hachmom-1 As a musical This is the Army is average at best. As a slice of American History, of a time when so many entertainers put aside personal profit to entertain troops, this film is special. Also it is a reminder that Michael Curtiz, not usually ranked among the great directors is none the less one of the most versatile director ever. Coming off of Yankee Doodle Dandy, this is another flag waving musical, and if he isn't lucky enough to have a star of the level of James Cagney, this ensemble review is more reflective of the wartime review show. The numbers are well staged, with many fine solo performances highlighted. Particularly outstanding is the performance by Kate Smith of God Bless America, interspersed with shots of families about to be affected by the war listening intently. It really does give of sense of what it was like in 1942, wondering where sons and husbands would be going soon. But in the end nothing about that matters. This film is worth watching just to see Irving Berlin reprise his role in Yip Yip Yaphank, performing "I Hate to Get Up In The Morning". (Berlin, a chronic insomniac, really did hate getting up in the morning). In addition to the historic value of this piece of film, there is also some satisfaction in seeing one of the true geniuses of the American Musical Theatre, just managing to carry the tune of one of his own songs. It is a tribute to his commitment to the country and the war that he is willing to put himself front and center in this way. I own a DVD purchased in the wild and wooly days of copyright laoses, bought specifically for the purpose of owning this ;little slice of history. Sometimes I put it in and just waatch that part. There are better films of Irving Berlin's music, but none tht feature the man himself.

classicsoncall Although a dated period piece, this one is likely to win you over if you're a fan of patriotic old films. Music lovers will also find a lot to like here as well, with a whole host of tunes provided by the legendary Irving Berlin, who even manages to sing one of his creations - 'Oh How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning'. The picture book-ends it's story around two separate stage productions, starting with 'Yip, Yip, Yaphank' set in 1918, followed up by the 1943 'This is the Army' portion anchored by future President Ronald Reagan. There's a family connection introduced as well, as Reagan's character, Johnny Jones, is the son of Jerry Jones (George Murphy), the original star of the earlier production.If you're an old time movie fan, you'll recognize a host of players in the film like Joan Leslie, Alan Hale, and George Tobias, and virtually all of the secondary characters were in the service when they made the picture. Which was actually the point, the film was intended as a morale booster and positive propaganda for the American war effort. (I dislike using the term propaganda when it supports the U.S. cause, but I don't know if there's a better word to fit the bill).Undoubtedly, some modern day viewers will find offense with portions of the picture. The black-face Swanee River routine is regrettably embarrassing in hindsight, but then you have an incredibly well choreographed and athletic performance by real black singers and dancers which stands well on it's own. Similarly, soldiers performing in drag seems like it could have been avoided by using real service women in those numbers calling for it. But second guessing from the vantage point of almost seventy years is probably a futile exercise.I'd like to think there's a worthy message in the closing song number - "This Time is the Last Time" as it references America's prospects for future conflict. One more thing that the vantage point of 2010 is unlikely to make us feel secure about. One can only hope that courageous world leaders lead the planet to a safer place than the one we have today.

Jay Raskin For those who love to watch flag waving men in uniform doing musical numbers in drag, this film is your heaven. Add a little minstrel show, black face comedy, and a variety of acts from a magician to star impersonators, to acrobats to Air Force and Navy glee clubs and you have one of the gayest pieces of pro-military pop-corn imaginable. This is a 1943 version of the Ed Sullivan Show on steroids.This movie seems to have A.D.D. It moves from subject to subject in a rather willy-nilly fashion, but it is tied together with waving flags and marching/tap dancing men in uniform, and the fact that Irving Berlin wrote both the two or three classic songs and the fourteen or fifteen duds. One could watch every scene in reverse order and get the same effect. It is a parade celebrating pro patria mori. It is a broken record that just keeps repeating that it is glorious to be a soldier because it is not glorious to be a soldier.Yet, it lacks conviction, which is what makes it such tiresome propaganda. Why is it arguing that World War II is a continuation of World War I? Why does it have twenty minutes of men in drag singing and dancing, but only one minute of men in battle? Why is it advocating that men should get married before they go off to war? Why does it say that war is hell because you have to get up early in the morning, especially when every working man in America had to get up at the same time? There is something chilling about this movie: the way it uses song and dance and vaudeville theater to promote war. What I can not figure out is why I love Michael Curtiz's "Yankee Doodle Dandy" which celebrated George M. Cohan's patriotic song contributions, while I disliked this movie which celebrates the same thing in Irving Berlin? Maybe it is because James Cagney glides across the screen with grace and an open heart, while this movie is just an army trampling everything in its path.

Marlene Bomer First of all, had you done your research, you would've known that all three branches of the military had (and still have) entertainment divisions whose sole job is to produce shows for the troops. If you looked at the "Crazy Credits" section you would've learned that famed composer Irving Berlin staged the two soldier shows as depicted in the movie.Yes, many of the skits and songs are terribly dated and yes "This is the Army" is largely a propaganda film, but Berlin singing his "Oh How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning" was the lament of every draftee.Virtually *every* film made during WWII was done either as propaganda or to bolster the spirits on the homefront.I respectfully suggest watching it again, but instead of looking at it with 2004 cynicism, look at it in the context of the times.