Something for the Boys

Many of the Fox musicals were wonderful and fun, particularly ones that starred Alice Faye or Betty Grable. This WW II effort, "Something for the Boys" was marginally okay, starring Vivian Blaine, Carmen Miranda, Phil Silvers, Michael O'Shea, Perry Como, Sheila Ryan, and Glenn Langan - not exactly Alice Faye, John Payne, Cesar Romero et al.

In "Something for the Boys," Silvers, O'Shea, Blaine, and Miranda are cousins and inherit a dilapidated southern mansion in need of fixing and a lot of money to do so. Sergeant Rocky Fulton (O'Shea) thinks it might be a great place to rent so his men could have some place to be with their wives. He says his men will do the work to fix it up, and they do.

To get the rest of the money they need, they put on a show - big surprise there.

For some reason, it is now 2013 and Fox Movie Channel still hasn't fixed this film and put it in the right order. The reels are still all mixed up and we have part of the show before there's a discussion or rehearsal, and by the time Sheila Ryan comes along, you think it's another character because she's already been there and had a scene with Miranda and Blaine. It's a mess.

If you let all that go, if you can, the music is pleasant enough. Perry Como was adorable and sings "I Wish We Didn't Have to Say Goodnight" divinely. Blaine sings the only song intact from the Broadway musical, which is the title song. She was a wonderful talent and livened many a Broadway show. Phil Silvers is funny, as he always was.

Carmen Miranda brings all her energy and talent to this film, as a character who can divine what's playing on the radio -- a talent Silvers late puts to good use.

It's a pleasant movie, very colorful, but be prepared to be plenty confused due to the reels being in the wrong place.

This is a Carmen Miranda movie, and she's is the main reason to endure the rest of it. For instance: the manic-anything-for-a-laugh humor of Phil Silvers only occasionally raises above annoyance, the lead Michael O'Shea is singularly charmless, the meandering plot poorly peeled off the Cole Porter Broadway success is pretty silly--and only one Porter song makes an appearance in the first ten minutes. So why watch it at all? Miranda dazzles and sparkles and plays with the King's English in full Fox Technicolor drag, and there's a chorus number in pink polka dot aprons that is great top-tapping fun; Vivian Blaine sings a few forgettable numbers in the wistful Alice Faye style, and if you look closely, you can see Judy Holliday in a bit role. Verdict: Fun for patient Miranda fans or fans of World War II patriotic flag-wavers; perhaps a bit silly for most modern viewers. Major bonus: Extras include an hour-long near-definitive biography of Carmen Miranda, which, in some ways, is better than the film

I first seen this movie when I was a boy during the 1940's and liked it very much. I liked it both as a comedy and for the musical numbers. Vivian Blaine was superb, as normal. Too bad Perry Como didn't sing more. I then seen this movie on Turner Movie Classics and now found it to be an okay movie but not one Carmen Miranda's best. Miranda is still very good in it but should of had more to do. Phil Silvers stole the movie and was great. Why would they give the name "Chiquita" to a Brazilian? In Brazil they speak Portuguese not Spanish. Chiquita is Spanish for Petite and sometimes used to mean Girlfriend. In most of Miranda's movies they even give her words to say and though she spoke Spanish. Still a very enjoyable movie. It was also fun to see Judy Holiday, June Haver and Cara Williams who were uncredited at the time.

Mild musical boosted by Miranda's sheer pizazz. I love that wacky part where her tooth tunes into a radio station. Heck, that's even better than an iPhone. It's a TCF production, which means well-stocked production numbers with lots of girls kicking up their heels. I guess that's what they mean by the title. Then there's Phil Silvers doing an early version of Sgt. Bilko and talking faster than a machine gun spits bullets, along with a fetching Vivian Blaine as eye candy. And catch a young Perry Como doing his tunes in typically sleepy time fashion.

But a chuncky O'Shea seems an odd choice of leading man for a musical. Nonetheless, this was wartime, so the leading man pool was limited. All in all, the songs may not be memorable, while, the script underplays the promising premise. Still, there's Miranda doing her wacky bit, plus lots of colorful stage bits, and a share of chuckles. So the musical may not be front-rank, but does have its compensations, and even now, remains 'something for the boys'.

Carmen Miranda at her funniest as Chiquita Hart... imagine Phil Silvers and her as cousins..and they inherit a house down South and turn it into a place for wartime wives..

Look for a young Perry Como singing 'I wish we didn't have to say goodnight'....

If you are a Carmen Miranda fan, try to see this film.