Evening star., 1944-11-17

gag situations in the middle Of
which one usually finds Phil 6ilvers.
Something for the Boys" can be
safely guaranteed not to make movie
history, but the studio does not give
q rap about that so long as 1t makes
money. A purpose like that, OF
course, is not noble, but 1t is ranked
as eminently sound by wise movie
makers.
The accent OF Something for the
Boys" for some obscure reason, has
been changed since the script was
moved from Broadway to Holly
wood. In New York the fragile, II
not downright banal, book dealt with
the experiences Of q trio which had
inherited broken-down Texas
ranch. That gave 1t a Texas accent.
It has been changed to Georgia now
and persons familiar with the au-
thentic native speech are destined to
find the Hollywood variation one Of
the pictures most comic aspects.
Most diverting single feature Of
Something for the Boys" Is It's
music. To Cole Porter's original
tunes, of which there were just
enough to justify his name in the
credits, the studio has thoughtfully
added several by Jimmy McHugh.
I'm the Middle of Nowhere" and II
Wish We Didn't Have to Say Good
night" pair pleasantly sung by
Perry Como, are the most listenable
of the lot. Como, fresh from the
stage and night clubs, has a mini
mum to do with the story, but he
is the pictures brightest vocal asset.
Como, of course, does by no means
all the singing which Something
for the Boys" needs desperately to
pick it up at certain moments. He
is assisted quite effectively by the
studios newest thrush, Vivian
Blaine, girl who sings competently
and looks sort of bewitching in
technicolor. Miss Miranda also
sings and, betimes, Michael O'Shea
comes through with q vocal item
when he is called upon.
X X
The Capitol's picture, as so many
Of its musical predecessors, is highly
deficient in humor. Silvers Scampers
through several situations that are
not without their element of comedy,
but none Of them are precisely novel.
Best Of the lot is when he is picked
up by professional gambler on a
train and frightens the latter out
of the game before it starts by his
ability to trick shuttle the cards.
Miss Miranda Is cast in a role
that really had comedy possibilities
had not the studio lapsed into its
old feeling that there is nothing
funnier in the world than her
wrestle with the English language.
That was funny once upon q time,
but it has been fairly worked to
death. Now when she says "Shoo
Shoes, Baby" it gets the barest
ripple of laugh.
1t would have been much better
for the comedy of the picture to
have gone on with the humor in
herent In Miss Miranda as factory
worker whose teeth have picked up
so much carborundum that she can
pick up radio music through them.
4 4
The nebulous plot of Something
for the Boys" concerns trio of Hart
cousins, Silvers, Miss Blaine and
Miss Miranda, who inherit a dilapi-
dated plantation. It is not worth q
dime and they do not have dime,
SO things look bad until a group of
soldiers from a nearby camp rent
the place as a home for their
visiting wives. It is transformed
then into one of those lavish plan
tation settings on which r. Is In
evitable that the talented soldiers
and their guests shall give typical
goth Century-Fox musical.
The score, as we say, Is quite
effective in spots. and 80 is the
dancing, particularly the ensemble