Meet the People *** (1944, Lucille Ball, Dick Powell, Virginia O’Brien) – Classic Movie Review 7,891

The 1944 romantic musical comedy film Meet the People stars Lucille Ball as a theatre actress who proves she is not a stuck-up star by taking on the war work of staging a musical in a shipyard. MGM advertised it as ‘the gayest musical!’

Director Charles Reisner’s 1944 romantic musical comedy film Meet the People stars Lucille Ball as shining Broadway star theatre actress Julie Hampton, who proves that she is a woman of the people and not a stuck-up star by taking on the war work of staging a musical in a shipyard that she visits on a war bond drive.

Dick Powell also stars as idealistic shipyard worker Bill Swanson, who instantly falls in love with her, and gets her involved after writing a play celebrating the American spirit in World War Two. Julie has promised to go on a date with the man who sells most war bonds…

Meet the People is an amiable but very minor flag-waving musical that lacks ambition or distinction but still amuses, mainly thanks to the ingratiating star performers and scene-stealing support turns, but also thanks to its nostalgia value flavour of the Forties.

The screenplay by S M Herzig [Sig Herzig] and Fred Saidy is based on a play by Louis Lantz, Sol Barzman and Ben Barzman. It is mainly the spunky, sparky turns from Ball, Dick Powell, Virginia O’Brien and Bert Lahr that compensate for the dozen or so indifferent tunes. However, there is a musical highlight when O’Brien sings the hit song ‘Say That We’re Sweethearts Again’.

Also in the cast are Rags Ragland, June Allyson, Steve Geray, Phil Regan, Spike Jones and his City Slickers, Vaughn Monroe and his orchestra, Howard Freeman, Betty Jaynes, John Craven, Morris Ankrum, Kay Medford and character actor Roger Moore (1900–1999).

Lucille Ball’s singing is dubbed by Gloria Grafton.

For some weird reason, it was advertised as ‘Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer presents the gayest musical!’

Even so, it flopped. It cost $1,302,000 and earned $960,000 globally, resulting in a loss of $717,000. Obviously it did more business in North America ($670,000) than elsewhere ($290,000).

The screenplay by Sig Herzig, Fred Saidy and Virginia Kellogg (additional uncredited contributions to the adaptation) is based on the 1940 play Meet the People by Sol Barzman, Ben Barzman and Louis Lantz. The hit stage musical revue ran on Broadway from 25 December 1940 to 10 May 1941. Virginia O’Brien, Vaughn Monroe and his orchestra and Spike Jones and his City Slickers were also in the stage cast. 

It runs 90 minutes.

It was released on 1 June 1944 (Los Angeles) and 7 September 1944 (New York City).

Bert Lahr’s catchphrase in this film, ‘Heavens to Murgatroyd!’, was later made popular by the Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Snagglepuss.

The cast are Lucille Ball as Julie Hampton, Dick Powell as William “Swanee” Swanson, Virginia O’Brien as “Woodpecker” Peg, Bert Lahr as The Commander, Rags Ragland as “Smitty” Smith, June Allyson as Annie, Steven Geray as Uncle Felix, Paul Regan as “Buck”, Howard Freeman as George Peetwick, Betty Jaynes as Steffi, John Craven as John Swanson, Morris Ankrum as Monte Rowland, Ziggie Talent as Ziggie, Mata and Hari as oriental dancers, Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra as themselves, and Spike Jones and His City Slickers as themselves.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7,891

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