This Is the Army (1943)
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62% of users liked it
(570 ratings)
The splashy, star-studded This is the Army is based on the Irving Berlin Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was a reworking of Berlin's WW1 "barracks musical" Yip Yip Yaphank. In both instances, the cast was largely comprised of genuine servicemen, many of them either… More The splashy, star-studded This is the Army is based on the Irving Berlin Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was a reworking of Berlin's WW1 "barracks musical" Yip Yip Yaphank. In both instances, the cast was largely comprised of genuine servicemen, many of them either recently returned from fighting or on the verge of heading off to war. The Hollywood-imposed storyline concerns Jerry Jones (George Murphy), a member of the original 1918 Yip Yip Yaphank cast. His showbiz career curtailed by a leg injury, Jerry becomes a producer during the postwar era. When the US enters WW2, Jerry gathers together several other cast members from the 1918 Berlin musical to help him stage a new all-serviceman show, titled (what else?) This is the Army. The show-within-a-show framework is able to accommodate a romantic subplot, involving Jerry's son Johnny (Ronald Reagan, later a political comrade-in-arms of George Murphy) and Eileen Dibble (Joan Leslie), the daughter of Yip Yip Yaphank alumnus Eddie Dibble (Charles Butterworth). Some of the best moments in This is the Army are from the Broadway production itself, though the lengthy Alfred Lunt-Lynn Fontanne imitation and incessant "gay" jokes may have been too smart for the room in 1943. Guest stars include boxer Joe Louis, Kate Smith (singing "God Bless America", naturally) and Irving Berlin himself, who steals the show with his plaintive rendition of "Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning". All profits for the stage and film version of This is the Army went to the Army Emergency Relief Fund, which also controlled the rights to the film. Long withheld from TV distribution, the film finally hit the small screen when it lapsed into Public Domain in the mid-1970s. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Michael Curtiz
- Written By
- Casey Robinson
- Genres
- Classics, Musical & Performing Arts
PG,
- In Theaters
- Aug 14, 1943 Wide
Critic Reviews
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David Cornelius, DVDTalk.com
A great Fourth of July movie, big and bold and proud.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
As American as apple pie.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
Featured Audience Ratings
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Cast
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George Murphy
as Jerry Jones
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Joan Leslie
as Eileen Dibble
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Ronald Reagan
as Johnny Jones
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Alan Hale
as Sgt. McGee
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George Tobias
as Maxie Stoloff
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Julie Oshins
as Ollie Twardofsky
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Charles Butterworth
as Eddie Dibble
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Dolores Costello
as Mrs. Davidson
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Una Merkel
as Rose Dibble
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Stanley Ridges
as Maj. Davidson
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Rosemary De Camp
as Ethel
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Ruth Donnelly
as Mrs. O'Brien
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Frances Langford
as Cafe Singer
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Gertrude Niesen
as Singer
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Kate Smith
as Herself
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Ilka Gruning
as Mrs. Twardofsky
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Joe Louis
as Himself
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Tom D'Andrea
as Tommy
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Herbert Anderson
as Danny Davidson
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Ezra Stone
as Soldier
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Earl Oxford
as Soldier
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Philip Truex
as Soldier
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Murray Alper
as Soldier
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Warner Anderson
as Sports Announcer
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Irving Bacon
as Waiter
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Irving Berlin
as Himself
- Jimmy Butler
- Frank Coghlan Jr.
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Jimmy Conlin
as Dancer
- Richard Crane
- John Day
- Ross Elliott
- Ross Ford
- Art Foster
- Hank Henry
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John James
as Soldiers at Camp Cook
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Henry Jones
as Soldier-Singer
- Fred Kelly
- Joe E. Lewis
- Alan Manson
- Victor Moore
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Patsy Moran
as Marie Twardofsky
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Dorothy Peterson
as Mrs. Nelson
- Allen Pomeroy
- Arthur Space
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Ernest Truex
as Fathers of Soldiers
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Pierre Watkin
as Stranger
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Doodles Weaver
as Soldier on Cot
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Jack Young
as Franklin D. Roosevelt
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Jackie Brown
as Mike Nelson
- Richard Irving
- Gene Nelson
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Leah Baird
as Old Timer's Wife
- John Draper
