''Rookies on Parade'' is a 1941

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Joseph Santley Joseph Mansfield Santley (born Joseph Ishmael Mansfield, January 10, 1890 – August 8, 1971) was an American actor, singer, dancer, writer, director, and producer of musical theatre, musical theatre, theatrical plays motion pictures and tel ...

and starring

Bob Crosby George Robert Crosby (August 23, 1913 – March 9, 1993) was an American jazz singer and bandleader, best known for his group the Bob-Cats, which formed around 1935. The Bob-Cats were a New Orleans Dixieland-style jazz octet. He was the younge ...

Ruth Terry Ruth Mae Terry (born Ruth Mae McMahon, October 21, 1920 – March 11, 2016) was an American singer and actress in film and television from the 1930s to the 1960s. She claimed her stage name came from Walter Winchell, who combined the names ...

, Eddie Foy Jr. and Marie Wilson It was produced and distributed by

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures is currently an acquisition-only label owned by Paramount Pictures. Its history dates back to Republic Pictures Corporation, an American film studio that originally operated from 1935 to 1967, based in Los Angeles, California ...

. The film marked the studio's entry into the pre-World War II military comedy genre. The Army technical advisor was Captain Jack Voglin who performed the same duty for the 1941 films ''

You're in the Army Now In Modern English, the word "''you''" is the second-person pronoun. It is grammatically plural, and was historically used only for the dative case, but in most modern dialects is used for all cases and numbers. History ''You'' comes from ...

'', '' You'll Never Get Rich'' and '' Buck Privates''.

Synopsis

Just as they write what they hope will be a hit

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

for Broadway, a team of

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

s are drafted into the army. Duke Wilson's former

showgirl A showgirl is a female performer in a theatrical revue who wears an exotic and revealing costume and in some shows may appear topless. Showgirls are usually dancers, sometimes performing as chorus girls, burlesque dancers or fan dancers, and ...

fiancée Lois is working as a hostess at the base where they are stationed and they decide to stage the musical there.

Cast

as Duke Wilson *

as Lois Rogers *

Gertrude Niesen Gertrude Niesen (July 8, 1911 – March 27, 1975) was an American Torch song, torch singer, actress, comedian, and songwriter who achieved popular success in musical theatre, musicals and films in the 1930s and 1940s. Early years Niesen wa ...

as Marilyn Fenton * Eddie Foy Jr. as Cliff Dugan * Marie Wilson as Kitty Mulloy * Cliff Nazarro as Joe Martin *

William Demarest Carl William Demarest (February 27, 1892 – December 28, 1983) was an American actor, known especially for his supporting roles in screwball comedies by Preston Sturges and as Uncle Charley in the sitcom ''My Three Sons'' from 1965-72. Demares ...

as Mike Brady *

Sidney Blackmer Sidney Alderman Blackmer (July 13, 1895 – October 6, 1973) was an American Broadway theatre, Broadway and film actor active between 1914 and 1971, usually in major supporting roles. Biography Blackmer was born and raised in Salisbury, ...

as Augustus Moody * Horace McMahon as Tiger Brannigan * William Wright as Bob Madison *Jimmy Alexander as Tommy * Louis Da Pron as Harry Haxom * Bill Shirley as Bill

Release

''Rookies on Parade'' was released in theaters on April 17, 1941.

References

Bibliography

* Fetrow, Alan G. ''Feature Films, 1940-1949: a United States Filmography''. McFarland, 1994. * Hurst, Richard M. ''Republic Studios: Beyond Poverty Row and the Majors''. Scarecrow Press, 2007.

External links

* 1941 films 1941 musical comedy films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films Military comedy films Republic Pictures films American World War II films Films directed by Joseph Santley American musical comedy films 1940s American films English-language musical comedy films Films scored by Mort Glickman {{WWII-film-stub