Starlift

This one snuck under my radar after years of adoring Doris Day. Saw it yesterday. Glad I avoided it so long. I love the old "time capsule" type movies. Especially those designed to buoy morale during wartime. My favourite is "the human comedy". But this, oh my God. It's pretty corny. The two enlisted guys are an embarrassment. I wanted to punch them both. The musical numbers are so so. The budget didn't allow much beyond the salaries of the all star cast. All in all, the worst of its kind. Maybe Korea wasn't as important as WWII.

During WWII, Warner Brothers made several films which were a combination of a showcase for the various talent at the studio as well as a chance to bolster the war effort. These films had very little in the way of plot and featured lots of cameos as well as singing and dancing. They were entertaining but rather shallow entertainment. Here with "Starlift", Warner has resurrected the old formula and updated it for the Korean War.

The film begins with two soldiers insinuating themselves into the lives of a couple famous Warner stars--Doris Day and Ruth Roman. The pushy soldier does this by pretending that his buddy is friends with Nell Wayne* and the two ladies offer to bring them back to their hotel to see Nell. There, the guys meet James Cagney and Nell--but Nell is confused--who are these guys? Well, by now, Ruth and Doris really like the two guys and although they DON'T know Nell, they agree to accompany them back to the base to meet the rest of the fellows. There, the stars agree to put on a USO-type show for the men. What follows are mostly song and dance routines as well as a disappointing plot involving Nell and one of the soldiers. I say disappointing because it went from kind of cute at first to strange and confusing--and unsatisfying. And, considering that the film is really just a showcase for their talent, this might explain the weakness of the plot.

By the way, among the man soldiers in the film you will probably notice Jack Larson. Jack played Jimmy Olsen in "The Adventures of Superman".

*I have no idea why Janice Rule is called 'Nell Wayne' in this film. Perhaps the studio was considering using this moniker for her but soon dropped it. However, apart from Miss Rule, the rest of the stars go by their own familiar names. I was a bit confused by this--especially since the film acted like 'Nell Wayne' was an established star and I'd never heard of her before this!

Of course the plot is dreary and there's not enough singing and dancing. For me, there never is. As a movie, it rather sucks, but as a DVD it is just fine. Just go to the numbers with Doris, Gordon and the people you like to watch perform. The surprising highlight of the film is Janice Rule. She and Gene Nelson dance together in two numbers. This is the only time she got to dance in a movie. I knew she danced on Broadway in "The Happiest Girl In The World", but I didn't see it and THIS I can see. I'm glad that this is on DVD. I can watch Janice Rule dance anytime I want. She was wonderful.Patrice Wymore dances to and "sings" Gershwin's "Liza". Sounded like Bonnie Lou Willams. She seemed to be the voice double of every lovely non-singing lady at Warner Bros. when she wasn't recording with Gordon Jenkins. Virginia Mayo's number was quite good and I wish they would put "She's Working Her Way Through College" and "She's Back On Broadway" in a set with some other pictures that she did at that studio. Also, how about all three versions of "The Desert Song" and the three of "Showboat" ? I would buy all of these tomorrow. Hey, if you do, please include Ava's tracks.

Actress Ruth Roman's real-life philanthropic gesture to help entertain U.S. troops arriving from and leaving for Korea at an air base near San Francisco jump-started this all-star Warner Bros. salute to patriotism and song. Several celebrities make guest appearances while a love-hate romance develops between a budding starlet and a painfully green and skinny Air Force corporal (Ron Hagerthy, who looks like he should be delivering newspapers from his bicycle). Seems the corporal has fooled the actress into thinking he's off to battle when actually he's part of an airplane carrier crew, flying to and from Honolulu (one would think she'd be overjoyed he was relatively out of harm's way, but instead she acts just like most childish females in 1950s movies). Doris Day is around for the first 30 minutes, and her distinct laugh and plucky song numbers are most pleasant. Roman is also here, looking glamorous, while James Cagney pokes fun at his screen persona and Gordon MacRae sings in his handsome baritone. Jane Wyman sings, too, in a hospital bedside reprise following Doris Day's lead, causing one to wonder, "Did they run out of sets?" For undemanding viewers, an interesting flashback to another time and place. Still, the low-rent production and just-adequate technical aspects render "Starlift" strictly a second-biller. *1/2 from ****

The only time this movie ever really comes to life is when Doris Day is on screen. Sadly, she disappears after about 30 minutes. Her musical numbers, " 'S Wonderful" and "You Ought to Be in Pictures" are the film's high points, and she delivers them as only she can. Day just lights up the screen and proves once more how underrated she is as a vocalist. She's also charming in her small scene visiting Jack Larson, who plays a hospital patient.

As for the rest of the movie, the script is even more dreadful than the one for "Hollywood Canteen," of which this bears a resemblance. Janice Rule and Rick Hagerthy have zero chemistry as the romantic leads. The "comedy" routines by Peter Marshall and Tommy Noonan, and Phil Harris, Dick Wesson and the others, are cornier than an Iowa field. Virginia Mayo's South Seas number and Patrice Wymore doing "Liza" helped relieve the tedium, but Doris Day is clearly the standout. If only she'd been in more of the movie, it would have been so much better.