Stage Door Canteen (1943) User Reviews (40)

Big stars, small cameos, good film...

[gaityr · 7/10 · 17 October 2002]

STAGE DOOR CANTEEN, of course, is set during WWII, and its main locale is the canteen of the film's title that is run and staffed by stars of the cinema and stage. The New York version of the Hollywood Canteen set up on the West Coast by Bette Davis and others, the Stage Door Canteen welcomes the boys in uniform when they're on leave, giving them a little comfort, a little entertainment, a little taste of home. Although STAGE DOOR CANTEEN really is about the big-name entertainment involved (with cameos by top-billed stars like Katharine Hepburn, Harpo Marx and Ray Bolger among others), it tries also to tell a heartwarming tale of the bravery of the boys who must fight, if necessary to the death, so that the rest of their country might live in peace. The loyal and brave Dakota (William Terry) stumbles into love with the initially selfish, haughty Eileen (Cheryl Walker); young California (Lon McAllister) keeps missing out on his first kiss with Jean (Marjorie Riordan) and Tex (Sunset Carson) wants to go back west with Ella Sue (Margaret Early) when the fighting's done. It all revolves around the idea of the boys having something--someone--to fight for overseas, someone to write home to, someone to come home to.

In that sense, the film succeeds; I was actually rather moved by the final words each boy left for his girl at the end of the film. That doesn't mean the film isn't a little saccharine though; it *has* to be--it was meant to be a morale booster during the 1940s (including, as it does, songs about shooting down Japanese planes and marching into Berlin). It rides on the strong wave of American patriotism at the time, reflecting and hoping to add to it, and even hints at an internationalism unheard of these days (the crowd cheers for Russian soldiers and carries Chinese pilots on their shoulders in tribute to their bravery). If you strip it of these time-bound scenes, however, the message and the courage remains, which is what makes STAGE DOOR CANTEEN still a film that one can enjoyably sit through not just for the glamorous star cameos. It's sweet when California keeps trying to kiss Jean and missing out (including an incredibly frustrating final attempt when someone cuts in on them when they're dancing!), and you feel just as dejected as Eileen must when she realises that Dakota *isn't* coming back this time. (Let us, for now, leave aside the fact that I can't seem to find a redeeming quality in Eileen beyond the fact that she's willing to break the canteen rules to make it up to Dakota for being mean to him at first.)

The big-name entertainment in STAGE DOOR CANTEEN really can't be faulted: there are appearances by the orchestras of Benny Goodman, Xavier Cugat and Count Basie (to name just a few!); cameos by Merle Oberon, Katharine Cornell and Alan Mowbray; and a pretty literal striptease that ends way too soon for the boys' liking by Gypsy Rose Lee. My favourite numbers would be 'We Mustn't Say Goodbye' and 'Don't Worry Island', alongside Yehudi Menuhin's beautiful rendition of 'Ave Maria' (unfortunately given under some quite terrible lighting) and the very funny opening act with Edgar Bergen and Charlie. As, essentially, the final act, Hepburn gives her few words great weight and is as striking as ever with her five minutes (tops!) of screen time.

All in all, STAGE DOOR CANTEEN is great fun to watch. It'd be even better fun if one knew all of the people making cameos in it--I could only half-guess at most of them, and I'm sure I missed many many others. A sweet, patriotic film made with a very definite purpose, and if you make allowances for that purpose, it's easy to accept the overdoing of the message, and appreciate the film for what it is... good, clean entertainment!

Broadway's contribution to WWII

[jotix100 · 7/10 · 18 November 2005]

"Stage Door Canteen" was created by the theater people in New York as a way of entertaining the young men who were going to fight in WWII. Most of the young men passing through the canteen, were facing an unsure fate, but at the moment they were among the Broadway luminaries of the period, all the fears and troubles evaporated as they stood among the stars of the New York theater.

In fact, what comes across in the film is the easy camaraderie all the young men shared with people that otherwise they had never met in their ordinary lives. Meeting the likes of Tallulah Bankhead, a woman larger than life, was almost impossible for most of the people going to war.

Some of the best actors of that era are seen doing "supporting roles" in the film. Katherine Cornell, Paul Muni, Katherine Hepburn, Alfred Lunt, Lynn Fontaine, Ina Claire, Ray Bolger, Helen Hayes, are seen interacting with the GIs and as they give them hope and courage about an uncertain future of their lives.

The film is good to watch some of these long gone theater stars in a nostalgic look at our past.

Lifting spirits of U.S. servicemen.

[michaelRokeefe · 5/10 · 25 May 2003]

A young soldier romances a hostess at the famed New York City canteen. A barrage of entertainers feed, mingle, chat and perform for the soldiers. Starring Cheryl Walker and William Terry. Just a few of the big stars contributing are: George Raft, Ed Wynn, Tallulah Bankhead, Paul Muni, Merle Oberon, Katherine Hepburn, Georgie Jessel, Kay Kyser, Count Basie, Gypsy Rose Lee, Benny Goodman, Helen Hayes and Edgar Bergen. Most prints of this "rally the boys" film run 132 minutes and others run 93 minutes. Watching this is like looking into a window of an era. Relaxing.

mixed bag of period performance and quick cameos

[didi-5 · 21 July 2004]

In wartime, a group of soldiers stop off at a canteen before they are posted to heaven knows where. In this canteen they are entertained and served by luminaries from stage and screen (so much fun for the viewer spotting big names in little roles). The soldiers (California, Dakota, and Tex) are the lynchpins who carry the paper-thin story around delightful performances from the likes of Ethel Merman, Ray Bolger, Gracie Fields, Benny Goodman with Peggy Lee, Kay Kyser, Xavier Cugat, and Count Basie.

Blink and you might miss (a few names for a taster) Tallulah Bankhead, Ina Claire, Judith Anderson, Aline MacMahon, Katherine Cornell, the Lunts, George Jessel, Ed Wynn, Ralph Bellamy, George Raft, May Whitty, Harpo Marx, Ned Sparks, and Dorothy Fields. You'll remember Katharine Hepburn as she goes all patriotic at the end of the movie.

Is it a good film? Probably not, but it is certainly historically interesting and probably has the most big names in one movie. The three soldier boys stand for all their compatriots who went to war'during both that conflict and the ones which followed. They aren't glorified, but are simply depicted as young lads who like dancing with girls and being treated with courtesy. We may never know what happens to California, Dakota, and Tex (and millions like them) but 'Stage Door Canteen' gives you a bit of their lives, and a snapshot of the wartime canteen.

re: fascinating

[billsav57 · 7/10 · 19 October 2005]

There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of World War II-era movies out there that deal with the same theme as this one, but there was something special about this one. Having seen snippets of it on TCM, I found it at Wal-Mart in the $1 pile and picked it up. It's long, more than two hours, and a lot of the celebrity performances seem to get in the way of the story, but they're worth it both for their entertainment value and for their historical importance. In fact, one of the reasons I got the DVD was that I wanted to see Kay Kyser in action. The sheer volume of performers showing up washing dishes, dancing with "troops," and so on, is fascinating. And they're so young! I'd never seen some of them with dark hair before. Anyway, the story itself, at first, seems so simple, but for some reason it clicked with me. I think it was the fact that the film allowed these characters to develop around all the entertainment acts. You actually saw Eileen grow from being somewhat self-centered, to achieving a goal for herself, and then realizing that what she truly wanted was something else. And though it was formulaic, you saw Dakota go from the guy who's sworn off women "for the duration" to a romantic. The scene on the rooftop may have been hokey, but the actors pulled it off. They may have been "B" actors, but they got an "A" for this one. You can't live in the past, and the days portrayed in this movie are long gone. And let us remember that the world was at war. But still, maybe someday, after all of us are gone, the world will go back to the kind of entertainment, at least, that this movie represents. It might be considered a step back by some, but I think it just might represent a form of progress.

A valuable artifact

[jmar1978 · 7/10 · 5 December 2009]

As a film, this is almost tissue-paper thin. The leading characters are almost stereotypes, the plot is tediously predictable, and the work's values are conventionally true-blue.

And yet: this, I think, is a valuable film for what it captures about the mood and values of the nation in 1943. Katherine Hepburn's speech near the end to the young lass whose fiancé missed their wedding due to deployment orders, I think, grasps the essence of what the U.S. was dealing with in the troubling year of 1943 (remember, the air campaign over Europe had been dealt setback after setback, in the Pacific U.S. forces were still slogging up the Solomons and New Guinea, and the 1st ID had just been handed its helmet at Kasserine Pass).

There's an air of both uncertainty and hope in this film -- the sense that a lot of these lads were going over and never coming back, combined with a sense of resolve: it was a dark hour, but we're going to prevail. And we're going to do what we can for the troops as they embark and return.

So I have a world of respect for the performers who make cameos in this film: Goodman, Basie, Kyser, Bellamy, Bergen, Hepburn -- the list is immense. They probably got paid for it, but they still invested their clout, their personality, their franchise, for an unabashed paean to U.S. soldiers. I know it was a simpler times and the issues were more clear, but I doubt you'd see a comparable lineup today honoring U.S. troops in Afghanistan, etc.

Broadway steps up to the plate to provide an outlet for our boys fighting to retain democracy.

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 8 September 2014]

It's a shame that many of the great stars here do not appear together, for it is a movie and theater addict's dream to see such fabulous personalities like Tallulah Bankhead, Judith Anderson, Katharine Hepburn, Katherine Cornell and Lynn Fontanne work together, in addition to socializing. Some are on and off so fast that you may forget that they were in this classic World War II musical overstuffed with talent. It's no different than the more well known "Hollywood Canteen" made by Warner Brothers the following year, featuring some dramatic stars doing musical numbers and tons and tons of specialties.

The dramatic stars here don't sing or dance; They mainly walk around and socialize with the soldiers and sailors patronizing the famous nightclub where only military personnel were allowed to visit. Some film personalities not known for their stage work do appear here, most memorably Johnny Weismueller (showing the very macho Franklin Pangborn how to do his Tarzan yell), Merle Oberon, William Demarest, recording star Peggy Lee, and radio personalities Kay Kyser, Edgar Bergen and Jack Benny.

Among the recent Broadway stars who get to perform musical numbers are Broadway's two Ethels (Waters and Merman) and Ray Bolger, with comic moments from Ed Wynn and Hugh Herbert and a particularly memorable anti-Nazi song (followed with a musical rendering of "The Lord's Prayer") by British comic favorite Gracie Fields. The rare film appearance by the legendary Katherine Cornell is memorable by her sudden recital of a scene from "Romeo and Juliet" with a stage struck soldier. Bankhead roams around the tables as only she can, offering unsolicited advice to the romantic goings on between the soldiers and the girls working at the factory. What little story there is involves canteen worker Cheryl Walker who marries a visiting soldier and is dismissed from her duties by president Selena Royle for breaking the rules. Walker is consoled by Katherine Hepburn who provides the moral of the story. Those watching this lengthy film simply for her presence in it will have to wait more than two hours for her appearance, but she makes the most out of her small cameo.

The magnificent Judith Anderson gets to show her real personality by being rather flip with a soldier who didn't recognize her when she greeted him upon his arrival. The film makes more attention towards her role of Mrs. Danvers in "Rebecca" than it does her legendary stage work which was very active at this time with acclaimed revivals of "Hamlet" and "The Three Sisters" while making occasional supporting appearances in movies. Dame May Witty, very busy in movies at this time, is a surprise visitor to the canteen, treated very regally in her encounter with the beautiful Merle Oberon. The film does make its point with all of these cameos, being a very important historical record of how soldiers and sailors on leave were entertained while on the town.

A little long in the tooth

[HotToastyRag · 3/10 · 21 January 2018]

Littered with over twenty name stars, Stage Door Canteen was Hollywood's contribution to boosting the troops' morale in the thick of WWII. Everyone got together, playing themselves, and gave a song, dance, or speech at the Stage Door Canteen, for the soldiers in the movie as well as the soldiers in real life. Katharine Hepburn, Helen Hayes, Ethel Merman, Harpo Marx, Ray Bolger, Ralph Bellamy, Tallulah Bankhead, Jean Hersholt, Paul Muni, Merle Oberon, George Raft, Gypsy Rose Lee, Elsa Maxwell, Ethel Waters, Ed Wynn, Helen Broderick, Jane Darwell, Martha Scott, William Demarest, Allen Jenkinis, Sam Jaffe, Xavier Cugat, Benny Goodman, Kay Kyser, Guy Lombardo, and many others lent their name and talent to show American boys that Hollywood was behind them all the way.

Sprinkled in among the countless acts is a fictional story of three soldiers, named Dakota, California, and Texas, to symbolize the average American soldier, who visit the variety show and fall in love with three girls who work there. Romance is strictly forbidden at the hotspot, but the three couples make plans for after the war anyway, inspiring thousands of war-torn couples across the nation.

If you're able to get in the WWII mindset, or if you like Americana films, you might enjoy this one. If you just look at it as a regular movie, it's not that great. It's over two hours, and with a very simple story to carry you through dozens and dozens of acts by people you might not have even heard of, you might find it a little long in the tooth.

Superstars entertain enlisted men.

[wmoores · 9/10 · 3 August 2005]

This movie has more stars in it than the firmament! Even more stars than its cousin Hollywood Canteen.

I remember seeing it as a child in 1943 and have had it on tape for years and wonder why it has not been digitally remastered. The picture is scratchy and bumpy in parts, but nothing can spoil the innocence of our youth in uniform ready to go off to war.

Cameo appearances of so many entertainers on one stage give you an idea of what vaudeville and the big band era were like. There is no plot line or even a semblance of continuity in the performances of these stars, but all are polished appearances as if the casts were on tour. Their time was donated and their patriotism shows through loud and clear.

The story line involves a group of army enlistees who are given a mini furlough in New York City before they ship out. They are in awe of the big city at first but are told of a place where there is entertainment and free food. This, of course, is the canteen. Over the course of less than forty-eight hours, Dakota, Californa, Tex, Jersey, and others pair off with hostesses at the Stage Door Canteen. It is amazing how quickly love blooms in this setting. The hostesses have taken a vow not to get involved with the fellas, but how can they resist when they see the innocence, charm, and sincerity of the boys?

If there are starring roles in the storyline, they belong to California and Eileen, though they are not paired as sweethearts. California (LonMcAllister)looks like a teenager and is so likable. He has never kissed a girl! Eileen (Cheryl Walker) is torn between her duty to the canteen and her love for Dakota.

Some have said this movie is a morale booster or war-time propaganda. I like to think of it as the way things were during World War II.

It's about the little cameos, not the story.

[secondtake · 7/10 · 6 November 2010]

Stage Door Canteen (1943)

This is not a great movie as movies go, but if you stick it out, you'll find an amazing parade of great music from the time, played by the real deals, from Benny Goodman to Count Basie. There are some small moments that are treasures, and they will vary depending on who you are. I know I absolutely get choked up in the short recital of Romeo and Juliet with the great Broadway star Katharine Cornell playing Juliet--behind the lunch counter. And there is Katherine Hepburn (at the end), and Yehudi Menuhin (violin and Schubert) and Ray Bolger (he was the Scarecrow four years earlier). There is a really touching moment with a group of Soviet soldiers including a young woman, whose eyes and story are just super sad...but she says, if she meets a Nazi, her "hand will not tremble."

The soldiers are such regular guys, all sweetness and loneliness. It's a sad reminder of the war at its most basic--tearing young men from their innocence--and yet of course this is putting the best tilt to it all. These kinds of "canteens" were benefits of sorts, morale boosters, and this movie is a summation of that best of them. Frank Borzage (the director) was top flight a decade early (he did the famous 1932 "Farewell to Arms"), and the photography by Harry Wild (a studio mainstay) is great.

Still, it's a canned affair. After an hour of entertainment there's an interlude out on the streets which is weak, and then they are back for more. There are two parallel stories outside the music--the soldiers who are about to go to war, and they are floating around fishing for company, and the women, back stage and in off hours. It's not bad stuff at all.

And We Won't Be Back Till It's Over, Over There

[jayraskin · 5/10 · 1 February 2011]

I was quite disappointed with this. I had seen Hollywood Canteen and enjoyed it. This East Coast version had more stars, but used them to less advantage. Besides giving us more stars, this movie tries to add a love story, but it is more pathetic than uplifting.

Most of the stars are given about one minute to do a joke or two, these are okay, but the stars who are given three or four minutes, like Georgie Jezzel, Ray Bolger, and Edgar Bergen are only mildly amusing at best. The only musical number that I enjoyed was Benny Goodman. His swing song with a young and beautiful Peggy Lee rocked. The only other bit I really enjoyed was Gypsy Rose Lee. She tried to do a strip tease that could get past the censors and ended up only taking off her girdle and her gloves. Yet her obvious sexuality turned all the soldiers on. This was just around the time she had come out with a novel "The G String Murders" and a play "The Naked Genius" and was starting to break out of burlesque.

The problem is the film is devoted too much too lame war propaganda, as if the producers felt they had to justify the free food, dancing girls and entertainment at the Canteen by reminding us that it was for our gallant boys every few minutes. They also took pains to assure us that no sexual activity was going on between the girls who worked in the canteen and the soldiers. It makes me suspect that just the opposite was the case.

See "Hollywood Canteen" which has fewer stars, but is a lot more fun.

A once in a lifetime movie

[sol-kay · 10/10 · 24 March 2004]

"Stage Door Canteen" is one film that you can unashamedly call a once in a lifetime movie without feeling a bit embarrassed by saying it. Simple and modest as well as grand and uplifting this movie probably did more to boost Americas morale during WWII then all the Blood & Guts war movies made during that war put together and did it without a single shot being fired and without anyone on "Theirs" side as well as "Ours" getting killed or wounded in the movie.

The fact that the film "Stage Door Canteen" can be seen today or anytime in the future without being taken back for a second by the off-the-wall, and even hysterical, war propaganda that was in almost all the films made during WWII by Hollywood shows just how good and unique this movie really is.

The movie is about a group of American Servicemen on their way to the European Theater of war and how they spend their last week in New York City before their sent into arms way via the dangerous North Atlantic convoys as well as to the bloody battlefields of North Africa and Europe. Getting to see not just how the man in the street but a galaxy of movie stars, that are just too many to mention in this review, appreciated their efforts in going "Over There" to fight the good fight where they may very well end up at the bottom of the cold U-Boat infested North Atlantic Ocean.

Beautifully filmed in black and white with a number of wonderful songs by the top recording artists of that time with the star-struck GI's Sailors and Marines dancing with beautiful girls and movie stars that they could only dream about about or see on the silver screen and motion picture magazines.

Watching the movie puts you right inside those servicemen heads and how they felt just before they were to face the horrors of war and how the American public felt an cared for them and how they went out of their way to show it. "Stage Door Canteen" didn't try to glorify the fighting in the war, even though it was made during the darkest days of WWII. The movie showed us those who were to fight the war as human beings who only wanted to do what was necessary to win the war so they could come back to their family and friends and the America that they left behind.

Like I said before "Stage Door Canteen" is a once in a lifetime movie that during those most bleakest and uncertain days of the Second World War shines like a beam of light through those dark clouds and gave hope to all those on the battlefield as well as those on the home front.

One of the most moving scenes in the movie was when a home sick GI asked Helen Hayes the first Lady of the Theater who played Queen Victoria on the stage to dance with him. Helen somewhat surprised asks the GI why he would want to dance with her since there are so many young and beautiful movie stars, much more beautiful then her, for him to choose from? The GI tells her, awestruck, that in the future, if he were to survive the war, he wants to tell his grandchildren that he once danced with Queen Victoria.

Required viewing for theater buffs

[ChorusGirl · 7/10 · 13 January 2005]

Cheaply filmed and a little less glamorous than its West Coast sister "Hollywood Canteen", this New York edition opens with a canteen girl being fired for accompanying a soldier to Roseland (he was lonely), and the movie keeps that rather sad note throughout. The screenplay isn't exactly arresting, but it's convincingly played--especially by Cheryl Walker, an amiable presence who didn't really escape B movies. There are some excellent big band numbers (though WHAT the heck is up with Kay Keyser, anyway?), and interactions with Broadway legends (Hayes, Fontanne, Bankhead, Cornell) that are thrilling to witness. Nice to see appearances by character actors like Helen Broderick (Top Hat) and Aline McMahon (Gold Diggers of 1933).

Most surreal moments are Katharine Hepburn interacting with mortals, and "Gypsy" Rose Lee giving a strip tease.

Fascinating film was in the public domain for a long while, in horrible prints, so beware. A clean, beautiful print can be seen on Turner.

For star-gazers only - but most of the stars are wasted

[gridoon2024 · 5/10 · 8 April 2017]

Not much stands out from this patriotic revue, either musically or comedically; the high spot is probably "The Flight Of The Bumblebee" on the violin! (the low spot is a slightly sickening song about shooting down Jap planes!) Most, if not all, of the famous actors who appear (as themselves) are wasted; Harpo Marx's blink-and-you-will-miss-him participation is especially disappointing (as is Gypsy Rose Lee's non-stripteasing "striptease"). The whole production is mostly airless and claustrophobic, but when (near the end) the two leads spend the night on a roof talking about each other's likes, it's a beautiful scene. My public domain copy runs neither 132 minutes nor 93, but 111. ** out of 4.

Another great WW2 B&W

[alice_cooper · 14 January 2005]

I was lucky enough to stumble upon this during a week of WW2 B&W's run on TMC. Read all the other posts for a description. I'd just like to add my admiration for my dad's generation. What a fabulous film! I so envy their patriotism. Sure there were plenty of scumbags exploiting and dodging the war but this film makes me think of all those young men going of to an almost certain death. Our losses were bad, but I was surprised at the tribute paid to the Russian and Chinese servicemen (and women) whose losses were each in the multi-millions. I appreciated the performers for their skill and professionalism. The violinist seemed out of place until you see the crowd, enthralled, quiet, and admiring, politely keeping quiet, and then the applause. It made me think of how my dad's generation, without our over-bearing music industry, appreciated real classic music. Now, classic music is largely unappreciated by the masses. The comments of others on Hepburn are not deserved. As usual, people often try to judge films, attitudes, and events based on present-day ideals. Yeah, patriotism may be embarrassing and corny now, but in 1942 after some of your relatives are killed trying to stop Hitler I don't think it was out of place. Hepburns performance was one of the few of hers that I liked. I hoped she didn't have to be coaxed.

There was Hollywood canteen and stage door canteen.

[dbdumonteil · 7/10 · 31 August 2009]

"Stage door canteen" belongs to Borzage's patriotic movies .But unlike the obsolete "flirtation walk" and "shipmates forever" ,and though its very nature makes it a dated work,it nonetheless represents an inestimable time capsule.Delmer Daves' screenplay blends the story of several soldiers about to leave for war with numerous acts (singers,musicians,conjurers,ventriloquists) and a cast of thousands ,some of whom just appear a few seconds (Weissmuller) .Borzage's touch can be felt in these "shining hours " and,although the canteen is a place where the soldiers are having fun, death is present ,notably in the scene in which the girls read a letter in their room or in the words the young Russian woman utters .A sublime scene shows Katharine Cornell and a soldier playing a scene from "Romeo and Juliet" .Although a rather long movie,"stage door canteen" is never boring ,often very moving, and we do care for these young men ,the big brothers of the boys of "no greater glory".

"We're in a war and we've got to win!"

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 5 December 2009]

Big and bigger show biz names from the 1940's turn up in this World War II soldier tribute, and you won't find a larger cast anywhere else, except maybe "Hollywood Canteen" which followed the next year. Admittedly, the appearances for most of the headliners are mere cameos, but a few render bits that might have also been seen on TV variety shows of the next generation. Edgar Bergen shows up with his wooden friends, Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd; Ray Bolger turns in a clever routine with song and schtick including 'The Girl I Love to Leave Behind'. Sad in a way that stuff like this doesn't work any more, but for folks who grew up with many of the names on the bill, the film is a wonderful trip down memory lane. Most of the acts and players had their heyday in the Forties, but enough of them hung on to where I was able to catch them in appearances on programs like 'The Ed Sullivan Show' and the like. My favorite appearances here were George Raft doing duty as a busboy, Johnny Weissmuller revealing his barrel chest to wash dishes, and George Jessel doing a bit in a phone booth.

There's a nominal story to the picture as well, with servicemen about to deploy getting to know and fall in love with hostesses at the Canteen. The rules of engagement state that the girls shouldn't get personal with the soldiers, but you know that won't work once the film gets under way. One of the match ups is love at first sight while the other takes a while to warm up, as the players mingle in and out of the spotlight between star appearances and Big Band music.

Young viewers today might scratch their heads over a couple of scenes, particularly when Sam Jaffe interprets for Russian submarine sailors on leave in New York, and Chinese Air Cadets hoisted on American shoulders in one of the film's patriotic feel good moments. It all brings to mind that if we could all just get along, the world would be a much better place today. Wishful thinking I know, but one can dream.

My summary line above is the underlying theme of course, but you might be surprised who uttered them. It was Katherine Hepburn in a rousing declaration near the finale to Canteen girl Eileen (Cheryl Walker) when her soldier boyfriend shipped out before he could say goodbye. The scene was played out for both it's sentiment and it's patriotism, with a bittersweet message that was perfectly appropriate for it's time.

A showcase of the WW II Broadway canteen for GI and gobs

[SimonJack · 6/10 · 22 January 2023]

"Stage Door Canteen" was made in 1943 to tell the story of an effort to entertain and celebrate the American servicemen during World War II. It's a showcase of the first canteen for enlisted members of the Armed Forces that was established and opened in New York City. The canteen was a project of the American Theatre Wing. Hundreds of entertainers from Broadway volunteered their time to entertain GIs and gobs, and to serve free food, coffee and cigarettes, and wait on and clean tables. Different name bands played music, and comedians and other entertainers performed. While actresses and starlets danced with the GIs, the male actors mostly waited on tables, cleaned, cooked and performed.

This film has a thin plot about out of the hostesses and a soldier falling for each other. But it's mostly just a thread to tie together numerous song and dance numbers, comedy routines and other scenes. The Stage Door Canteen opened on March 2, 1942, and closed at the end of the war in September, 1945. The main characters in this film would be little known outside of the live theater followers of that time. Although some were actors also in films, most of the cast of this film were people from the Broadway stages. Some had lengthy careers also on the silver screen and/or television, or were known for radio or traveling stage performances. The best known in this film, in various short roles are Helen Hayes, Gracie Fields, Ralph Bellamy, Edgar Bergen with Charlie McCarthy, Tallulah Bankhead, Ray Bolger, George Jessel, and frequent supporting actors Allen Jenkins and Hugh Herbert. Many more came cameo appearances, the most recognized being Katherine Hepburn, Paul Muni, Merle Oberon, George Raft, Ed Wynn, Jane Darwell, Roscoe Karns, Alan Mowbray, and Ned Sparks.

Among the bands that appear are Xavier Cugat, Count Basie Kay Kyser and Guy Lombardo. Many other bands and entertainers worked the canteen during the war. The canteen led to a CBS radio series that broadcast from there, and then this film that was made in Hollywood. While servicemen and women learned about the canteen, and those going overseas from New York ports were guests at the canteen, the radio series and film informed people across the country about it.

Meanwhile, across the country, people in the film industry were organizing a similar project, and the Hollywood Canteen opened its doors on October 3, 1942 It would become even more famous, well known and visited by more service men and women. And, the number of actors, producers, musicians, dancers, comedians, and others in the entertainment field was much greater. It too would spawn a movie about it, and Warner Brothers released "Hollywood Canteen" in 1944. It also had a thin plot with lesser known actors for the story line, but it showcased hundreds of performers that were well known to the public from the silver screen, radio and night club performances.

These films are a nice look at the efforts by many in the entertainment industry to support the men and women serving their country in wartime. They are a little piece of history, about a slice of history during WW II. They are not great films in their own right, but provide a look at the people who volunteered to entertain the troops at home before they go off to war. Several other canteens, much smaller, opened in other areas of the country, with more locally known entertainers performing and serving.

Here are a couple funny lines from this film. One is an exchange between an Australian solider and a hostess, and the other is in the performance by Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy.

Aussie soldier, "Any of our guys tell you what Australian beer is made of?" Canteen hostess "No." Solider, "Made of, us, kangaroo hops."

Edgar Bergen, "Now, shall I read or past first?" Charlie McCarthy, "Do you think you can?" Edgar, "I don't think - I know." Charlie, "I don't think you know either."

The perfect cinematic reflection of an era.

[piapia · 8/10 · 23 May 1999]

I am old enough to have seen Stage Door Canteen when it first appeared.It was a morale booster, and nothing more than a delightful musical with a lot of big bands and performers. But after more than 50 years, it is not only a wonderful piece of nostalgia, but the perfect reflection of an era and of the spiritual climate of the war years. It is now that I can understand that the miracle is that Frank Borzage was called to direct it. All the classic Borzage feeling is present, and the sentimental master was able to make gold out of Delmer Daves' sentimental dialog. I wonder why these two gifted gentlemen did not collaborate again. I strongly recommend that every old timer who remembers the war years, the forties, the music, the bands and the feeling, should see again this picture which has become a magnificent piece of authentic nostalgia. I own it and intend to see it again and again.

Worth Watching For Its Historical Value

[Lechuguilla · 6/10 · 18 May 2016]

Well-known performers and film stars entertain, serve food and drink to, and socialize with, young WWII soldiers and sailors, before these guys go off to war. The fictional plot follows three or four young servicemen in particular, and their encounters with attractive young females whose work at the canteen involves being the guys' romantic dates for a couple of hours.

Most of the plot takes place at the canteen, a New York City nightclub with dance floor and stage. The atmosphere is intentionally lively and upbeat. For servicemen, it's a momentary escape both from the demands of military duty and the prospect of overseas battle. Yet there's an undercurrent of loneliness and separation, knowing that in war not everyone returns safely to friends and family. Owing to these melancholy and sad themes, I find the token plot more interesting than the appearance of celebrities.

Some of the entertainers do nothing more than chitchat for a minute or so with the servicemen. Other entertainers perform on stage. And it is the selection of performers and their musical numbers that I found quite disappointing. Almost all of the selected songs and comedy routines were downright boring. Of course it was a different era then, so judgment needs to be tempered with a sense of historical perspective.

B&W lighting is acceptable, but it would have been interesting to see this film in color. The sounds of the performing bands seemed tinny or thin to me; maybe it's just the era technology. Casting and acting are acceptable. The appearance of the celebrities could have been enhanced if they had been wearing name tags, or in some way could have been identified by name.

"Stage Door Canteen" is a lengthy film, which could have been rendered higher quality with less dialogue and far better stage entertainment. Yet, it's worth watching as a useful window into an era that is long gone, an era of some interesting performers, almost none of whom are with us anymore.

A Slice of Life and History

[craig_smith9 · 8/10 · 21 March 2002]

The Stage Door Canteen really existed in New York. It was the east coast's answer to the Hollywood Canteen (there is a movie by that name too). If you want to get a good look at America in 1942 this is it. You can see the stars of the east and get to see some funny people and hear some great stars and some of the great bands of the era. All using their talents for those fighting for freedom. In WW2 Americans were into supporting their soldiers. This is a slice of American life that we don't often get to see.

For years movie buffs have puzzled over the secret of the "Severed Hand . . .

[oscaralbert · 6/10 · 28 April 2017]

. . . of an American Serviceman Holding a Rotten Orange" scene that can be glimpsed during SAVING PRIVATE RYAN's recreation of the Normandy D-Day Invasion. It turns out that these few Micro-seconds of Gruesome Handage are the proverbial "rest of the story" provided by RYAN director Steve Spielberg to the famous ROMEO AND JULIET interchange which begins this Tragic Tale of Woe from 15:28 to 17:08 of STAGE DOOR CANTEEN. Newly Boot-Camped High School Leotard Boy Jack "California" Gilman holds up his chow line in the canteen to dither over an aging stage actress who once played Ms. Capulet. When this seasoned matron gives him a "parting gift" of an orange, Jack vows to keep the perishable citrus fruit on hand till death do them part. Jack's ludicrous pledge festered in Spielberg's imagination for decades, finally germinating into his Stephen King wrinkle along Omaha Beach. Certainly one must hand kudos to Spielberg for verisimilitude here, as Jack's heirloom orange continues to dwarf his Itty Bitty detached Drama Club Appendage even in its withered state. It's too bad that Jack did not have a Real Estate Mogul Daddy to buy a doctor's note giving him a "4F" Get-out-of-the-Draft-Card in War Time due to his under-sized hands, a trick which worked for alleged U.S. President #45.

A special treat for fans of WWII-era entertainment

[jimjo1216 · 13 November 2013]

STAGE DOOR CANTEEN (1943) is a lot of fun for what it is. What it is is a patriotic morale-booster that brings the star-studded experience of New York's Stage Door Canteen to a wartime audience. Canteens were set up by big names in show business to entertain servicemen on their home soil, free of charge.

The film is chock-full of celebrity cameos by dozens of famous stars of the stage, screen, and radio. Most of the celebrities are identified in some way, although big-time classic movie fans should have fun spotting them first.

The movie is a product of its time, and seen many decades removed from its original context it becomes something of a time capsule, showcasing the entertainment of a past generation. Some of the names will be a bit obscure to modern audiences (particularly stage stars who didn't make many movies).* Guest stars include ventriloquist Edgar Bergen, vaudeville comedian Ed Wynn, Oscar-winners Katharine Hepburn and Paul Muni, the jazz bands of Benny Goodman and Count Basie, and various Hollywood supporting players and entertainment personalities.

Where else can you see Franklin Pangborn wash dishes with jungle man Johnny Weissmuller? Other highlights are scenes between married Broadway stars Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, a rousing song by Ethel Merman, and a comic striptease by Gypsy Rose Lee (strictly rated G -- more "tease" than "strip").

Classic movie fans will get more out of this film than the uninitiated, who might not recognize the faces or even the names that go with them. The movie works best when you can appreciate the cameos.

Don't expect much in the way of plot. Comedy bits and musical numbers are strung together by a story of young soldiers visiting the Canteen on leave before being shipped overseas and the girls they meet inside. The young romances reflect the bittersweet reality of wartime relationships.

Cheryl Walker is lovely as the ice queen hostess who comes to the Canteen for all the wrong reasons. She's looking to further her own acting career and isn't particularly interested in showing the soldiers a good time. Marjorie Riordan is cute as one of the other hostesses, who spends time with a soldier who has no sweetheart back home.

STAGE DOOR CANTEEN isn't wartime escapism. Director Frank Borzage doesn't try to distract the audience from the global situation. He keeps the audience constantly reminded, with the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines that populate the Canteen and the alternately upbeat and somber patriotic tunes. Amid all the star-gazing, the film comes out in support of the U.S. servicemen, as well as America's allies in combat from Australia, the U.K., Russia, and even China. It's not hard to imagine the comfort the film must have given audiences at the height of World War II.

*The similarly-themed HOLLYWOOD_CANTEEN (1944) may have more recognizable stars, boasting some of the biggest names from Warner Bros. films (Bette Davis, Joan Leslie, Joan Crawford, John Garfield, S.Z. Sakall, Ida Lupino, Jack Carson, Sydney Greenstreet, Jane Wyman, etc.).

Too long but worth catching

[preppy-3 · 7/10 · 14 June 2003]

Four soldiers spend their last three nights of freedom before being shipped overseas at the Stage Door Canteen. There they meet women, fall in love, and then go off to fight the war.

This movie was made to boost morale for the war and make money to fund different canteens across the country. Many stage and screen actors appeared in this movie for free. It's not a very good movie, but it is a valuable time capsule of 1943 and how America was dealing with the war at home. The main story with the soldiers is basically a framing story for a huge amount of musical acts and cameos.

Most of them are OK but there are a few highlights...and low lights. The lows: George Jessel (terribly unfunny), Ray Bolger (even worse) and Edgar Bergman and Charlie McCarthy (I had to fast forward through most of that)and a just dreadful patriotic speech Katharine Hepburn gives out at the end. The highs: Johnny Weismuller is an amusing bit part, Ed Wynn, Gypsy Rose Lee doing a G rated strip, a rare screen appearance by the legendary stage couple Lunt and Fontaine, Harpo Marx and a singing version of "Our Father" (!!!). The musical acts are all good but there are really way too many of them. I think I got all the screen actors cameos but some of the stage ones escaped me (unless someone said their names).

The acting by the main couples was all pretty good and they all did a good job with some truly sappy dialogue. And, I must admit, I broke down at the very end. Also, in a now amusing bit, you see a bunch of beautiful women cheerfully giving out free packs of cigarettes to the soldiers!

Worth seeing, but make sure you have your finger over the fast forward button!

"Blimey! Just like Christmas, ain't it?"

[utgard14 · 6/10 · 25 August 2017]

Another of the WW2 star rally movies where a bunch of movie stars get together in a single film to support the troops, each having minor parts and sometimes doing musical numbers or comedy skits. The main plot in these films usually features a romance involving one or two lesser known actors. Several of the studios did one of these during the war. The best, for my money, is Hollywood Canteen from Warner Bros. This one is one of the lesser efforts, but still enjoyable for classic film fans.

Directed by Frank Borzage and released by United Artists, it tells the story of the title recreation center for servicemen in New York City and a romance between an aspiring actress (Cheryl Walker) and a soldier (William Terry). The bigger names giving support or doing cameos include Katharine Hepburn, Ethel Merman, Paul Muni, Merle Oberon, Johnny Weissmuller, Tallulah Bankhead, Ralph Bellamy, George Raft, Ray Bolger, Gypsy Rose Lee, Judith Anderson, Ed Wynn, Sam Jaffe, Franklin Pangborn, Alan Mowbray, and Edgar Bergen, among others. The stars vary in screen time and what they do. Some do bits, others just play themselves saying a line or two (usually a corny joke). The musical numbers are so-so and mostly feature popular bandleaders like Count Basie, Xavier Cougat, Kay Kyser, Benny Goodman and their respective bands. It's definitely worth a look for movie buffs but it goes on way too long for such a thin story and the music is nothing to get worked up over.