Such a frustrating disappointment

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Not much stands out from this patriotic revue, either musically or comedically; the high spot is probably "The Flight Of The Bumblebee" on the violin! (the low spot is a slightly sickening song about shooting down Jap planes!) Most, if not all, of the famous actors who appear (as themselves) are wasted; Harpo Marx's blink-and-you-will-miss-him participation is especially disappointing (as is Gypsy Rose Lee's non-stripteasing "striptease"). The whole production is mostly airless and claustrophobic, but when (near the end) the two leads spend the night on a roof talking about each other's likes, it's a beautiful scene. My public domain copy runs neither 132 minutes nor 93, but 111. ** out of 4.

STAGE DOOR CANTEEN (1943) is a lot of fun for what it is. What it is is a patriotic morale-booster that brings the star-studded experience of New York's Stage Door Canteen to a wartime audience. Canteens were set up by big names in show business to entertain servicemen on their home soil, free of charge.The film is chock-full of celebrity cameos by dozens of famous stars of the stage, screen, and radio. Most of the celebrities are identified in some way, although big-time classic movie fans should have fun spotting them first.The movie is a product of its time, and seen many decades removed from its original context it becomes something of a time capsule, showcasing the entertainment of a past generation. Some of the names will be a bit obscure to modern audiences (particularly stage stars who didn't make many movies).* Guest stars include ventriloquist Edgar Bergen, vaudeville comedian Ed Wynn, Oscar-winners Katharine Hepburn and Paul Muni, the jazz bands of Benny Goodman and Count Basie, and various Hollywood supporting players and entertainment personalities.Where else can you see Franklin Pangborn wash dishes with jungle man Johnny Weissmuller? Other highlights are scenes between married Broadway stars Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, a rousing song by Ethel Merman, and a comic striptease by Gypsy Rose Lee (strictly rated G -- more "tease" than "strip").Classic movie fans will get more out of this film than the uninitiated, who might not recognize the faces or even the names that go with them. The movie works best when you can appreciate the cameos.Don't expect much in the way of plot. Comedy bits and musical numbers are strung together by a story of young soldiers visiting the Canteen on leave before being shipped overseas and the girls they meet inside. The young romances reflect the bittersweet reality of wartime relationships.Cheryl Walker is lovely as the ice queen hostess who comes to the Canteen for all the wrong reasons. She's looking to further her own acting career and isn't particularly interested in showing the soldiers a good time. Marjorie Riordan is cute as one of the other hostesses, who spends time with a soldier who has no sweetheart back home.STAGE DOOR CANTEEN isn't wartime escapism. Director Frank Borzage doesn't try to distract the audience from the global situation. He keeps the audience constantly reminded, with the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines that populate the Canteen and the alternately upbeat and somber patriotic tunes. Amid all the star-gazing, the film comes out in support of the U.S. servicemen, as well as America's allies in combat from Australia, the U.K., Russia, and even China. It's not hard to imagine the comfort the film must have given audiences at the height of World War II.*The similarly-themed HOLLYWOOD_CANTEEN (1944) may have more recognizable stars, boasting some of the biggest names from Warner Bros. films (Bette Davis, Joan Leslie, Joan Crawford, John Garfield, S.Z. Sakall, Ida Lupino, Jack Carson, Sydney Greenstreet, Jane Wyman, etc.).

Good chance to see how a slice of the war effort was being presented to homefront audiences. Celebrities, servicemen, internationals, USO–type girls-- all mix on an equal basis at the New York canteen. Okay, the boys are strictly from the "aw shucks" school of acting and carry the names of their states instead of their given names, while the girls are uniformly sweet and patriotically motivated. It's a tribute to middle-America and its idealized innocence. After all, exaggerated or not, it's these folks who fight the battles and make the sacrifices.I imagine the real draw is seeing such Broadway types as Lunt & Fontanne, Judith Anderson, Katherine Hepburn, et al., doing menial work like washing dishes or serving food for the boys. There's also a host of lesser celebrities—Allan Jenkins, Jane Darwell, Franklin Pangborn et al., mainly familiar faces if not familiar names. But you have to look fast since they don't hang around.The music is from an assortment of big bands, but disappointingly forgettable. However, several of the stage acts are a lot of fun, especially Gypsy Rose Lee's mock striptease. And surprise, surprise, that really gets a response from the boys. In good 40's style, there's also a "class act", violin virtuoso Yehudi Menuhin to elevate the proceedings.There's a loose story holding things together, About what you'd expect, boys and girls meeting as the boys are about to go overseas. In short, the sort of heartache so many thousands were facing under the demands of wartime conditions. There's nothing special here, except maybe for the celebrity cameos. It's also the sort of thing done better by the following year's Hollywood Canteen (1944) with the west coast's access to the movie studios. Nonetheless, for those interested in how things were holding together during those stressful times, the movie's worth a look.

I was quite disappointed with this. I had seen Hollywood Canteen and enjoyed it. This East Coast version had more stars, but used them to less advantage. Besides giving us more stars, this movie tries to add a love story, but it is more pathetic than uplifting.Most of the stars are given about one minute to do a joke or two, these are okay, but the stars who are given three or four minutes, like Georgie Jezzel, Ray Bolger, and Edgar Bergen are only mildly amusing at best. The only musical number that I enjoyed was Benny Goodman. His swing song with a young and beautiful Peggy Lee rocked. The only other bit I really enjoyed was Gypsy Rose Lee. She tried to do a strip tease that could get past the censors and ended up only taking off her girdle and her gloves. Yet her obvious sexuality turned all the soldiers on. This was just around the time she had come out with a novel "The G String Murders" and a play "The Naked Genius" and was starting to break out of burlesque.The problem is the film is devoted too much too lame war propaganda, as if the producers felt they had to justify the free food, dancing girls and entertainment at the Canteen by reminding us that it was for our gallant boys every few minutes. They also took pains to assure us that no sexual activity was going on between the girls who worked in the canteen and the soldiers. It makes me suspect that just the opposite was the case.See "Hollywood Canteen" which has fewer stars, but is a lot more fun.