Thank Your Lucky Stars (film)
Thank Your Lucky Stars is a 1943 American musical comedy film made by Warner Brothers as a World War II fundraiser, with a slim plot involving theater producers. The stars donated their salaries to the Hollywood Canteen, which was founded by John Garfield and Bette Davis, who appear in this film. It was directed by David Butler and stars Eddie Cantor, Dennis Morgan, Joan Leslie, Edward Everett Horton and S.Z. Sakall. Plot. Two theater producers try to stage a wartime charity extravaganza called Cavalcade of Stars. The egotistical Eddie Cantor has Dinah Shore under contract  and will only allow her to appear if he is made chairman of the benefit committee, so he is allowed to take command. Meanwhile, an aspiring singer and his songwriter girlfriend conspire to get into the charity program by replacing Cantor with their lookalike friend, tour bus driver Joe Simpson. Many of Warner Bros.' stars performed in musical numbers, including several who were not known as singers. The show features the only onscreen musical performances by Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland and Ida Lupino. Cast. Guest Stars Musical numbers. Some are performed as part of the plot and  others are heard in rehearsal and benefit performance scenes. Production. Filming for "Thank Your Lucky Stars" began on October 14, 1942. Producer Mark Hellinger and director David Butler both made cameo appearances in the film. "Thank Your Lucky Stars" was the film debut of both Dinah Shore and Spike Jones and his City Slickers. Each of the cast members was paid a $50,000 fee, which was then donated to the Hollywood Canteen. The film used sets that had been built for the Warner Bros. films "The Green Pastures" and "Wonder Bar". Bette Davis recalled that Conrad Wiedell, who had  really won a jitterbug contest, was frightened at the thought of hurting her. She told him "forget about who I am...let your instincts come to the fore, and just do it!" Olivia de Havilland said that she added the over-the-top gum chewing to the act in order to help with the lip-synching. The finale was filmed with many of the cast on stage together, but all are shown when the curtain comes down, thanks to special effects that place five acts—Flynn, Sheridan, Davis, the Carson-Hale duo and the trio of de Havilland, Lupino and  Tobias—over their glitter-covered stars. Reception. "Thank Your Lucky Stars" was popular with audiences, and the critic James Agee called it "the loudest and most vulgar of the current musicals. It is also the most fun." Ticket sales, combined with the donated salaries of the performers, raised more than $2,000,000 for the Hollywood Canteen. The film earned $2,503,000 domestically and $1,118,000 in foreign markets. At the time, "Variety" described the film as a "triumph for Eddie Cantor". Bosley Crowther of "The New York Times" wrote that "the gag that the true Mr. Cantor would, if he  could, gum up the show is so realistically repeated that fiction becomes painful fact...you have a conventional all-star show which has the suspicious flavor of an 'amateur night' at the studio. But at least it is lively and genial...For the sake of variety, the Warners might have worked in a little more dance and a little more femininity. Too many people sing. And too few beautiful girls display their talents. It is also too much (two hours) of a show. But, in straight omnibus entertainment that's what you have to expect." Leonard Maltin gives the picture  three out of four stars, stating "Very lame plot...frames all-star Warner Bros. show, with Davis singing "They're Either Too Young or Too Old,<nowiki>"</nowiki> Flynn delightfully performing "That's What You Jolly Well Get,<nowiki>"</nowiki> other staid stars breaking loose." Awards and honors. The song "They're Either Too Young or Too Old" by Arthur Schwartz (music) and Frank Loesser (lyrics) was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Music, Original Song, but lost to "You'll Never Know" by Harry Warren and Mack Gordon from the film "Hello, Frisco, Hello". The song was also a number -one hit on "Your Hit Parade". References. Notes Bibliography