Gene Kelly stars as a circus aerialist who reluctantly becomes a G.I., then falls in love with the colonel's daughter, played by Kathryn Grayson, who decides to put on a mammoth show for the servicemen. This, of course, gives MGM studios an opportunity to parade out a plethora of stars to perform in the show, among them Eleanor Powell dancing to "Boogie Woogie," Lena Horne singing "Honeysuckle Rose," and Judy Garland doing "The Joint Is Really Jumpin' in Carnegie Hall." Kelly shows off his dancing skills in a duet with a mop to "Let Me Call You Sweetheart," and Grayson raises her voice rather impressively with Verdi's "Sempre Libera," Jose Iturbi conducting. This movie gives you a sentimental sense of what the World War II years were like. The surprisingly likeable "I Dug a Ditch in Wichita" serves as an underlying theme song and is performed several times in the film with different arrangements. Grayson sings a version using an exaggerated "cowboy" accent, and Kelly dances to an instrumental version while partnering with a broom, having jilted the mop. The plot of this wartime film is strong and serves as more than a thread to hold the numbers together, but the comedy stylings of Mickey Rooney, Red Skelton, and Ben Blue inspire fast-forward. ---Musicals on the Silver Screen, American Library Association, 2013
Review of Thousands Cheer
