In World War I, song-and-dance man Jerry Jones is drafted into the US Army, where he stages a revue called Yip Yip Yaphank. It is a rousing success, but one night during the show orders are received to leave immediately for France: instead of the finale, the troops march up the aisles through the audience, out the theater's main entrance and into a convoy of waiting trucks. Among the teary, last-minute goodbyes Jones kisses his newlywed bride Ethel farewell.
In the trenches of France, several of the soldiers in the production are killed or wounded by shrapnel from a German artillery barrage. Jones is wounded in the leg and must walk with a cane, ending his career as a dancer. Nevertheless, he is resolved to find something useful to do, especially now that he is the father of a son. Sgt. McGee and Pvt. Eddie Dibble, the troop bugler, also survive.
Twenty-five years later World War II is raging in Europe. Jerry's son Johnny enlists in the Army shortly after Pearl Harbor. He tells his sweetheart Eileen Dibble that they cannot marry until he returns, since he doesn't want to make her a widow.
Johnny reluctantly accepts an order to stage another musical, following in his father's footsteps. The show goes on tour throughout the United States and eventually plays Washington, D.C., in front of President Roosevelt. During the show it is announced that this is the last performance: the soldiers in the production have been ordered back to their combat units.
Eileen, who has joined the Red Cross auxiliary, appears backstage. During a break in the show she brings a minister and persuades Johnny that they should marry now – which they do, in the alley behind the theater, with their fathers acting as witnesses.
Some location shooting for the film took place at Camp Cooke in central California. The Warner Ranch in Calabasas, California was used for the World War I battle scenes.[1]
The title of the movie is the same as the title of the stage version of the show. The movie features star appearances by Irving Berlin, Kate Smith, Frances Langford and Joe Louis as themselves. Smith's full-length rendition of Berlin's "God Bless America" is arguably the most famous cinematic rendition of the piece. Louis appears in a revue piece called "What the Well-Dressed Man in Harlem Will Wear", with James Cross (lead singer and dancer), William Wycoff (dancer in drag), Marion Brown (heavyset dancer), and a chorus of perhaps a dozen,[6] the only spoken/sung scene that includes African-Americans. Louis appears in two other scenes, one in a boxing match, and the second being the stage door canteen number. He did not speak in either scene.
George Murphy was not the first actor considered for the role of Jerry. Fred Astaire, Joseph Cotten and Walter Huston were all considered first. George Brent was also offered the role of Major (then Colonel) Davidson, which was played in the film by Stanley Ridges, but Brent refused to work without being paid. Ginger Rogers was considered for the role of Eileen, played in the film by Joan Leslie. Frances Langford sings the song "What Does He Look Like?", but it was originally offered to Dinah Shore, who turned it down because she felt the lyrics made it more appropriate for a man to sing it.[1]
Although the core of the movie consists of the musical numbers, the movie contains a veneer of a plot involving the wartime love interests of both the father and the son.
Producers Jack Warner and Hal Wallis, director Michael Curtiz and screenwriter Casey Robinson all donated their salaries to the Army Emergency Relief Fund.[1]
Many of the soldiers who had participated in the show held reunions every five years after the end of World War II. Their tenth and final reunion (1992) was held in New York's Theater District. Five hundred men were used in the final number "This Will Be the Last Time".[1]
Release and reception
The premiere of This is the Army, at the Warner Theatre in Washington D.C.
The film grossed $9,555,586 (equal to $161,599,660 today), which was donated to Army Emergency Relief.[7][8] It produced rental revenue of $8,301,000 in the United States and Canada, and $2,144,000 overseas, for a total of $10,445,000.[3][4] It was the highest-grossing musical film of all-time until it was surpassed by White Christmas in 1954.[9] The receipts from This Is the Army place it among the top 40 movies of all time in U.S. box office popularity, which considers both inflation and the size of the population when the movie was released.[10]
By the mid-1970s, the movie fell into the public domain, occasionally airing on television to a new generation of viewers. Renewed interest in some of the actors helped some actors that might have been considered down-and-out, most notably Stump and Stumpy's Jimmy Cross and Harold Cromer.
Awards and honors
The film received several Academy Award nominations, including Ray Heindorf for his musical score, Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration in a Color Film, and Bes/t Sound Recording. Heindorf was the only winner for the film.[1]
"That's What the Well Dressed Man in Harlem Will Wear"
"How About a Cheer for the Navy"
"I Left My Heart at the Stage Door Canteen"
"With My Head in the Clouds/American Eagles"
"Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning"
"This Time"
"My British Buddy", also sung by Irving Berlin, was cut from the film, but was released on DVD. It was originally added to the British production of the stage musical.
^ abcGlancy, H. Mark (1995). "Warner Bros Film Grosses, 1921-51: the William Schaefer ledger". Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. 15 (1): 55–73. doi:10.1080/01439689500260031.
^ abcGlancy, H. Mark (1995). "Appendix 1". Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. 15 (S1): 1–31. doi:10.1080/01439689508604551.
