Thousands Cheer

OK Plot begins to bog down, then gets completely interrupted by a parade of stars, some of them annoying, some great. Highlight of stars is Judy singing, Mickey's impressions and Eleanor Powell seen in color. Highlight of movie is Gene Kelly's only dance number (the famous one with the mop). Really good actress Mary Astor is once again wasted.

This 1943 Classic film clearly showed how Hollywood supported our Armed Forces during World War II and there are so many talented actors appearing in this film who all gave great performances with their talented gifts.

Always enjoyed the great singing talent of Lena Horne who appeared in many Musicals during the 1940's and one of her famous songs was "Stormy Weather". I use to live in St. Albans, Queens, New York and she was a neighbor. Lena was the pioneer of Black entertainers who started to break into the Hollywood scene and finally it was accomplished.

Naturally, the War was going on and this was a picture that was created to cheer our Fighting Men and it also was a propaganda film to cheer up the American Citizens with a cast of hundreds of famous actors. Enjoyed seeing a very little known actress who is now 91 years of age, Marsha Hunt who was very young and attractive in the film, she was only 26 years of age.

Don't miss this film, it is really a gem of a gem. Enjoy

Not a great movie, but it has a few high spots. The first half is a mediocre patriotic musical. The second half is a cobbled-together "variety show" performed for an army camp. Grayson sings sweetly, if you like that sort of thing (opera style + show tunes). As for Jose Iturbe's jazz piano, the less said the better. But Lena Horne sings "Honeysuckle Rose" beautifully, Judy Garland does her number well, and Eleanor Powell does a fun boogie-woogie routine. In the first half, there's a rarely seen Gene Kelly dance that's pretty good. The rest is modestly diverting, and MC Mickey Rooney's impression of Lionel Barrymore (in the variety show) is pretty funny.

And because it clicked, MGM did what all the other major studios were doing--hiring their big stars to do cameos in a picture obviously aimed at entertaining the troops overseas. Paramount did it with STAR SPANGLED RHYTHM, Warners with THANK YOUR LUCKY STARS, Universal with FOLLOW THE BOYS, so it was only a matter of time before MGM came up with THOUSANDS CHEER.

If nothing else, it serves as a good showcase for the talents of KATHRYN GRAYSON (their newest singing bird) and GENE KELLY (although his dancing is limited here). For good measure they gave them MARY ASTOR and JOHN BOLES for parents, a story about a girl who wants to get her mom and dad back together again (where have we heard that one before?), and a whole bunch of MGM's brightest stars or character players in a "let's put on a show for the boys" routine.

Too bad the only thing missing is a good script. Otherwise, just sit back and enjoy the gorgeous Technicolor, the dreamy close-ups of Kathryn Grayson at her musical best, and guest stars like LUCILLE BALL, JUDY GARLAND, LENA HORNE, FRANK MORGAN, VIRGINIA O'BRIEN, RED SKELTON and MICKEY ROONEY to perk up interest in a sagging script for the second half of the movie.

Summing up: Could have been a lot better. If this is your kind of ticket, check out THANK YOUR LUCKY STARS for a better star-filled time.

Thousands Cheer had a lot going for it from the get go, the biggest selling point being the amount of talent involved. While it is not a great film there is still plenty to enjoy and on the most part the cast are well-used.

Thousands Cheers' story is very thin and very contrived with the lead in to the film's second half feeling rather abrupt and the script is even thinner with a lot of hokey dialogue and too many moments where it sags in energy. A vast majority of the cast are great and are well-utilised, but Mary Astor is wasted with not very much to do and Red Skelton is more irritating than funny.

It is on the other hand very well-made with lavish sets and gorgeous photography while the Oscar nomination for the music score was deserved, it's very characterful and lush. The songs are not exactly memorable, apart from Honeysuckle Rose, but they are very pleasant and don't bog the film down at all, they are also very well-choreographed. Of all the show segments the highlights were Gene Kelly's dance with the mop, Eleanor Powell's tap dance, Lena Horne's beautiful rendition of Honeysuckle Rose and Judy Garland's uproarious The Joint Is Really Jumpin' in Carnegie Hall. You do wish that Gene Kelly had more dancing to do but he is dashing and very watchable and Kathryn Grayson is charm personified and sings beautifully.

All in all, not a great film but I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it. 6/10 Bethany Cox