Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943)

Director:

David Butler

Writers:

Norman Panama (screenplay) &
Melvin Frank (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

1 October 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical

Plot:

Two producers are putting together a wartime charity show with an all-star cast but the egotism of radio personality Eddie Cantor disrupts their plans.

Plot Keywords:

Native American | Autograph | Beautiful Woman | Charity Event | Song And Dance

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Humphrey Bogart	...	Himself
Eddie Cantor	...	Himself / Joe Simpson
Bette Davis	...	Herself
Olivia de Havilland	...	Herself
Errol Flynn	...	Himself (segment "That's What You Jolly Well Get")
John Garfield	...	Himself
Joan Leslie	...	Pat Dixon
Ida Lupino	...	Herself
Dennis Morgan	...	Tommy Randolph
Ann Sheridan	...	Herself
Dinah Shore	...	Herself
Alexis Smith	...	Herself
Jack Carson	...	Himself
Alan Hale	...	Himself
George Tobias	...	Himself

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Reportedly the only film in which Bette Davis actually sings. The Oscar-nominated song "They're Either Too Young or Too Old" introduced here by Davis became a hit for Jimmy Dorsey with vocalist Kitty Kallen.

Quotes:

Eddie Cantor: Dinah, Please tell them that I'm Cantor and I'll double your salary.
Dinah Shore: I don't know who you are, but if you'll double my salary, you're certainly not Cantor!

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Roaring Twenties: The World Moves On (2005) (V)

Soundtrack:

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?

A very uneven film

Tnis is at best a very uneven film, with very misleading billing. Humphrey Bogart, who gets first billing, appears for about 3 minutes in a very forgettable and poorly done cameo. (No, he doesn't try to sing.) Olivia de Havilland and Ida Lupino appear together in a rather mediocre dance number. Bette Davis, though she can't sing, puts in a great appearance singing "They're either too young or too old," and Errol Flynn does a remarkably good job with his song and dance number. Alexis Smith looks very elegant and graceful in her dance number, though it is true that she is lifted through the air by various male dance partners as much as she actually dances herself, which helps. Still, she looks very beautiful for her 3 minutes of screen time. Ann Sheridan looks good in her song too, but it is so mediocre that there's not much she can do with it, and since she doesn't get to do any glamorous dancing, the number is forgettable.. The same applies to Jack Carson and Alan Hale, both very talented actors, who get saddled with a truly dead song and dance duo.

In fact, the weakest element in this movie is the music, which is almost all forgettable.

These various cameo appearances are fitted into a frame: Dennis Morgan is trying to break into show biz as a singer, while EE Horton and SZ Sakall, who are way down on the billing, are trying to put on a charity variety show. The three of them, plus Eddie Cantor, who plays himself and is very funny doing so, are the actual stars of this movie, though you would never guess it from the billing. All four are good.

There are other forgettable musical numbers, including several with Dinah Shore, who comes off as having no personality, a rousing if forgettable number for Black singers and dancers in which Hattie McDaniel holds up her own, and a monologue of sorts with John Garfield that's not half bad, but only because he's a good actor.

In short, a largely mediocre effort. If you like any of the stars who do the cameos, you will want to see them do their 3-5 minute bits. If you're looking for 2 hours of entertainment - this movie runs just over 2 hours - you won't find it here, though.