Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943)
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43% of users liked it
(102 ratings)
Practically everybody on the Warner Bros. lot shows up in the wartime morale-boosting musical extravaganza Thank Your Lucky Stars. Believe it or not, this one has a wisp of a plot. A pair of enterprising producers, played by S.Z. Sakall and Edward Everett Horton, want to hire singer Dinah Shore for… More Practically everybody on the Warner Bros. lot shows up in the wartime morale-boosting musical extravaganza Thank Your Lucky Stars. Believe it or not, this one has a wisp of a plot. A pair of enterprising producers, played by S.Z. Sakall and Edward Everett Horton, want to hire singer Dinah Shore for their upcoming Cavalcade of Stars. Unfortunately, this means they must deal with Shore's boss, radio comedian Eddie Cantor. The egotistical Cantor insists upon joining the show himself, driving everyone crazy with his take-charge attitude. Meanwhile, singer Dennis Morgan, hoodwinked by a crooked agent into thinking he's signed a contract with Cantor, shows up backstage at Sakall and Horton's rehearsal, only to be given the boot. While all this is going on, aspiring actress Joan Leslie has befriended a bus driver named Joe Simpson--who happens to be a dead ringer for Eddie Cantor (and why not? Ol' "Banjo Eyes" plays both parts). Turns out that Joe is another showbiz wannabe, but he has been denied a break because he looks too much like Cantor. You see what's comin' now, right, folks? Morgan and Leslie will get their big breaks when Joe Simpson impersonates Eddie Cantor, who's been kidnapped by Indians (bet you didn't see that one coming!) All of this expository nonsense is merely an excuse to show off Warners' talent roster in a series of engaging specialty numbers: John Garfield talk-sings Blues in the Night, Jack Carson and Alan Hale do a buck-and-wing, a jitterbug number is performed by Ida Lupino, Olivia de Havilland and George Tobias, Hattie McDaniel and Willie Best strut their stuff in Ice Cold Katie, and so on. Highlights include Errol Flynn's That's What You Jolly Well Get, an English music hall-style sendup of Flynn's movie heroics, and Bette Davis' peerless (and endearingly off-key) rendition of They're Either too Young or Too Old. As a bonus, Humphrey Bogart shows up long enough to be browbeaten and intimidated by S.Z. Sakall ("Gee, I hope none of my movie fans see this!" moans Bogart as the soundtrack plays a mocking rendition of Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?) Subtle and sophisticated it isn't, but Thank Your Lucky Stars is so entertaining that you'll forget all about its multitude of flaws. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- David Butler (I)
- Written By
- Norman Panama, Melvin Frank, James V. Kern
- Genres
- Musical & Performing Arts, Classics, Comedy
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Oct 1, 1943 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
LIke all the Hollywood studios during the War, Warner mobilized its top talent for this song and dance revue, with Bette Davis and Bogart singing and Olivia De Havilland dancing.
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David Cornelius, DVDTalk.com
It's all so gloriously unapologetic in its randomness, a cinematic variety show that allows stars to get silly for a good cause.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
It's vulgar entertainment, but at least there's a few laughs over the stars ribbing each other and doing some acts.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
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Cast
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Eddie Cantor
as Himself, Joe Simpson
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Dinah Shore
as Herself
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Joan Leslie
as Pat Dixon
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Bette Davis
as Herself
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Humphrey Bogart
as Himself
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Dennis Morgan
as Tom Randolph
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Olivia de Havilland
as Herself
-
Edward Everett Horton
as Farnsworth
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Errol Flynn
as Himself
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S.Z. Sakall
as Dr. Schlenna
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John Garfield
as Himself
-
Ida Lupino
as Herself
-
Ann Sheridan
as Herself
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Alexis Smith
as Herself
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Jack Carson
as Himself
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George Tobias
as Himself
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Alan Hale
as Himself
-
Ruth Donnelly
as Nurse Hamilton
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Don Wilson
as Himself
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Willie Best
as Soldier
-
Henry Armetta
as Barber
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Joyce Reynolds
as Girl with book
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Hattie McDaniel
as Gossip
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Sam Adams
as Bartender
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Lynne Baggett
as Miss Latin America
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Harry A. Bailey
as Bald-headed Man
- Elmer Ballard
-
Don Barclay
as Pete
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Bennie Bartlett
as Page Boy
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William Benedict
as Bus Boy
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Ted Billings
as Pub Character
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Monte Blue
as Bartender
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Jess Lee Brooks
as Justice
- Morgan Brown
-
James Burke
as Bill the Intern Guard
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Stanley Clements
as Boy
- Howard Davies
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Curly Joe DeRita
as Milquetoast Type
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Ralph Dunn
as Marty
- Dick Elliott
-
Frank Faylen
as Sailor
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James Flavin
as Policeman
- Art Foster
- Charles Francis
-
Edward Gargan
as Doorman
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William Haade
as Finchley
- Creighton Hale
-
Paul Harvey
as Dr. Kirby
- Marjorie Hoshelle
-
Brandon Hurst
as Cab Driver
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Boyd Irwin
as Man
- Charles Irwin
-
Noble Johnson
as Charlie the Indian
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Spike Jones & His City Slickers
as Themselves
- Fred Kelsey
- Lucille Lamarr
-
Jerry Mandy
as Chef
-
Hank Mann
as Assistant photographer
-
Frank Mayo
as Dr. Wheaton
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Mike Mazurki
as Olaf
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Matt McHugh
as Fireman
- Howard Mitchell
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Jack Mower
as Engineer
-
Jack Norton
as Drunk
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Anne O'Neal
as Maid
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Virginia Patton
as Girl
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Harry Pilcer
as Man in Broadcasting Station
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Dick Rich
as Fred
- Charles Soldani
- Will Stanton
- David Thursby
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Mary Treen
as Fan
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Billy Wayne
as Chauffeur
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Doodles Weaver
as Himself
- Lillian West
- Tudor Williams
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Joan Winfield
as Cigarette Girl
- Nancy Worth
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David Butler (I)
as Himself
-
Mark Hellinger
as Himself
-
Richard Lane
as Barney Johnson
- Leah Baird
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J.W. Cody
as Indian
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Eleanor Counts
as Sailor's Girl Friend
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Henri DeSoto
as Maitre d'Hotel
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Betty Farrington
as Assistant Chef
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Bert I. Gordon
as Patient
- Bobby Hale
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Harry Adams
as Doorman
- Joy Barlowe
- Janet Barrett
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Rita Christiani
as Ice Cold Katie
- Allan Cooke
- Dorothy Dayton
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Dick Earle
as Customer
- Phyllis Godfrey
- Harriette Haddon
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Mary Landa
as Miss Spain
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Lou Marcelle
as Commentator
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Helen O'Hara
as Show Girl
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Sylvia Opert
as Hatcheck Girl, Lucky Star
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Angi O. Poulos
as Waiter
- Dorothy Schoemer
- Georgia Lee Settle
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Juanita Stark
as Secretary
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Arnold Kent
as Dancer
