gkeith_1 Tons of stars here. Tom Drake 1944 same year also in Meet Me in St. Louis; aka The Boy Next Door (to Judy Garland). June Allyson always a delight. Blonde freckle faced Van Johnson always a winner. Gloria DeHaven excellent. Henry O'Neill I actually thought was George Raft. I looked again in opening credits, but alas he was not to be found. O'Neill was a dead ringer. Henry Stephenson always lovely. Jimmy Durante; what can I say? Always a delight; perfect comedic timing. Playing his son (whom I was waiting for near the end) was charming. I kept waiting for the son to show up, because we kept seeing Jimmy's goofy baby picture throughout the entire film. I was hoping one of the other military personnel would be Jimmy's son, but that did not happen.Dancing: I loved the dancing of the dark haired young man whom June dragged out on the dance floor, who was first shy and awkward then later a dancing pro and even leaped over June's head. I kept thinking he was Jimmy's missing son, but even he wasn't that ugly or goofy looking as the baby in the picture.More star turns. Great bandleaders: Xavier Cugat, Jose Iturbi, Harry James. Wonderful to see the late, great Ms. Lena Horne, and I did catch short glimpses of Ava Gardner. Gracie Allen was wonderful, as always. It was good to see her without her sidekick, George Burns.I really loved the Jimmy-doll, complete with his black top hat and black tuxedo. I loved the little girl actresses in the beginning, including the baby, portraying the two Deyo sisters.

bkoganbing With the basic plot element taken from Great Expectations, the two girls of the title try throughout most of the Two Girls And A Sailor to figure out what did they do to become the benefactors of such incredible generosity by person or persons unknown.June Allyson and Gloria DeHaven are the singing Devo Sisters who come from an old vaudeville family and who now sing and dance for money and then after the show hold their own informal cabaret at home. In 1944 there wasn't anything one didn't do for the service men and women.One night they mention about that they'd really like to get a hold of an old warehouse down the street to open a really swanky nightclub/serviceman's center and the next thing you know there is Donald Meek knocking on their door with a deed in hand, signed over to them by a mysterious benefactor. And after that every time they need to pay a bill for construction, Meek's there with the money.In between all this are a whole bunch of musical and comedy acts with songs from a variety of sources. Two Girls And A Sailor got an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay and if there's nothing terribly original in taking the plot from Great Expectations, the really creative part of the script was getting all that talent in and not disturbing the story too much.This wartime musical was MGM's launching pad for Van Johnson where he was given billing over the title. He's the sailor in the title. In fact the film was a showcase for Allyson, DeHaven, and Johnson all of whom were among the newer stars in MGM's shimmering firmament.The film also featured one of the best of the swing era bands led by Harry James featuring one of the best singers from the Forties, Helen Forrest. Latin American music has periodically invaded mainstream America from the Tango to the Macarena and here it's represented by Xavier Cugat with Carlos Ramirez and Lina Romay doing the vocals. Comedy is supplied in ample measure by both Jimmy Durante and Gracie Allen. Durante had a featured part as an old vaudevillian that the girls remember from their childhood who is actually living in the warehouse they are gifted with. I only wish MGM had the sense to put him and Gracie Allen in a scene together.Gracie was put in a scene however with Jose Iturbi. Louis B. Mayer always considered himself a bit more highbrow than the other Hollywood moguls, hiring opera and concert performers. Still having Jose Iturbi and his equally talented sister Amparo playing double piano is always a treat in any film.As for who the benefactor is, the identity shall remain nameless. It's not an escaped convict like in Great Expectations. But take a look at the character names the cast has and remember the times and I think you can figure it out. Actually a mammoth size clue is given almost at the beginning of the film. But see the film for the clue and the identity.

wes-connors Extremely long World War II story about "Two Girls and a Sailor" (portrayed by June Allyson, Gloria DeHaven, and Van Johnson). The threesome from the customary "love triangle" - will Sailor Johnson choose pert June Allyson or sexy Gloria DeHaven? The film would be more accurately titled, "Two Girls, a Sailor, and a Variety Show" because the singing sisters aren't just shown at work - every act in their musical revue is shown. It's like a Musical spliced with a Variety Show; and, it clocks in at over two hours without ever becoming anything more than low average.June Allyson, Jimmy Durante, Harry James, and Gracie Allen have fine moments; and, it's nice to see "Inka Dinka Doo" and all of the other 1944 era acts preserved on film. ***** Two Girls and a Sailor (1944) Richard Thorpe ~ June Allyson, Van Johnson, Gloria DeHaven

jotix100 This delightful MGM film came out during WWII. This picture was a product of those years. In a way, it was a way to inspire patriotism and play tribute to those young men that went to the war for their country. It's hard to imagine anything like this in these turbulent times we are living. These pictures were mindless entertainment to get the public's mind away from the realities the war was causing to a lot of people at the time.The story of the perky Deyo Sisters, a singing and dancing duo, working in the night clubs of the Manhattan of those years it at the center of the story. They were products of vaudeville, as shown in the sequence at the beginning of the story where Patsy and Jean are seen with the star, Billy Kipp, years before his downfall.The sisters decide to invite to their humble apartment the young men they met on the streets after they finished performing. The idea was to give these boys a good time in a wholesome setting. Jean, falls for a sailor who follows the sisters' act every night. Little do the girls know about the identity of this innocent looking young man. When Patsy points out to John Dyckman Brown, the sailor, her ambition to fix the abandoned warehouse next to them, she never expected her dreams to come true. When they open the place, they are able to get some of the performers working in the night clubs to come entertain the boys before they go to war.The film is highly entertaining because MGM made sure to give this project the priority it needed. Richard Thorpe, the director, did wonders with the material and the stars at his disposal in a truly inspired movie that is delightful to see anytime it's shown.June Allyson, in her screen debut, is marvelous as the sensible Patsy. Gloria DeHaven, at the height of her beauty and freshness, is quite a sight to see. Van Johnson and Tom Drake, play the girl's love interests with charm. The fabulous Jimmy Durante is rescued by the girls from oblivion. The musical numbers are wonderful. We see some of the best talent of that era such as Lena Horne, Harry James, Xavier Cugat, Gracie Allen, Jose Iturbi, and others that contribute to make this a winning film that gives other generation a taste of what it was like to be young in those years. Viewers paying close attention will see a young Ava Gardner among the girls in the chorus.