StunnaKrypto Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Taha Avalos The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Edwin The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

HotToastyRag Littered with over twenty name stars, Stage Door Canteen was Hollywood's contribution to boosting the troops' morale in the thick of WWII. Everyone got together, playing themselves, and gave a song, dance, or speech at the Stage Door Canteen, for the soldiers in the movie as well as the soldiers in real life. Katharine Hepburn, Helen Hayes, Ethel Merman, Harpo Marx, Ray Bolger, Ralph Bellamy, Tallulah Bankhead, Jean Hersholt, Paul Muni, Merle Oberon, George Raft, Gypsy Rose Lee, Elsa Maxwell, Ethel Waters, Ed Wynn, Helen Broderick, Jane Darwell, Martha Scott, William Demarest, Allen Jenkinis, Sam Jaffe, Xavier Cugat, Benny Goodman, Kay Kyser, Guy Lombardo, and many others lent their name and talent to show American boys that Hollywood was behind them all the way.Sprinkled in among the countless acts is a fictional story of three soldiers, named Dakota, California, and Texas, to symbolize the average American soldier, who visit the variety show and fall in love with three girls who work there. Romance is strictly forbidden at the hotspot, but the three couples make plans for after the war anyway, inspiring thousands of war-torn couples across the nation.If you're able to get in the WWII mindset, or if you like Americana films, you might enjoy this one. If you just look at it as a regular movie, it's not that great. It's over two hours, and with a very simple story to carry you through dozens and dozens of acts by people you might not have even heard of, you might find it a little long in the tooth.

Edgar Allan Pooh . . . of an American Serviceman Holding a Rotten Orange" scene that can be glimpsed during SAVING PRIVATE RYAN's recreation of the Normandy D-Day Invasion. It turns out that these few Micro-seconds of Gruesome Handage are the proverbial "rest of the story" provided by RYAN director Steve Spielberg to the famous ROMEO AND JULIET interchange which begins this Tragic Tale of Woe from 15:28 to 17:08 of STAGE DOOR CANTEEN. Newly Boot-Camped High School Leotard Boy Jack "California" Gilman holds up his chow line in the canteen to dither over an aging stage actress who once played Ms. Capulet. When this seasoned matron gives him a "parting gift" of an orange, Jack vows to keep the perishable citrus fruit on hand till death do them part. Jack's ludicrous pledge festered in Spielberg's imagination for decades, finally germinating into his Stephen King wrinkle along Omaha Beach. Certainly one must hand kudos to Spielberg for verisimilitude here, as Jack's heirloom orange continues to dwarf his Itty Bitty detached Drama Club Appendage even in its withered state. It's too bad that Jack did not have a Real Estate Mogul Daddy to buy a doctor's note giving him a "4F" Get-out-of-the-Draft-Card in War Time due to his under-sized hands, a trick which worked for alleged U.S. President #45.

Jimmy L. STAGE DOOR CANTEEN (1943) is a lot of fun for what it is. What it is is a patriotic morale-booster that brings the star-studded experience of New York's Stage Door Canteen to a wartime audience. Canteens were set up by big names in show business to entertain servicemen on their home soil, free of charge.The film is chock-full of celebrity cameos by dozens of famous stars of the stage, screen, and radio. Most of the celebrities are identified in some way, although big-time classic movie fans should have fun spotting them first.The movie is a product of its time, and seen many decades removed from its original context it becomes something of a time capsule, showcasing the entertainment of a past generation. Some of the names will be a bit obscure to modern audiences (particularly stage stars who didn't make many movies).* Guest stars include ventriloquist Edgar Bergen, vaudeville comedian Ed Wynn, Oscar-winners Katharine Hepburn and Paul Muni, the jazz bands of Benny Goodman and Count Basie, and various Hollywood supporting players and entertainment personalities.Where else can you see Franklin Pangborn wash dishes with jungle man Johnny Weissmuller? Other highlights are scenes between married Broadway stars Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, a rousing song by Ethel Merman, and a comic striptease by Gypsy Rose Lee (strictly rated G -- more "tease" than "strip").Classic movie fans will get more out of this film than the uninitiated, who might not recognize the faces or even the names that go with them. The movie works best when you can appreciate the cameos.Don't expect much in the way of plot. Comedy bits and musical numbers are strung together by a story of young soldiers visiting the Canteen on leave before being shipped overseas and the girls they meet inside. The young romances reflect the bittersweet reality of wartime relationships.Cheryl Walker is lovely as the ice queen hostess who comes to the Canteen for all the wrong reasons. She's looking to further her own acting career and isn't particularly interested in showing the soldiers a good time. Marjorie Riordan is cute as one of the other hostesses, who spends time with a soldier who has no sweetheart back home.STAGE DOOR CANTEEN isn't wartime escapism. Director Frank Borzage doesn't try to distract the audience from the global situation. He keeps the audience constantly reminded, with the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines that populate the Canteen and the alternately upbeat and somber patriotic tunes. Amid all the star-gazing, the film comes out in support of the U.S. servicemen, as well as America's allies in combat from Australia, the U.K., Russia, and even China. It's not hard to imagine the comfort the film must have given audiences at the height of World War II.*The similarly-themed HOLLYWOOD_CANTEEN (1944) may have more recognizable stars, boasting some of the biggest names from Warner Bros. films (Bette Davis, Joan Leslie, Joan Crawford, John Garfield, S.Z. Sakall, Ida Lupino, Jack Carson, Sydney Greenstreet, Jane Wyman, etc.).

rainwind-misc The wonderful music, the fine entertainment, the inter-personal camaraderie, and the unsure times of the young soldiers heading off into a war from which they may not return, is told with compassion, good clean humor, and passion of the heart. There were at least 4 times during the watching of this film that my wife and I were misty-eyed because of reverence shown. What a moving tribute to our young men who put their lives on the line for us, so that we can enjoy the freedoms we have all come to take for granted. It reminds us that we should all bow our heads daily and pray for our soldiers fighting and dying terrible deaths in foreign lands like these very appreciated men were about to do. What a grand example this film gives us of our country standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our fighting men. We should take this all to heart and put into use this fine example today.