Reviews (2)

The Sting II Stinks!
In 1973, Paul Newman, Robert Redford and Robert Shaw starred in "The Sting," which won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. In 1983, Jackie Gleason, Mac Davis, and Oliver Reed starred in "The Sting II," which narrowly beat out "Caddyshack II" for my award for the worst sequel of all time. Jackie Gleason (Henry Gondorff) and Mac Davis (Johnny Hooker), in addition to being laughably bad replacements for Newman and Redford, have no screen chemistry together. Oliver Reed (Doyle Lonnegan) bellows his way through the film, having none of the subtlety of Robert Shaw. Karl Malden chews scenery as the new villain Macalinski, who is being set up for the latest con job. The only reason the movie studio greenlighted this turkey is to make money off the good name of the original film. Don't get stung by watching "The Sting II."

Excellent movie, STILL TOO MUCH foul language, though.
Jackie Gleason is TERRIFIC as Henry Gondorff though I don't see why the hell Paul Newman couldn't have returned for the smash sequel. This movie comes CLOSE to being as successfull as the 1973 hit but misses by an inch. EVERYONE who worked on this film-TERRIFIC job. I LOVED Oliver Reed's portrayal of Doyle Lonnegan. Rated PG. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

The Andrews Sisters with Harry James
With the benefit of the DVD format, this film can be enjoyed as an Andrews Sisters concert with Harry James as well as the 1942 low-budget Universal musical that it was at the time of release (and a box office success, by the way).
The Sisters swing on "Three Little Sisters" (note this is after the disaster at Bataan/Corregidor and the lyric "from Iceland to the Philippines" is changed to "from Iceland down to New Orleans"), "That's the Moon, My Son" and "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree". This is a rare chance to hear the great Vic Schoen Andrews Sisters arrangements with the sharp James orchestra. This film also provides a glimpse of the great stage presence and commedienne quality of Patty Andrews, if only briefly.
Harry James and Helen Forrest join forces for "You Made Me Love You" and "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen".
James demonstrates his considerable talent on the trumpet several times and the Sisters keep smiling through, perhaps, their strangest novelty song, "We're Six Jerks in a Jeep".
Dick Foran croons "Private Buckaroo" and gives out with "We've Got a Job to Do" which is also the Andrews Sisters finale after the equally rare "Johnny Get Your Gun Again". Neither of these two wartime tunes were recorded by the Sisters in the Decca studio and may only exist in the Sisters surviving recordings on this film soundtrack.
Then-former Stooge Shemp Howard, Mary Wickes and the dancing team of Peggy Ryan and Donald O'Conner try to provide comic support in the tradition of musical comedy films of the era. This DVD contains an adequate print of the film with good sound and also has some World War II newsreel footage and movie bloopers in the package unrelated to "Private Buckaroo".
If Universal does not release a restored print of this film or an Andrews Sisters Universal DVD multi-film package (oh, that they would!), this is a keepsake item.

It's all in the dancing
If young dancer Donald O'Connor catches your eye in this film, it's thanks to choreographer John Mattison, who taught O'Connor (among others) much of what he knows. Mattison's daughter, Ethelyn, also dances in the chorus. Mattison, who danced in Vaudeville and on Broadway before working in Hollywood, went on to become a well-known dance teacher. His students included Basil Rathbone and Dan Dailey.

Of some historic interest...
This is essentially an armed forces recruitment film made by Universal shortly after the U.S. formal entry into World War II, utilizing some comics and swing musicians to raise the patriotic tenor. The wispy plot relates how the entire band of Harry James decides to enlist in the Army to follow its drafted leader, with a subsequent U.S.O. follies being organized directly before the entire group marches avidly into combat. With the exception of the reliable Mary Wickes, the comedians, in particular Joe E. Lewis and Shemp Howard, are dreadful and serve only to make the various musical interludes, notably those featuring the sprightly Andrews Sisters, a welcome relief --- from comedy. Former big band singer Dick Foran, who warbles the title tune, is the featured non-musical performer tasked to deal with the hapless propagandistic script, but 16 year old Donald O'Connor nearly steals the show along with some of his jitterbugging cronies.

Private Buckaroo
Private Buckaroo is a wonderful wartime movie which I would reccomend to anyone who likes movies of the 1940's, and/or The Andrews Sisters. I am also a Three Stooges fan, so I also liked seeing Shemp in it too.

Great, even still today!
It's incredible, the amount of propaganda put into this movie, "Be a Man, fight for your country!" But overall, the songs and dances are amazing...especially since i love The Andrews Sisters! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Hopefully O. Henry Got Some Royalties Off of This One
Known for being the only film Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda starred in together, I thought I'd check out "On Our Merry Way" for its historical significance. Unfortunately, it's not very good.

The film is split into three seperate stories tied together by a rather odd framing device. Burgess Meredith and Paulette Goddard play a married couple having monetary problems, with Meredith conning his way into a reporting job to earn extra cash. He then proceeds to interview three seperate sets of people, with the angle being the way in which a child has affected each of their lives. Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda are musicians that lose their band to a "babe", Dorothy Lamour is an actress contending with a spoiled child star (echos of Shirley Temple) and finally Fred McMurray fights a battle of wits with a 10 year-old holy terror.

The first segment is pretty dull, and Jimmy and Henry are not given much to do. The second story is a little better, with Lamour doing a nice musical number sending up her exotic image called "Queen of the Hollywood Isles". The last section is a blatant [take] of O. Henry's classic short story, "The Ransom of Red Chief", only stressful instead of funny. The framing device with Goddard and Meredith is the best part of the movie, due to the strong chemistry between them.

I recommend "On Our Merry Way" as a rental for hard-core Stewart or Goddard fans, otherwise it's not really worth your time. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Still just as great, over 60 years later
Lucille Ball, Tommy Dix, Virginia Weidler, June Allyson, and Nancy Walker star in this hilarious and refreshing story of a military school student who invites a famous movie actress to the prom.

Bud Hooper didn't know that his letter would ever be answered...but when Lucille Ball writes back to say she'd be delighted to attend his school's senior prom, he's in shock. He frantically wires his girlfriend, Helen, not to come because he is sick. Guilty and depresed, Bud wishes he'd never thought up this crazy scheme. His two roommates are enthusiastic, however, and convince him that Helen will never know.

Meanwhile, Lucille Ball isn't any happier. Jack, her publicity agent, wants to get her on the front page and thinks this is the way to do it. Lucille is skeptical, especially when she hears that she must hide her identity and go to the prom as Helen, because that was the name Bud turned into the faculty two weeks before.

Trouble escalates when Helen shows up just before the prom, having intended to keep her poor bedridden boyfriend company. Then it's just one laugh after another as Lucille Ball's dress is torn off in a frenzy of "souvenir collecting" started by the fuming Helen. Lucy is then forced to hide in a stuffy closet, while Bud and his friends try to plan an escape.

This is a true gem of a movie, with great songs and hysterically funny lines. My favorite line was probably one spoken by the hopelessly ugly blind date (Nancy Walker): "You can't insult me and get away with it. In fact, you can't insult me."

VERY FUNNY ONE LINERS!
This movie has many lines that my sisters and I still quote from today! ("Whoever finds her...I hope it's me!" -- one of our favorites!) Trust me, this is very funny!

Wonderful Forties Musical
If you like college musicals, you'll love this fast paced MGM piece of fluff. The story is simple, a military college cadet wins a date with Hollywood actress Lucille Ball (In one of many performances where she plays herself) This ill conceived publicity stunt designed to re-start her faltering career, turns into a hilarious disaster when the cadet's girlfriend shows-up the night of the big date. You can imagine the fun that ensues with Lucy hiding out in the cadet's dorm room closet which continues to get more crowed by the minute. The musical numbers are all classic, like Harry James' swing version of "Flight of the Bumble Bee," and the rollicking "Barrelhouse, Boogie, and The Blues," beautifully performed by Nancy Walker, June Allison, and Gloria DeHaven. This was their MGM debut film and they all went on to stardom.

This is one of MGM's better musicals from the forties, it is full of great music, lively dancing and just plain fun and let's face it Lucille Ball is absolutely georgous.

I highly recommend this film!

Lucy shines!
Lucy looks absolutely fabulous in this movie, just like she does in every other movie. She is a brilliant actress, and it shows in this film. Her talent comes shining through. She's very funny at times, especially when her fans rip off her clothes and she slaps a man. She's left there in her underwear, and she constantly has to hide in closets(poor dear!). This is a very good movie, so if you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and do watch it. If you love Lucy as much much as I do(which I doubt), or even remotely close to how much I do, then watch her shine in Best Foot Forward. ... Read more