Thousands Cheer
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| Thousands Cheer | |
|---|---|
 Original film poster |
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| Directed by | George Sidney |
| Produced by | Joe Pasternak |
| Written by | Paul Jarrico Richard Collins |
| Starring | Kathryn Grayson Gene Kelly Mary Astor John Boles Ben Blue Frances Rafferty |
| Cinematography | George J. Folsey |
| Distributed by | MGM |
| Release date(s) |  13 September 1943 |
| Running time | 125 min |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Thousands Cheer was an American musical-comedy released by MGM in 1943.
Produced at the height of the Second World War, the film was intended as a morale booster for American troops and their families.
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[edit] Plot
The movie is essentially a two-part program. The first half consists of a romantic comedy storyline involving an aerialist, played by Gene Kelly, who is drafted into the US Army but really wants to join the air force. During training, he falls in love with Kathryn (played by Kathryn Grayson), the daughter of his commanding officer, who has similarly put her singing career on hold in order to serve in the military and provide entertainment for the troops. Unusually for this type of a film (and for this era of Hollywood), the character Kathryn has only recently met her father for the first time since she was a baby, her parents having divorced. A related subplot has Kathryn conniving to get her parents (played by John Boles and Mary Astor) to reconcile. During the first part of the film, Grayson sings several numbers and Kelly performs one of his most famous routines, dancing with a mop as a partner.
The secondary plot involves preparations for a major live show for the soldiers which will feature many MGM musical and comedy stars. For the second half of the film, all pretences of a storyline are effectively abandoned as the film instead becomes a variety showcase of comedy, song, and dance, with all of the performers (save Kelly and Grayson) appearing as themselves. The show portion is hosted by Mickey Rooney.
[edit] Guest Stars
Performing as "guest stars" in the film's show segment were: Judy Garland, Lena Horne, Red Skelton, Ann Sothern, Lucille Ball, Frank Morgan, Virginia O'Brien, Eleanor Powell, Marilyn Maxwell, Margaret O'Brien, June Allyson, the Kay Kyser Orchestra and others.
[edit] Musical numbers
Highlights included a performance of "Honeysuckle Rose" by Horne, a tap dance solo by Powell (making her first color film and her final MGM movie until 1950's Duchess of Idaho), Kay Kyser's band delivering a frantic and humorous medley of "I Dug a Ditch in Wichita"/"Should I?", and a Garland performance (with classical pianist Jose Iturbi) of "The Joint is Really Jumpin' in Carnegie Hall" which includes an early use of the word "rock" in a musical sense.
"I Dug a Ditch in Wichita", a song told from the point of view of a soldier who used to dig ditches, is the movie's underlying theme song, performed several times in the film with different arrangements and approaches, climaxing in the above mentioned Kay Kyser performance. Kathryn Grayson also sings a version, using an exaggerated (and out-of-character) "cowboy" accent, and Gene Kelly dances to an instrumental version, using a mop as a partner.
After a brief resumption (and resolution) of the earlier storyline, the film ends with Grayson leading an international chorus of men (the United Nations Chorus) in a song pleading for world peace. The song, entitled "United Nations", actually predates the establishment of the United Nations political body by two years.
[edit] Trivia
- A bizarre moment occurs when Mickey Rooney, introducing Garland's performance, states earnestly and without apparent irony that he hopes to work with her someday. In reality, Rooney and Garland had co-starred in numerous films over the previous five years.
- Garland filmed her performance during a break in shooting Presenting Lily Mars, which is why she appears as a blonde in this film since her hair color was changed for Lily Mars.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Thousands Cheer at the Internet Movie Database
- The Judy Garland Online Discography "Thousands Cheer" pages.
| The films of Eleanor Powell |
|---|
| Feature films Queen High (1930) | George White's 1935 Scandals (1935) | Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935) | Born to Dance (1936) | Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937) | Rosalie (1937) | Honolulu (1939) | Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940) | Lady Be Good (1941) | Ship Ahoy (1942) | I Dood It (1943) | Thousands Cheer - cameo (1943) | Sensations of 1945 (1944) | The Great Morgan - cameo (1946) | Duchess of Idaho -cameo (1950) |
| Short films No Contest! (1934) | Screen Snapshots Series 16, No. 12 (1936) | Screen Snapshots: Famous Hollywood Mothers (1947) | Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Holiday (1948) | Have Faith in Our Children (1955) |
| Television series The Faith of Our Children (1953-1955) |
