ManiakJiggy This is How Movies Should Be Made

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Leoni Haney Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

edwagreen While the plot is very thin, the entertainment is long. This usual World War 11 type of canteen movie works nicely due to the chemistry of Gloria De Haven and June Allyson, two sisters who wind up vying for the affection of Van Johnson,a sailor, who unknown to the two girls is worth $60 million.As the love interest of De Haven, Tom Drake is given very little to do here.Jimmy Durante is charismatic as the guy they meet living in the warehouse after so many years of abandoning everyone when his wife took their young son and left him.The entertainment at the canteen is excellent with Harry James, Xavier Cugat, Lena Horne and Jose Iturbi.As the picture goes along, you know who the wealthy Johnson character will wind up, but the music, dancing and atmosphere make it all worthwhile.

Jimmy L. TWO GIRLS AND A SAILOR (1944) is mindless fluff featuring a string of guest stars and musical acts, meant to cheer audiences up while WWII raged on overseas.In the tradition of many other wartime musicals, the film is almost like sitting through a concert. A simple plot serves as an excuse for a parade of musical numbers that aim to entertain the cinema-goers as much as the in-movie club patrons. It's pure escapism. Throw in some romance, some comedy, and a dash of patriotism and you have a very pleasant movie indeed.And TWO GIRLS AND A SAILOR is a very pleasant movie. Fluff, yes, but it's fun. June Allyson and Gloria DeHaven play showbiz sisters who sing at a nightclub and entertain servicemen at their apartment. Thanks to the generosity of a mysterious admirer, the girls are able to open their own canteen to put on shows for the men in uniform. But what happens when both sisters start falling for the same guy (Navy sailor Van Johnson)?Both actresses are charming and do a nice job. Gloria DeHaven is very beautiful, but it is June Allyson as the protective older sister who wins us over. I've never considered myself much of a June Allyson fan, but she certainly was talented and her performance here (singing, dancing, acting, comedy) is great.Jimmy Durante provides solid comic relief and even sings his hit "Inka Dinka Doo". Van Johnson plays an all-American good guy, a sailor who happens to be a multi-millionaire. Tom Drake is Johnson's rival for DeHaven's affections, an Army sergeant who's really kind of a jerk.MGM showcases many of its top musical acts throughout the film, including popular trumpeter and bandleader Harry James, the exotic Xavier Cugat Orchestra, jazz vocalist Lena Horne, deadpan singer Virginia O'Brien, the singing Wilde Twins (sisters Lee and Lyn), and piano maestro Jose Iturbi. Even Gracie Allen shows up for a comedic piano number.Thinly plotted musicals aren't always my thing, but there's something very likable about this production. Allyson, DeHaven, Johnson, Durante, and Henry Stephenson (as Johnson's grandfather) are all great. The musical acts serve as a 1940s time capsule. The story is sweet and innocent. Just sit back and be entertained.

weezeralfalfa June Allyson and a young Gloria De Haven made a very appealing stage pair of sisters, especially for the many men far from home in wartime. Thus, I suppose that we, in subsequent decades, can excuse the overly drawn out quest to discover the identity of their unbelievably generous anonymous benefactor, which occupies much of the time between musical numbers. This gives us more time to be with the girls and their colorful surrogate father, Jimmy Durante. However, it's rather disconcerting to have June often sad and sometimes crying over her apparently fruitless crush on Van Johnson's character: John Brown III: a navy sailor from a local family.The actual screen play is total nonsense, if sometimes intriguing. Tom Drake( the boy next door in "Meet Me in St. Louis") plays an army NOC from an onion-growing Texas farm, who competes with Van for Gloria's attention. Durante is the girls' down and out elderly show business friend. In the later part of the film, Henry Stephenson, as Van's wealthy grandfather, supplements Durante as the girls' surrogate father and adviser in romantic matters.(The girls' vaudevillian parents inexplicably vanished after the first scene of the film, when the girls were just tiny tots).I think most people would agree that the musical highlights of the film include the following:(1) the "Sweet and Lovely", followed by "A-Tisket-a-Tasket", duet by the girls, backed by the Harry James Orchestra (2)a series of closely spaced performances, beginning with another duet by the girls: "A Love Like Ours", backed by the James Orchestra, quickly followed by the Xavier Cugat Orchestra, first featuring Lina Romay doing the "Rhumba Rhumba", then backing Carlos Ramirez's excellent rendition of "Granada". (3) The June-James collaboration in "Young Man With the Horn" and (4)Durante's classic "Inka Dinka Doo". Helen Forrest's "In a Moment of Madness", James' "Estrellita", and Lina Romay's all too brief "Babalu" were also good, as was Lina's somewhat comical dance with Ben Blue. If you would like to see more of Lina, she did several stage numbers, as well as being a significant part of the drama, in the complex Randoph Scott western "The Man behind the Gun". Columbian Carlos Ramirez would again be the featured singer in the elaborate "Begin the Beguine" production in the Porter biop "Night and Day". The "Take It Easy" number briefly featured several singers, but mostly focused on Virginia O'Brien. I would have much preferred focusing on the gorgeous Wilde twins and skipping the signature wide-eyed deadpan performance of O'Brien. For a better look at the Wilde twins, check out "Andy Hardy's Blonde Troubles", or "Twice Blessed", as well as a very brief song bit in "'Til the Clouds Roll By".Why, oh, why was Lena Horne given a song with lyrics obviously meant for a man (like Nat Cole) to sing??. To see her at much better advantage, check out the Technicolor "Broadway Rhythm", released the same year, "'Til the Clouds Roll By", or the B&W "Stormy Weather". Why was famous comedienne Grace Allen just given an idiotic sour note piano recital to do??. Why wasn't she teamed with Durante(in the absence of George Burns) for a comedic skit or scene?? Why weren't Van Johnson's vaudevillian talents exploited in his interactions with the girls, instead of his being presented as a rather faceless sailor?? Perhaps we could then better understand the girls' sudden infatuation with him. To me, Jose Iturbi's diverting inclusion in the drama and musical performances didn't really add anything significant. Check out "Anchors Aweigh" or "Music for Millions" for a much more favorable presentation of his piano talent. I would much rather have listened to another of Helen Forrest's better songs, or another classic Latin song by Carlos Ramirez, or perhaps a duet by Carlos and Lina Romay, or a number by Van and one or more of the Deyo or Wilde sisters. In summary, while this B&W musical-variety show hybrid includes some classic musical performances, and the stars provide a generally good time, given all the talent included, it could have been much better. Also, it would have been nice if MGM had splurged and filmed it in Technicolor, as they had the previous year with "Best Foot Forward", which also featured June and Gloria, among others. Gloria was also featured in two other MGM musicals in '44: the B&W "Step Lively", with Sinatra and George Murphy, and the Technicolor musical-variety show hybrid "Broadway Rhythm". I can't tell you which of the 3 is best, they are all so different. June was reunited with Durante and Jose Iturbi that same year in the wartime drama-musical "Music for Millions". A few years later, she would again be teamed with Durante, with Kathryn Grayson replacing De Haven as her sister, in the B&W musical comedy "Two Sisters from Boston". I haven't seen either these, but reviewers generally say they are good.

wes-connors Extremely long World War II story about "Two Girls and a Sailor" (portrayed by June Allyson, Gloria DeHaven, and Van Johnson). The threesome from the customary "love triangle" - will Sailor Johnson choose pert June Allyson or sexy Gloria DeHaven? The film would be more accurately titled, "Two Girls, a Sailor, and a Variety Show" because the singing sisters aren't just shown at work - every act in their musical revue is shown. It's like a Musical spliced with a Variety Show; and, it clocks in at over two hours without ever becoming anything more than low average.June Allyson, Jimmy Durante, Harry James, and Gracie Allen have fine moments; and, it's nice to see "Inka Dinka Doo" and all of the other 1944 era acts preserved on film. ***** Two Girls and a Sailor (1944) Richard Thorpe ~ June Allyson, Van Johnson, Gloria DeHaven