I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Not sure what's worse, the corny, adolescent dialogue or the horribly bad grammar. Were servicemen really that illiterate back then? I watched this after seeing Stage Door Canteen, and although this had more star power, I think the "story" (and I use that term very loosely) was much worse. This cornfest is only redeemed by Bette Davis, John Garfield and the subtly hilarious Jack Benny. To be watched only as a timepiece of a bygone era; don't expect to be entertained.

All-star Warner Bros. hokum about a soldier (Robert Hutton) with the biggest crush on Joan Leslie. Who can blame him? So he spends his leave at the Hollywood Canteen meeting various stars and, of course, the lovely Joan Leslie herself. The story is slight but it's just an excuse to promote the Hollywood Canteen, a club that offered free food and entertainment to servicemen during World War II. The Canteen's founders, Bette Davis and John Garfield, are among the many movie stars that appear here. Ann Sheridan is one of the few stars that doesn't appear, despite her name being dropped repeatedly.It is a little bit self-congratulatory, with movie stars patting themselves on the back for what good people they are. Some things never change as that's still the case today. But, cynicism aside, it's all good fun and completely charming. There are lots of musical performances from the likes of the Andrews Sisters, Roy Rogers, Sons of the Pioneers, Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra, and several actors. Highlights among the cameos is Joan Crawford's first appearance under contract to WB and Syndey Greenstreet & Peter Lorre spooking a Marine. It's not high art but it's a good time and it made me smile.

Almost every face in this movie was a notable star but only a handful are remembered today. A few, like Joe E. Brown, I knew only from caricatures in cartoons.The musical performances are the best part, in fact, I fast-forwarded through most of the cringe-worthy story sections to concentrate on those. The story almost seems like a horrible joke on any real servicemen who might have seen this.As others have noted, one of the highlights is the Golden Gate Quartet number. I've read that studios had to plan scenes with substantial black performers ( i.e. those not portraying servants) so that they could be cut from the movie without damaging the story. Southern white audiences demanded that. It is very much in evidence here. Unlike most of the other musical segments they have no tie-in with the action on the floor.Too bad someone couldn't come up with a better story to tie it all together but the time-capsule nature of it makes up for some of that.

Did Kitty Carlisle sing Good Night Sweet Dreams Sweetheart in this movie?Does anyone have the words to this song? Who wrote it? Thanks.I read through all the comments and didn't see her name mentioned, or the song.I searched google for the words but couldn't find this song.It was a great movie and we often mention the stars who were really great.There's a movie buff out there who knows his stuff. So let me hear from you.