Thank Your Lucky Stars
Director: David Butler
Year: 1944
Rating: 7.5
For those few who like old films from the glorious glamorous days of Hollywood
studios, here is one I watched the other night that you might enjoy. Harmless,
humorous and as light as a passing breeze. Thank Your Lucky Stars was produced
by Warner Brothers in 1943 as a benefit for the war with the salaries of the
stars being donated to the Hollywood Canteen which had been formed by Bette
Davis and John Garfield. It was a club for service men to relax and eat and
dance. There were a few of these benefit films produced by Hollywood in the
war years in which they present a number of their stars on contract in unfamiliar
roles - usually as themselves and often performing songs.
This one has a plot as thin as a 1960's runway model and is just used to
give stars an opportunity to do cameos or sing a song. Dennis Morgan is a
singer and Joan Leslie has a song and they are trying to break into a show
being given for charity. A bunch of stars show up among them Bette Davis,
John Garfield, Eddie Cantor, Erroll Flynn, Olivia De Havilland, Ida Lupino,
Ann Sheridan, Dinah Shore, Alexis Smith, Jack Carson, Alan Hale, Spike Jones
and then Bogie shows up for a one-minute cameo.
The rest do musical numbers whether they can sing or not. There is also
an all black number - I guess integrating dance numbers was taboo - with
Hattie McDaniel and Willie Best in a big gala affair.
For me Eddie Cantor who is a big part of this in a dual role was the main
discovery. He is a legend but mainly as a performer on the stage and only
appeared in a few films but he is like a gin tonic well shaken. You can only
really take him in bite sized pieces but for a few minutes at a time he is
something to watch. Always interesting to see how entertainment has changed
so much. His act back then was was incredibly popular.