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Reviews
Something for the Boys (1944)
Out of Order - It's Only Saving Grace
I just saw this early this morning on the Fox channel quite by accident (my dog woke me up) - I had seen it years ago and thought I remembered it fairly well. As a kid, I had enjoyed it. But now? As another poster commented, several of the reels were out of order, and while it was disorienting at first, and bizarre, it seemed to fit the production - what was just awful became surreal and amusing. Musical numbers for what I think was the "big" fundraiser show("you're in show business, I'm in show business, most of the kids are in show business, let's put on a show")come out of nowhere BEFORE all the talk about putting on a show, and then fade without applause to totally unrelated "straight" scenes. The leading man's girlfriend shows up, spits out lines and lines of dialogue, then disappears. I was half awake, and loved every insane minute of it.
The Voice of the Turtle (1947)
Dreadful
Just dreadful, and all that Max Steiner Mickey Mouse music that Warners always used to telegraph comedy. Van Druten was definitely a writer of his place and time, and doesn't translate very well. Anyone seen "Old Acquaintance" lately? But Ronald Reagan? Wayne Morris? Eleanor Parker, dripping inexperience, Eve Arden, dripping faux archness, Kent Smith, just dripping. Apparently this was a hot property, having played a zillion Broadway stage performances, but then, I suspect, a lot of things were hot properties during the war years; then again, Margaret Sullavan could give any piece of dreck magic. So Warners must have paid a good price for it, then cast it with subpar contract performers, on the cheap, to even costs out, I suppose, gave it their standard heavy handed '40's comedy wrappings, and other than as a relic, and a not very good one, to satisfy one's curiosity, it is unwatchable after one viewing.
The Hard Way (1943)
Not Hard Enough
Joan Leslie's character is NOT an innocent, and she is complicit in everything the two sisters do, yet ultimately refuses to take any responsibility, either for wanting so much more than their rotten existence has to offer, or for destroying her husband, or for ultimately betraying her sister. I felt nothing but sympathy for Ida Lupino's character, didn't think she did anything inappropriate (perhaps unethical, but did ethics ever get anyone out of a mill town and on Broadway or anywhere for that matter?), and thought she got a raw deal, as dictated by 1940s morality and the Breen office. Dennis Morgan's character is just there to preach, moralize and make certain the man/woman status quo is maintained. It could have been a brilliant film if it had been allowed to be honest. Ida, as always, is magnificent, and is really the only reason for viewing this film.