Tag Archives: World War II musical

Musical Monday: Meet the Navy (1946)

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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:
Meet the Navy (1946) – Musical #827

Studio:
British National Films

Director:
Alfred Travers

Starring:
Lionel Murton, Margaret Hurst, John Pratt, Robert Goodier, Phyllis Hudson, Percy Haynes, Bill Oliver, Jeanette De Hueck, Oscar Natzke

Plot:
The story toggles between a Canadian Navy ship and the stage where performers are staging a show to entertain the troops. In addition to the rehearsals, the story shows the signaling of the end of the war, and antics of sailors trying to sing their song on film. The film ends with a Royal Command Performance.

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Musical Monday: Music in Manhattan (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:
Music in Manhattan (1944) – Musical #377

Studio:
RKO Radio Pictures

Director:
John H. Auer

Starring:
Anne Shirley, Dennis Day, Phillip Terry, Raymond Walburn, Patti Brill, Jane Darwell, Bert Roach (uncredited), Jason Robards Sr. (uncredited),
Themselves: Charlie Barnet and his Orchestra, Nico Menendez and His Rhumba Band

Plot:
Frankie Foster (Shirley) is the lead in a failing Broadway musical. In order to get a flight to Washington, D.C. to discuss getting a loan for the show, Professor Carl Roberti (Walburn) says that Frankie is the secret bride of war hero Johnny Pearson (Terry). As a result, the secret gets out and the show becomes a success. While Frankie and Johnny have to pretend to they are married, things get complicated when his mother (Darwell) arrives, and Frankie’s boyfriend and co-star Stanley Benson (Day) is jealous.

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Musical Monday: The Bamboo Blonde (1946)

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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 500. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
The Bamboo Blonde (1946) – Musical #236

Studio:
RKO

Director:
Anthony Mann

Starring:
Frances Langford, Ralph Edwards, Russell Wade, Jane Greer, Tommy Noonan, Jean Brooks, Iris Adrian, Paul Harvey, Regina Wallace, Richard Martin

Plot:
Lt. Patrick Ransome, Jr. (Wade) meets nightclub singer Louise Anderson (Langford) at a club that is out of bounds for military personnel. The two dance and dine before Lt. Ransome has to ship out, but he forgets to ask her name. The crew ends up painting her portrait on the side of their B29 and name her “The Bamboo Blonde,” which brings them luck in battle. Their success and the painting brings publicity to the crew, Louise and the nightclub.

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