This Is the Army

This is the type of musical that Hollywood did best and it sure was popular with the public. However, 65 years later, the film has lost much of its appeal due to changes in movie styles as well as the fact that the film's value as a propaganda tool is now lost--after all, the war has been over since 1945. So what was rousing and exciting then to the folks at home now just seems rather dated and slow--though the film still does have very good production values.

The film is basically a bazillion patriotic songs rolled up into the thinnest of plots. Frankly, I think the film could have been a lot better had the story received greater emphasis and they'd dropped a few musical numbers. This would have given the film a much needed infusion of energy--though again, back during the war years, this wasn't as big a concern.

The story, such as it is, begins during WWI. A group of soldiers (George Murphy, Alan Hale, George Tobias and Charles Butterworth and others) are interested in performing a musical to raise morale and the when they are given permission, the show is a huge hit. Many years later, when WWII arrives, the children of these same men and others put on their new and timely stage show. It's a major success and the soldiers are sent on a tour of the USA to increase the public's patriotism and backing of the war. There's a little more to the plot than this--but not much.

As I said, it's really just an excuse to string together tons of musical and dance numbers--so many that you feel a bit overwhelmed. Some of the numbers are very good, the one with Irving Berlin was interesting (not good--just interesting from a historical sense) and a few were rather bad. The worst was the one that was a minstrel show--something that you'd hoped would have died out by 1943. It was just embarrassing and makes you cringe. Also, in a few separate parts of the film, Joe Lewis made some irrelevant appearances, as he couldn't sing and was as light on his dancing feet as a rhino! He just looked very lost but you can't blame him--he was ordered to appear in the film and since he was a sergeant, he had no choice!

If I could, I'd give the film a score for 1943 (8) and one for today (4 or 5). But, since I can't, I'll give it a 6. Interesting from a historical standpoint but pretty tough going at times, though some of the songs were catchy and the color cinematography was lovely.

As a history teacher, I was a bit concerned with a couple reviews that gave the film a 1. It wasn't nearly that bad and some of the reasons they gave it such a low score seemed petty. One was a diatribe about why they hated Ronald Reagan and really didn't review the film itself. Another was very critical about how the film was propaganda. My answer to that is YES it is propaganda and so what?! Given that it was a life and death struggle for survival in WWII only a knucklehead would see this sort of propaganda as an evil! Should Hollywood have either ignored the war or done pro-Hitler films instead?! Read your history books or talk to some vets before you make such silly assertions.

Most of Irving Berlin's shows on Broadway were revues and not book type shows. For that reason they're not frequently revived. All of them contain topical jokes that only history majors like myself would get now. But the extreme topicality of This Is The Army and its World War I predecessor Yip Yap Yaphank guarantee you don't see this one revived too often no matter how many good songs come from it.

Even to do This Is The Army we have a threadbare plot of sorts. George Murphy is a song and dance man doing the lead in the Ziegfeld Follies when he gets his draft notice for World War I. Like Irving Berlin in real life, he offers to put his entertainment talents at the army's disposal. Murphy also marries Rosemary DeCamp at the same time he goes in the army.

Flash forward to a new World War and Murphy's son Ronald Reagan is going out with Joan Leslie who's the daughter of Charles Butterworth another performer from the Yip Yap Yaphank show back in the day. Reagan gets his draft notice just like dear old dad and he says let's put on a show for the boys. Of course dear old dad volunteers to help as do other veterans of the World War I show.

One thing that Warner's was smart about, they didn't give Ronald Reagan any singing or dancing to do. Reagan's talents such as they are were confined to behind the curtain.

A lot of Hollywood regulars are mixed with members of the original cast of actual soldiers who put on This Is The Army on Broadway. The score is also a mixed one with Irving Berlin allowing several of his older numbers mixed in with the Broadway score of This Is The Army. Most particularly God Bless America which Kate Smith had introduced in 1939 and sang in the film. It dwarfs all the other numbers in the score by comparison, in fact it's only rival in popularity in this film is Irving Berlin's soldier's lament of Oh How I Hate To Get Up In The Morning. And that originally comes from Yip Yap Yaphank. And of course that other barracks ballad telling what civilians will have to do without, the title song of the show and the film.

This Is The Army is dated flag-waving to be sure, but as Irving Berlin said in another song in another show, do you know of a better flag to wave? Both Yip Yap Yaphank and This Is The Army are the product of an immigrant kid who escaped poverty and persecution in the old world of Europe. If Irving Berlin's life isn't the American success story than I don't know a better example. He was grateful to his adopted country and these shows were his way of payback.

I doubt if B picture actor Ronald Reagan had the remotest conception that he would be sitting in the White House as a tenant one day and that he would be giving the nation's greeting to Irving Berlin on his 100th birthday. But that's an American success story too.

I first saw this film on cable in the late 1970's, and was mesmerized by the story and the music. Certainly, as many people comment, it is propagandistic, but it is also a masterpiece, showcasing an almost-forgotten time. Irving Berlin is one of this country's most prolific and best-loved songwriters, and this musical extravaganza is an homage to his talent and genius.

The cast is unique and wonderful. The main characters are played solidly by "name" stars, but the musical ensemble cast (real U.S. soldiers at the time) are what set this film apart.

A reviewer complaining that it isn't "realistic" overstates the point. So what if you think an "average" army base couldn't produce a cast for a show like this. Film is a medium that attempts to suspend reality and let you enter a place, situation, relationship, time period, etc. that you might not otherwise get to experience. It's sometimes the view of one person's "reality," a manifestation of their own "vision."

My copy of this film is on a very old (early 80's) VHS copy, a low-end bargain release which is of marginal quality, but I love every minute of it. I certainly hope someone reviews some of the specific DVD choices out there, I'd like to get the DVD before I wear out the VHS!

If you enjoy a good flag-waving, patriotic musical, this is a film you will enjoy. If you enjoy Irving Berlin's music, it's a soundtrack you will enjoy. Personally I'd put this on a par with the 1942 film, "Yankee Doodle Dandy," and both films share a few cast members!

As a twenty-year resident of Yaphank, New York, which is on Long Island about 60 miles east of Manhattan, I've learned some of the background of this movie.

Irving Berlin wrote "Yip, Yip, Yaphank" while stationed at Camp Upton in Yaphank during WW I. (Camp Upton is now the Brookhaven National Laboratory.) For this show, which was indeed written to be performed by the soldiers, Berlin wrote "Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning" and the melody of "God Bless America," which was actually cut from the show in its original form.

The show even ran briefly on Broadway in 1918 with a Camp Upton cast, according to the Internet Broadway Data Base.

After the war ended, the songs were put away, then brought out for the morale-boosting efforts of WW II. Berlin frequently rewrote and reused his songs; he revised the lyrics of "God Bless America" for Kate Smith and the rest, as they say, is history.

This movie is a classic of World War II movies. It was made as a moral booster during the war, and includes the music of Irving Berlin. One thing to note especially is the song "Someday I'm going to murder the bugler" which is sung by Irving Berlin himself (wearing his own WWI uniform).

In order to really appreciate this movie you need to understand the world in which it was made, which was a whole lot different than 2004. There was a world war and everyone was concerned about stopping evil. (as opposed to today, where everyone is concerned about how terrorism, or the fight against it, is going to disrupt their daily life)

This movie was made as a way to give people something to feel good about, and show patriotism.