carole Gray, Bernard Jarvis, Jane Seymour (uncredited)

Plot:
Shown through fantasy metaphors, as well as real life scenes, the story follows working class British family, the Smith family, who enlist in World War I, and the juxtaposition between the fighting men, military leaders and the rich.

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Musical Monday: Johnny Doughboy (1942)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

johnny doughboyThis week’s musical:
Johnny Doughboy (1942) – Musical #757

Studio:
Republic Pictures

Director:
John H. Auer

Starring:
Jane Withers, William Demarest, Henry Wilcoxon, Ruth Donnelly, Etta McDaniel, Jack Boyle (billed as Patrick Brooks), Joline Westbrook
Themselves as 20 Minus Club Members: Bobby Breen, Cora Sue Collins, Baby Sandy, Robert Coogan, Carl ‘Alfalfa’ Switzer, George ‘Spanky’ McFarland, Kenneth Brown, Billy Lenhart, Grace Costello

Plot:
Sixteen-year-old actress Ann Winter (Withers) is sick of playing kid parts in films. Just as Ann leaves angrily for a two week vacation, the prize winner of the Ann Winters look-a-like contest, Penelope Ryan (also Withers) arrives to stay the weekend. Ann’s agent Harry (Demarest) asks Penelope to stand in for Ann while she’s gone.

While Penelope pretends to be Ann, former child stars of the 20 Minus Club want “Ann” to participate in a Junior Victory Caravan show for the war effort. Penelope wants to help but has to say no.

Meanwhile, through a series of events Ann finds herself at the cabin of playwright Oliver Lawrence (Wilcoxon), and she sets her hope high that she will get to be in an upcoming play of his.

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Musical Monday: A Wave, a WAC and a Marine (1944)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
A Wave, a WAC and a Marine (1944) – Musical #756

Studio:
Monogram Pictures

Director:
Phil Karlson

Starring:
Elyse Knox, Ann Gillis, Sally Eilers, Richard Lane, Marjorie Woodworth, Ramsay Ames, Henny Youngman, Alan Dinehart, Cy Kendall, Aileen Pringle, Jack Mulhall, Mabel Todd, Mel Blanc (uncredited)
Themselves: Charles “Red” Marshall, Billy Mack, Milt Bronson, Elvia Allman, Sid Tomack, Rose Murphy, Freddie Rich, Connie Haines, The Music Maids

Plot:
Talent scout O. Henry Brown (Youngman) confuses two understudies, Marian and Judy (Knox and Gillis), for the stars of the Broadway show “A WAVE, a WAC and a Marine,” Eileen and Betty (Woodworth and Ames). Brown takes Marian and Judy to Hollywood to be signed by Margaret Ames (Eilers) who realizes his mistake and turns the girls down. Marian and Judy have to figure out what to do now that they are stuck in Hollywood.

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Musical Monday: Darling Lili (1970)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

darling liliThis week’s musical:
Darling Lili (1970) – Musical #755

Studio:
Paramount Pictures

Director:
Blake Edwards

Starring:
Julie Andrews, Rock Hudson, Jeremy Kemp, Lance Percival, Michael Witney, Gloria Paul, Jacques Marin, André Maranne, Bernard Kay, Doreen Keogh, Carl Duering, Vernon Dobtcheff, Laurie Main, Louis Mercier

Plot:
Set during World War I, Lili Smith (Andrews) is a popular English singer who also happens to be a spy for Germany, providing information to Kurt von Ruger (Kemp). When Lili is to get close to American aviator Major Larrabee (Hudson) for information, she falls in love with him. As the two grow close, Lili’s emotions and jealousy conflict with her position as a spy.

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