This isn't the disaster I heard from some Doris Day fans to be. It's actually not a Doris Day movie---she appears in a few scenes at the beginning as herself and is as plucky as ever, but the story of movie stars who create shows at a base near San Francisco for members of the Air Force preparing to go off to fight in Korea. It all starts when a young starlet (Janice Rule) meets a young airman (Ron Hagerthy) from her hometown and believes him to be one of those men, not realizing that he is only accompanying the plane to Honolulu then returning to the base. When she learns the truth, it is too late. Hollywood, thanks to Louella Parsons, has found out, and the publicity machine created makes them a favorite of the gossip columnists. Rule and Hagerthy by this point are at each other's throats, but the ensuing publicity forces them to be together for press junkets and for the morality of the airmen. Such Hollywood stars (then contracted at Warner Brothers) including Ruth Roman, Virginia Mayo, Gary Cooper, and James Cagney appear as themselves. Dick Wesson, who resembles Jon Cryer as he appears on "Two and a Half Men", is the airman instigator of this plot, and is as annoying as he was in "About Face" and other musicals of the era. He's the perfect example of the theory "less is more", although he was used to some amusement in drag in "Calamity Jane". He has one good moment while doing a Cagney impression where he is confronted by "the real deal". In "playing" herself, Doris Day was directed to be a bit tomboyish, like her character in the same year's "On Moonlight Bay".
In watching this, I was wondering about the character Janice Rule played, thinking she might have actually been an actual starlet that didn't make it, a real-life actress like Joan Leslie in "Hollywood Canteen". The storyline is almost identical, although Leslie played herself (and had a very successful career), and Rule, playing a fictional starlet, went on to a long career, mostly on television. This is a mixed bag that somehow manages to be entertaining. Of the musical numbers, "What Is This Thing Called Love?" stands out, followed by "Liza" and well-known standards performed by Ms. Day. Gary Cooper appears to be embarrassed by his participation in the Phil Harris western number. "Starlift" has plenty of entertainment to make up for the weak spots.
In watching this, I was wondering about the character Janice Rule played, thinking she might have actually been an actual starlet that didn't make it, a real-life actress like Joan Leslie in "Hollywood Canteen". The storyline is almost identical, although Leslie played herself (and had a very successful career), and Rule, playing a fictional starlet, went on to a long career, mostly on television. This is a mixed bag that somehow manages to be entertaining. Of the musical numbers, "What Is This Thing Called Love?" stands out, followed by "Liza" and well-known standards performed by Ms. Day. Gary Cooper appears to be embarrassed by his participation in the Phil Harris western number. "Starlift" has plenty of entertainment to make up for the weak spots.