''Four Jills in a Jeep'' is a 1944 American

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as brea ...

starring Kay Francis,

Carole Landis Carole Landis (born Frances Lillian Mary Ridste; January 1, 1919 – July 5, 1948) was an American actress and singer. She worked as a contract player for Twentieth Century-Fox in the 1940s. Her breakout role was as the female lead in the 1940 ...

Martha Raye Martha Raye (born Margy Reed; August 27, 1916 – October 19, 1994), nicknamed The Big Mouth, was an American comic actress and singer who performed in movies, and later on television. She also acted in plays, including Broadway. She was honored ...

, and

Mitzi Mayfair Mitzi Mayfair (born Juanita Emylyn Pique; June 6, 1914 – May 1976) was an American dancer and stage and film actress. Life and career Born in Fulton, Kentucky, she grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1936, she told a ''Harvard Crimson'' ...

as themselves, re-enacting their USO tour of Europe and North Africa during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Production

The working titles of this film were ''Command Performance'' and ''Camp Show''. Before the film's opening credits, an onscreen written prologue reads, "This story is based on the experiences of four of the many performers who take entertainment to America's men in uniform in the theatres of war as well as in the camps at home. Actors who serve in this global entertainment program consider it a privilege to lighten a little the hardships endured by our fighting men and to share, in a measure, their experiences in combat zones. The producers gratefully acknowledge the work of USO-Camp Shows, Inc., the Hollywood Victory Committee and the Special Service Division of the War Department." As noted in the onscreen credits, the picture was based on the actual experiences of Kay Francis,

and

, who, as the members of the Feminine Theatrical Task Force, entertained American and British troops on a tour of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

, and

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

. The women left the United States on 16 October 1942 and spent approximately three months in England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. During their sometimes difficult tour, the women performed several shows a day for the troops. They also presented a command performance for the Queen of the United Kingdom. After leaving England, the women spent approximately three weeks in North Africa, which marked the first USO tour of that area. Francis and Mayfair then returned to the United States. Landis flew back to England to join her husband. As depicted in the film, Landis met

U.S. Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War ...

pilot Capt. Thomas C. Wallace in England in November 1942 and married him on 5 January 1943. The couple divorced in July 1945. Raye, who was "the first honorary captain created in World War II," according to a LAEx article, continued touring with other USO groups. The experience marked the beginning of Raye's long association with the USO, and her many visits to the troops during the Korean and Vietnam wars, as well as her service as a nurse, earned Raye many awards, including a Silver Star, a Purple Heart, the USO's Distinguished Service Award, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. (In 1994, Raye attempted to sue actress

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;'' Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received numerous accolades, including four Golden ...

and the producers of the 1991 picture '' For the Boys'', which told the story of a USO entertainer. Although Raye claimed that the 1991 picture was plagiarized from an autobiographical outline she had written, her case was dismissed.) According to information in the Twentieth Century-Fox Records of the Legal Department, Landis and Edwin Seaver wrote a book about her travels while the film was in pre-production at the studio. Although UCLA Arts—Special Collections Library, Landis's material was not used in the screenplay, the studio agreed to let her use the film's title as her book title for the publicity value. Her book, which was published in 1944, first appeared as a serial in

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely ...

(18 December 1943 – 15 January 1944). The legal records indicate that, while the film was based on the experiences of all four performers, only Mayfair and Francis directly contributed to the screenplay. The legal records also indicate that Mayfair's agent, Lou Irwin, was the first person to suggest the idea of the film to the studio. Studio records reveal that Waldo Salt worked on an early draft of the film's script, but the extent of his contribution to the completed picture has not been determined. According to a ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...

'' news item, Islin Auster was originally scheduled to produce the picture. The Twentieth Century-Fox Produced Scripts Collection, also kept at UCLA, contains conference notes with studio production chief Darryl F. Zanuck, who planned for John Sutton to play "Capt. Lloyd." Zanuck told director William A. Seiter, "Martha Raye usually talks too fast and too loud. Try to make her play Martha-Raye-off-stage and not Martha-Raye-on-the-screen, if possible." An August 1943 ''HR'' news item noted that

Jack Oakie Jack Oakie (born Lewis Delaney Offield; November 12, 1903 – January 23, 1978) was an American actor, starring mostly in films, but also working on stage, radio and television. He portrayed Napaloni in Chaplin's ''The Great Dictator'' (194 ...

had been set for the comedy lead and that

Cornel Wilde Cornel Wilde (born Kornél Lajos Weisz; October 13, 1912 – October 16, 1989) was a Hungarian-American actor and filmmaker. Wilde's acting career began in 1935, when he made his debut on Broadway. In 1936 he began making small, uncredited app ...

was being considered for "the juvenile spot." Although a 21 October 1943 ''HR'' news item stated that Raye would sing "Jeep, Jeep, Listen to the Soldiers Sing," which she had written herself, the song does not appear in the completed picture. This marked the screen debut of singer

Dick Haymes Richard Benjamin Haymes (September 13, 1918 – March 28, 1980) was an Argentinian singer and actor. He was one of the most popular male vocalists of the 1940s and early 1950s. He was the older brother of Bob Haymes, an actor, television host, ...

. Dance director Don Loper was borrowed from MGM for the production, which was Francis's first film appearance since the 1942

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a t ...

production ''

Between Us Girls ''Between Us Girls'' is a 1942 American drama film directed by Henry Koster and starring Diana Barrymore, Kay Francis, Robert Cummings, John Boles (actor), John Boles, Andy Devine, and Scotty Beckett.

''. Mayfair had not appeared in a feature film since the 1930 musical ''

Paramount on Parade ''Paramount on Parade'' is a 1930 all-star American pre-Code revue released by Paramount Pictures, directed by several directors including Edmund Goulding, Dorothy Arzner, Ernst Lubitsch, Rowland V. Lee, A. Edward Sutherland, Lothar Mendes, O ...

'', and ''Four Jills in a Jeep'' was her last screen appearance. According to an April 1943 ''HR'' news item, Landis, Raye, and Mayfair were also scheduled to make a short film recreating their act. Twentieth Century-Fox loaned Harold Schuster to the Army to direct the short, which was "to be exhibited only before Army groups, and is not for public showing." According to the news item, "The short opens on the set of our Jills in a Jeep from which point the girls go into their act."

Cast

* Kay Francis as Herself *

as Herself *

Jimmy Dorsey James Francis Dorsey (February 29, 1904 – June 12, 1957) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and big band leader. He recorded and composed the jazz and pop standards " I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary Peop ...

and His Orchestra as Themselves *

John Harvey John Harvey may refer to: People Academics * John Harvey (astrologer) (1564–1592), English astrologer and physician * John Harvey (architectural historian) (1911–1997), British architectural historian, who wrote on English Gothic architecture ...

as Ted Warren *

Phil Silvers Phil Silvers (born Phillip Silver; May 11, 1911 – November 1, 1985) was an American entertainer and comedic actor, known as "The King of Chutzpah". His career as a professional entertainer spanned nearly sixty years. Silvers achieved major popu ...

as Eddie *

as Lt. Dick Ryan *

Alice Faye Alice Faye (born Alice Jeanne Leppert; May 5, 1915 – May 9, 1998) was an American actress and singer. A musical star of 20th Century-Fox in the 1930s and 1940s, Faye starred in such films as ''On the Avenue'' (1937) and ''Alexander's Ragtime B ...

as Herself *

Betty Grable Elizabeth Ruth Grable (December 18, 1916 – July 2, 1973) was an American actress, pin-up girl, dancer, model, and singer. Her 42 films during the 1930s and 1940s grossed more than $100 million; for 10 consecutive years (1942–1951) she reign ...

as Herself *

Carmen Miranda Carmen Miranda, (; born Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha, 9 February 1909 – 5 August 1955) was a Portuguese-born Brazilian samba singer, dancer, Broadway actress and film star who was active from the late 1920s onwards. Nicknamed "The Br ...

as Herself * George Jessel as Himself

Reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reviewer

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

was unimpressed, writing, "It gives the painful impression of having been tossed together in a couple of hours. All that happens, really, is a lot of dizzying about the dames and some singing and dancing by them in an undistinguished style."

References

External links

* * * * {{William A. Seiter 1944 films 1944 musical films American black-and-white films Films directed by William A. Seiter World War II films made in wartime 20th Century Fox films American musical films Films scored by Arthur Lange

Production

Cast

Reception

See also

References

External links