Hollywood Canteen
Included Exclusively in the "Warner Bros. and the Homefront Collection"
A snappy salute to the landmark hospitality club for servicemen. Real-life Canteen co-founders Bette Davis and John Garfield plus dozens more luminaries - from Jack Benny to Barbara Stanwyck to Roy Rogers - dazzle in "a great big scrambled vaudeville show with enough talent to have made a dozen fine movies" (New York Herald Tribune).
Member Reviews
WW2 Americana - MovieLover5
This is really a variety show with a pretty lame plot to more or less give it some reason. Regardless, it's seeing all these Hollywood stars and other sundry entertainers of the 40's that make it worth watching. Were things really that innocent then? Somehow I doubt it, but it's nice to think young people were squeaky clean back then. The special features are interesting also, esp. Bogart's "commercial" for the American Red Cross. And don't miss the cartoon - I'm 64 and still managed to have a good laugh watching Bug Bunny get the better of Elmer Fudd (again)!Apple pie and cheesecake - RobBC
A group of A-list celebrities rally round the flag in this unabashedly patriotic series of photo ops meant to buoy the spirits of war-weary soldiers. Founded by Bette Davis and John Garfield during WWII, the real Hollywood Canteen was an L.A. nightclub catering to active servicemen on their way overseas. The food was free and the staff consisted entirely of members of the entertainment industry including the occasional movie star. In this fictional account we follow the adventures of Corporal “Slim” Green who wanders into the Canteen hoping to meet the actress he’s been fantasizing about during those long nights in the South Pacific, the sweetly angelic Joan Leslie. When he finally does meet her he gets far more than he bargained for including an obligatory tear-filled farewell on a train station platform. Hollywood Canteen overflows with great song & dance numbers, surprise cameos, and enough cornball comedy to keep you smiling. It’s light and fluffy, a little heavy on the apple pie, and about as subtle as an infomercial but highly entertaining just the same.
Member Reviews
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WW2 Americana - MovieLover5
This is really a variety show with a pretty lame plot to more or less give it some reason. Regardless, it's seeing all these Hollywood stars and other sundry entertainers of the 40's that make it worth watching. Were things really that innocent then? Somehow ...Apple pie and cheesecake - RobBC
A group of A-list celebrities rally round the flag in this unabashedly patriotic series of photo ops meant to buoy the spirits of war-weary soldiers. Founded by Bette Davis and John Garfield during WWII, the real Hollywood Canteen was an L.A. nightclub catering ...