This Is the Army is a 1943 American motion picture produced by Hal B. Wallis and Jack L. Warner, and directed by Michael Curtiz. The story and original music were written by Irving Berlin. A wartime musical designed to boost morale in the U.S. during World War II, it features a large ensemble cast, including George Murphy, Joan Leslie, Alan Hale, and Ronald Reagan. Jump to: navigation, search 1943 is a common year starting on Friday. ... Jump to: navigation, search Cinema can refer to: Film, motion pictures or movies. ... Hal B. Wallis (September 14, 1898 – October 5, 1986) was an American motion picture producer. ... This article is about Jack Warner, the head of Warner Brothers. ... Michael Curtiz (December 24, 1886 - April 10, 1962) was a film director, whose films include The Adventures of Robin Hood, Casablanca, and White Christmas. ... Jump to: navigation, search Irving Berlin (May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989), born Israel Isidore Baline, in Tyumen, Siberia (or Mahilyow (Mogilev), Belarus), was an American composer and lyricist, one of the most prodigious and famous American songwriters in history. ... Jump to: navigation, search World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atom bomb World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a mid-20th-century conflict that... George Murphy George Lloyd Murphy (July 4, 1902 – May 3, 1992) was an American dancer, actor and politician. ... Joan Leslie (born January 26, 1925 in Detroit, Michigan) was an American actress. ... Alan Hale Sr. ... Jump to: navigation, search Ronald Wilson Reagan, GCB, (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States (1981–1989) and the 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975). ...

Description

The story follows the life of Jerry Jones (Murphy) and his son Johnny (Reagan) over the course of two wars. In the beginning of the movie, Jones is a professional dancer drafted into the Army during World War I. At the request of his commanding officer, and against the grudging opposition of his cantankerous drill instructor Sgt. McGee (Hale), Jones produces a patriotic musical revue called Yip Yip Yaphank with music by Irving Berlin. The second part of the movie follows his son (Reagan) who is charged with undertaking a similar but grander production to inspire troops in World War II. The explicitly stated message of the movie is that the purpose of United States involvement in World War II is to fulfill the unfinished result of the previous war. The title of the movie is from the well-known Berlin song that is featured in the movie, which is also the title of the musical-within-a-movie staged by the younger Jones. US Army Seal HHC, US Army Distinctive Unit Insignia The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces which has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... Jump to: navigation, search World War I was primarily a European conflict with many facets: immense human sacrifice, stalemate trench warfare, and the use of new, devastating weapons - tanks, aircraft, machineguns, and poison gas. ... Yip Yip Yaphank was the name of musical revue composed and produced by Irving Berlin during World War I in 1917 while he was a recruit in the United States Army at Camp Upton in Yaphank, New York. ... Jump to: navigation, search World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atom bomb World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a mid-20th-century conflict that...

The movie features appearances by Irving Berlin, Kate Smith, and Joe Louis as themselves. Smith's full-length rendition of Berlin's "God Bless America" is arguably the most famous cinematic rendition of the piece. Louis appears in a revue piece called "The Well-Dressed Man in Harlem" with other black entertainers, the only revue piece that includes African-Americans (the U.S. armed forces were segregated during World War II). Kate Smith on the cover of a posthumous 1991 collection 16 Most Requested Songs Kate Smith (Kathryn Elizabeth Smith) (May 1, 1907–June 17, 1986) was an American singer best known for her rendition of Irving Berlins God Bless America. She greeted audiences with Hello, everybody! and signed off... Jump to: navigation, search Joseph Louis Barrow (1914-1981), better known in the boxing world as Joe Louis and nicknamed The Brown Bomber, was a native of Lexington, Alabama who became World Heavyweight Champion. ... Jump to: navigation, search God Bless America is an American patriotic song written by Irving Berlin in 1918 and revised by him in 1938. ... Jump to: navigation, search African Americans, also known as Afro-Americans, Black Americans, or simply blacks are an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ...

The revue pieces also include acrobat routines, several comedy pieces, including one with Hale in drag, and tributes to the Navy and the Air Corps. Acrobatics (from Greek Akros, high and bat, walking) is one of the performing arts. ... Comedy is the use of humor in the performing arts. ... Jump to: navigation, search The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ... Jump to: navigation, search The United States Air Force (USAF) is the aviation branch of the United States armed forces. ...

The movie can be viewed in many ways as a forerunner of the 1954 movie White Christmas, which also used Berlin's music and featured many similar sketches and scenes, including songs praising Army life and the dramatic marching of soldiers through a theater. Jump to: navigation, search 1954 was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Although the core of the movie consists of the musical numbers, the movie also contains a veneer of a plot involving the wartime love interests of both the father and the son.

Plot summary

In World War I, the musical Yip Yip Yaphank is a rousing success. During the show, it is learned that the troop has received its orders to ship off to France, and thus the end number is changed so that the soldiers march through the theater with their rifles and gear and out into the waiting convoy of trucks. Jones kisses his new bride on the way down the aisle.

In the war, several of the soldiers in the production are killed. Jones is injured by a bomb blast and loses the full use of one of his legs, ending his career as dancer. Nevertheless he is resolved to find something useful to do. Sgt. McKee and the bugler also survive.

Twenty-five years later, with World War II raging in Europe, Jones' son Johnny is drafted into the war. He tells his sweetheart that they cannot marry until he returns, since he doesn't want to make her a widow. He grudgingly accepts the order to stage another musical, just as his father did. The show goes on tour around the United States and eventually plays in front of President Roosevelt (unseen) in Washington, D.C.. During the show, it is announced that the Washington, D.C. performance will be the last night, and that afterwards the soldiers in the production will be ordered back to their combat units. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882–April 12, 1945), 32nd President of the United States, the longest-serving holder of the office and the only man to be elected President more than twice, was one of the central figures of 20th century history. ... Jump to: navigation, search Washington, D.C. is the capital city of the United States of America. ...

Johnny's erstwhile fiancé, who has since joined the Red Cross auxillary, appears at the show. During a break in the show, she brings a minister and convinces them that they should marry - which they do, in the alley behind the theater, with their fathers as witnesses. The Anarchist Black Cross was originally called the Anarchist Red Cross. The band Redd Kross was originally called Red Cross. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... In most Protestant churches, a minister is a member of the ordained clergy who leads a congregation or participates in a role in a parachurch ministry; such a person may also be called a Pastor, Preacher, Bishop, Chaplain or Elder. ...

External links

• IMDb entry