The Sound Of One Hand Clapping
Added 10/27/2009
What a cynical exercise on the part of MGM!!! This alleged wartime morale booster is only worth marking time. This clumsy grafting of service romance and all-star review accomplishes nothing but a sense of ennui. For sure there are some high points i.e. Kathryn Grayson's angelic pipes and Gene Kelly's hoofing but otherwise I would just pass this one by. Do yourself a favor and watch "Yankee Doodle Dandy" if you want to get into the war bond buying state of mind.
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A great missing musical
Added 10/26/2009
AS THIS FILM HAS NOT BEEN AVAILABLE FOR SO LONG IT'S GREAT AT LAST TO HAVE IT....
IGNORE THE LIGHT AND FLUFFY STORY, JUST SIT BACK AND ENJOY MGM STAR AFTER STAR IN GREAT TECHNICOLOR
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More stars that there are in heaven????
Added 10/19/2009
I saw THOUSANDS CHEER in Montevideo, Uruguay, back in 1953, when MGM was reprising most of Gene Kelly's musicals after his big success in AN AMERICAN IN PARIS and SINGIN' IN THE RAIN. The same year I could see those two films and ANCHORS AWEIGH too, and I was only ten years old. I became a big fan of Gene Kelly and now, when I'm over sixty, I haven't change a bit. So, is very touching to watch THOUSANDS CHEER again (I've seen the others over fifty times each) and place the film in the year it was made, 1943, with all that war climax, the studios trying to entertain the troops (and ALL of them were making the same kind of picture: Warners, Fox, RKO, Universal, Paramount) with a big parade of all their major stars singing and dancing, in musical numbers or comedy sketches (like Frank Morgan, Red Skelton and Mickey Rooney here) with Jose Iturbi directing the orchestra and making faces all the time. Gene Kelly has only one number (and a good one) and Kathryn Grayson sings a lot, but this Joe Pasternak production is very entertaining, colorful and well directed by George Sidney with his flying cameras. This film has something special that the years can't erase: an enormous and powerful description of an era, not only Hollywood in his golden years but the fabulous forties at their peak, with the charm, the rhythm (just listen the Kay Kyser and Bob Crosby orchestras), the songs and the dances that describes more than words a whole great american pastime. And we must not forget the personalities (not only Judy Garland, but Eleanor Powell, Lena Horne and all the others) that make THOUSANDS CHEER a real document of an era. Of course, the war was not that funny and amusing like it's shown here, but the film was made with the only commitment of cheering-up the spirits of the men overseas, where things weren't that funny. It must be seen now with that historical background, and that's its principal attraction nowadays.
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BUYERS BEWARE! ILLEGAL LISTING!
Added 6/6/2009
This DVD is from the WBshop online where it is available for half the price. Resale of these archive DVDs is prohibited by Warner Brothers. Don't subsidize theft by paying twice the price.
4 out of 7 people found this helpful.
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Thousands Snore
Added 9/29/2008
Of all the Technicolor shows created "for the boys" in WW II, this is the most insipid. Aside from Kelly's mop/broom dance and Lena Horne, this is a real yawner. Rooney (who must be the last survivor) does some memorable impressions, and the latin dance number is fun. The rest is useless plot, third-rate actors, and lifeless productions.
If you want to see the gold standard of this genre, try The Gang's All Here. Be sure you look for the 1943 musical, not the 1941 film noir of the same name.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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