Main Cast: Van Johnson, June Allyson, Gloria de Haven, Jimmy Durante, Lena Horne
Release Year: 1944
Country: US
Run Time: 124 minutes
Plot
Two Girls and a Sailor is another of those all-star, no-plot wartime musicals turned out by the bushel basket in the 1940s. Its lack of nuance does not lessen its entertainment value in the least. Gloria DeHaven and June Allyson play a couple of well-meaning sisters who stage their own USO shows in their apartment for the benefit of visiting servicemen. They'd like to expand their show, so GI Van Johnson, who happens to be a millionaire, buys an empty factory and has it converted into a canteen. A trivial love triangle develops, but who cares? Bring on the stars! In the case of Two Girls and a Sailor, the celebrity lineup includes Jimmy Durante, Lena Horne, Jose Iturbi, Xavier Cugat, Grace Allen (performing her immortal "Concerto for Index Finger"), Harry James, Helen Forrest, and, in an amusing uncredited cameo, Buster Keaton (Also: keep a sharp eye out for Ava Gardner) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
The 1930's and 1940's produced quite a few musical films that pretended to be "book" musicals but which really were revues onto which the thinnest of storylines was grafted. Two Girls and a Sailor is one of these, and as a result, the script -- despite an incredible Best Screenplay Oscar nomination -- is of negligible interest. (It does, however, contain some entertaining and amusing dialogue.) What matters here are the performers and their material, and there's plenty to keep a musical fan occupied for two hours. June Allyson and Gloria de Haven, as the two girls of the title, are lively, perky and engaging, and their personalities and voices both blend very well. Allyson's "Young Man with a Horn" (accompanied by the great Harry James and featuring a nifty jitterbug by Allyson) is a real keeper, as is de Haven's piano-top "My Mother Told Me", and their "A Love Like Ours" is lovely. Among the guests, Lena Horne delivers a stellar "Paper Doll," Jimmy Durante works magic with his classic "Inka Dinka Doo," Helen Forrest tears through "In a Moment of Madness," and Gracie Allen brings down the house with her "Concerto for Index Finger." George Stall has provided zippy arrangements (for those numbers not performed by one of the established bands present), Sammy Lee's choreography is peppy and diverting, and Robert Surtees finds a few moments to work in a few interesting camera shots. Two Girls is titanically inconsequential, but quite pleasant. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Gracie Allen - Concerto Number; José Iturbi - Himself; Tom Drake - Frank Miller; Henry Stephenson - John Dyckman Brown I; Henry O'Neill - John Dyckman Brown II; Ben Blue - Ben; Carlos Ramirez - Carlos; Frank Sully - Pvt. Adams; Albert Coates - Himself; Donald Meek - Mr. Nizby; Virginia O'Brien - Herself; Frank Jenks - Dick Deyo; Helen Forrest; Lina Romay - Herself; Lee Bennett - Friend; Fred Coby - Sailor; William Frambes - Boy Vaudevillian; Ava Gardner - Rockette Girl; Harry James - Himself; Charles Hayes - Man in Evening Clothes; Eilene Janssen - Patsy; Sheldon Jett - Fat Man; Eddie Kane - Headwaiter; Nolan Leary - Durante's Double; Sandra Lee - Jean; Thomas Louden - Butler; Peggy Maley - Girl; Doreen McCann - Patsy; Ed Mortimer - Middle-aged Folk; Leo Mostovoy - Waiter; Gigi Perreau; Mickey Rentschler; Joan Thorsen - Gladys Deyo; Arthur Walsh - Lonesome Soldier; Doodles Weaver - Soldier; Eve Whitney - Bejeweled Woman; Wilde Twins; Joe Yule - Carpenter; Xavier Cugat - Himself; Don Loper - Small Town Wolf; Ruth Cherrington - Stout Lady; Billy Lechner; Diana Mumby; Fred Rapport - Captain of Waiters; Kay Williams - Girl Flirt; Florence Wix; Harry Adams; Lynn Arlen; Shelby Payne - Cigarette Girl
Rough Ridin' (with John P. McCarthy) •Rarin' to Go •Battling Buddy •Fast and Fearless •Hard Hittin' Hamilton •Rip Roarin' Roberts •Bringin' Home the Bacon •Thundering Romance •Gold and Grit •Full Speed •Fast Fightin' •On the Go •Double Action Daniels •Quicker 'n Lightnin' •Tearin' Loose •The Desert Demon •Saddle Cyclone •Galloping On •A Streak of Luck •The Last Card •The Roaring Rider •Trumpin' Trouble •The Fighting Cheat •Coming an' Going •The Twin Triggers •Deuce High •Easy Going •Rawhide •Speedy Spurs •Double Daring •The Dangerous Dub •Twisted Triggers •The Bonanza Buckaroo •College Days •Josselyn's Wife •The Bandit Buster •The First Night •The Cyclone Cowboy •Between Dangers •The Galloping Gobs •Tearin' Into Trouble •The Ridin' Rowdy •The Meddlin' Stranger •Pals in Peril •Skedaddle Gold •White Pebbles •The Interferin' Gent •The Soda Water Cowboy •Ride 'em High •The Obligin' Buckaroo •Roarin' Broncs •The Desert of the Lost •The Ballyhoo Buster •Desperate Courage •The Cowboy Cavalier •The Valley of Hunted Men •Saddle Mates •Flyin' Buckaroo •The Bachelor Girl •Border Romance
1930s
The Dude Wrangler •Wings of Adventures •The Thoroughbred •Under Montana Skies •The Utah Kid •The Lawless Woman •The Sky Spider •The Lady from Nowhere •Wild Horse •Grief Street •Neck and Neck •Forgotten Women •The Devil Plays •Cross Examination •Murder at Dawn •Probation •Escapade •The Midnight Lady •Forbidden Company •Beauty Parlor •Thrill of Youth •The King Murder •Slightly Married •Women Won't Tell •Secrets of Wu Sin •Forgotten •Love Is Dangerous •I Have Lived •Strange People •Notorious But Nice •A Man of Sentiment •Murder on the Campus •Rainbow Over Broadway •The Quitter •Stolen Sweets •City Park •Green Eyes •Cheating Cheaters •Secret of the Chateau •Strange Wives •Last of the Pagans •The Voice of Bugle Ann •Tarzan Escapes •Dangerous Number •Night Must Fall •Double Wedding •Man-Proof •Love Is a Headache •The First Hundred Years •The Toy Wife •The Crowd Roars •Three Loves Has Nancy •The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn •Tarzan Finds a Son!
