THIS IS THE ARMY (1943)

After languishing for decades in miserable Public Domain prints, Warners & the Irving Berlin Estate have finally restored this galumphing piece of military morale boosterism so that we can, at last, properly see (and hear) the biggest hit of 1943; a fascinating slice of the times & (viewed with 1943 blinders in place) tremendous entertainment. Recent revue pics (THE GOLDWYN FOLLIES /’38 and FANTASIA/’41) had tanked, so a simple but effective storyline was added to give some narrative momentum to Irving Berlin’s army revues from WWI & II. And Warners' top helmer Michael Curtiz does wonders in making it all feel meaningful & dynamic, really working the modest story elements into something with a surprising emotional kick. The politically prescient duo of George Murphy & Ronald Reagan are totally believable as father & son B’way stagers, but we’re all here to check out the encapsulated revue material. The comedy skits inevitably fall flat, but Berlin’s cascade of novelty songs, patriotic anthems & heart-on-sleeve romantic ballads are grand. Who knew the army had so many Irish tenors? And where else in Hollywood can the full contradictory nature of America’s war-time racial divide be so clearly seen? Perhaps because he insisted that his self-contained show unit be run as the one & only fully-integrated military outfit in WWII, Berlin is equally comfortable with his black-face minstrel numbo ('Mandy’ from THE ZIEGFELD FOLLIES of 1919) and with his newly minted all-black showstopper ‘What the Well-Dressed Man in Harlem Will Wear.’ For Berlin, it was all showbiz.

ATTENTION MUST BE PAID: Berlin & antagonist co-director/performer Ezra Stone fought over BlackFace in the original stage show.  Stone got it dropped only by convincing Berlin that it would take the White Soldier Boys too long to remove the makeup to make their next number.  No problem in the movies!   And Berlin (or someone) found a spot for BlackFace in the film’s WWI prologue.