This 61 year old film, while overlong and not great, remains a fascinating glimpse of America in the midst of World War II. The basic story line is about four soldiers just out of basic training who are about to be shipped overseas to the front (which one is secret). On a three day leave in New York City they continually visit the Stage Door Canteen, where the food is free and they can dance and talk with volunteer hostesses who operate under very severe rules regarding not dating the soldiers. A huge array of stage, screen, and radio personalities and big bands, all of whom worked fro free, is on hand to entertain evey couple of minutes, and the acts range from comedy (some very dated) to dramatic recitations and songs. Gypsy Rose Lee is on hand to do a G rated strip and even the Lunts are there to perform. So the story is merely there to provide over two hours of contemporary entertainment to boost the soldiers' (and our) morale. This has always been a favorite of mine and I just got it on DVD to replace my VHS copy.
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Topic - "Stage Door Canteen" - rico 07:59:51 10/09/04 (3)
- Yes, a very good film........... - danj 22:42:34 10/09/04 (2)
- Re: Yes, a very good film........... - rico 06:21:11 10/10/04 (1)
- My DVD box says 135 minutes..... - danj 18:30:20 10/10/04 (0)