Thursday, September 10, 2009

Give Out, Sisters (1942) Film Review - The Andrews Sisters - Cinecon 45 Screening

Plot Summary - WWII Andrews Sisters musical romp. A nightclub wants to put on a show starring the Andrews Sisters and the dancing teen troupe The Jivin' Jacks and Jills. Here's the rub - the leading female dancer, Gracie, is secretly an heiress under the guardianship of three middle-aged, spinster aunts who don't believe in someone in their clan showing their legs on a public stage. When a photographer snaps Gracie's photo and it gets plastered all over the papers, the news is out and the producers must get the permission of the aunts for her to dance in the show. One of the men behind the show goes to the aunts' house posing as a doctor and orders them into bed with fake illnesses and head bandages - at the same time The Andrews Sisters arrive at the house disguised as the three aunts to trick the producers into thinking they are giving their permission. Of course, the show does go on - and the aunts end up at a ringside table drinking Old-Fashioned's and soon finally give in as The Sisters and dancing troupers give out on stage.

Review - This fun and funny B musical-comedy kept me entertained. The singing and dance numbers are all enjoyable, especially The Andrews Sisters performing "The Pennsylvania Polka", and I totally got a kick out of the dance numbers performed by The Jivin' Jacks and Jills (including Donald O'Connor and Peggy Ryan) - there is also lots of humor throughout the film. I was particularly amused by the scenes with those three aunts - oddly, they wear what looked to me like 1880s/90s black dresses (were they wearing bustles?), though the trio don't appear to be much more than forty years old. The aunts think of the Old-Fashioned Cocktail as a glass of delicious fruit preserves (says one "I'm going to try the syrup") - hehe!. Okay, yes, I totally love musicals and found this to be an amusing, pleasant watch. For me, this one was the best of the several Andrews Sisters films that have been screened at Cinecon over the last few years. And gotta love the Forties - the youngin's always tried so hard then to be modern, cool and hip, always speaking the latest up-to-the-minute hep slang (well, I guess they still do). Cute movie. Rating - 7.5 to 8/10 stars

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