Jeanskynebu
the audience applauded
BoardChiri
Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay
ThrillMessage
There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.
dougdoepke
Not one of MGM's more memorable musicals. Except for the show-stopping Winsocki number, the music is undistinguished at best. Walker steals the show as the wisecracking plain-Jane, while Ball looks gorgeous but in a routine role. Nice boy Tommy Dix has a good voice, but little charisma. Thus, it's the rare Hollywood movie without a leading man.Too bad the sparkling June Allyson and Gloria DeHaven weren't given more to do. They could have added much needed bounce, since Weidler has an unenviable killjoy role. And, please, couldn't someone put a leash on Kenny Bowers (Dutch) who mugs it up unmercifully like a pet chimp. Contrast his excess with the expertly expressive Donald McBride (Capt. Bradd), one of the fine, unsung comedic players of the 1940's. No surprise that no choreographer is listed since the dance numbers are also forgettable. Even Harry James looks a bit discomfited by the brief shuffle he's required to do. At the same time, director Buzzell fails to bring off the madcap bedroom scene with the farcical coordination needed. As a result, the hectic mix up comes across as more frantic than funny.All in all, it's a movie of bits and pieces with some good color photography and spot performances. My sense, however, is that this was a second-tier effort, without the peacetime cast (it is, after all, 1943) and top-notch director that could have made the many parts gel in typical MGM fashion.
kenjha
A cadet at a military academy invites Lucille Ball to the senior prom and she shows up after her manager convinces her that it's good publicity! Who better to play Lucille Ball than Lucille Ball? In fact, she was so good at it that she played herself in two movies in 1943 ("Thousands Cheer" being the other). She looks rather alluring in this one! Dix, who kind of looks like Leonardo Di Caprio, apparently retired from acting after this one big role. Weidler, who plays his girlfriend, also retired after this film. In her film debut, Walker is funny as a homely student who tries to get the attention of every man she can. The plot is very thin, but it's mildly amusing.
whpratt1
Enjoyed viewing this old timer from 1943 and seeing Lucille Ball acting as herself and getting plenty of laughs. In this film, Lucille's career is sort of fading and her agent thinks it is a good idea for her to get some press coverage by becoming a date for a Senior Prom at Winsocki Military Academy. The lucky guy is Bud Hooper, who at the same time has a girl friend who wants to go with him to the prom also. June Allyson, (Ethel) does some fancy dance steps and sings a few tunes, which sort of launched her career in films. There is some great entertainment from Harry James and his orchestra, he plays a great version of "Flight of the Bumble Bee" and also does a funny dance routine with Nancy Walker, who really was the great comic in the film and got most of the laughs. This is definitely a look back in the past, with plenty of 1943 entertainment. Enjoy
jshaffer-1
When this first came out in the theater and I saw it then, there was a military academy in the town where I lived. And I was just going into high school. I thought this movie was the greatest thing I had ever seen, maybe the greatest movie ever made. I felt like it had been made especially for me, my friends and our local cadets. And the song, Buckle Down Winsocki was absolutely the best fight song in the world. I realize now that the movie probably wasn't that good, it was trite and predictable, as well as being juvenile. It still thrills me, and the memories that I have of that time all come back when I watch this movie again. I'm not capable of seeing it from any other point of view, so I am going to give this a 10, just for old times' sake.
