When Johnny Comes Marching Home is a 1942

1942 in film

The year 1942 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, Casablanca.-Events:...

 musical film

Musical film

The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...

 starring Allan Jones and Jane Frazee

Jane Frazee

Mary Jane Frehse , known as Jane Frazee, was an American actress, singer, and dancer.-Professional life:...

. The film was directed by Charles Lamont

Charles Lamont

Charles Lamont was a prolific film director of over 200 titles, and the producer and writer of many others. He was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and died in Los Angeles, California, USA.-Career:...

 and is loosely based on the song with the same title

When Johnny Comes Marching Home

"When Johnny Comes Marching Home" is a popular song of the American Civil War that expressed people's longing for the return of their friends and relatives who were fighting in the war.-Origins:...

.

Plot

Johnny Kovacs (Jones) is a war hero who comes back home for a ten-day leave. Pursued by a woman (Shelton) who considers herself his fiance, he works with his superior officers to hide during his leave. He adopts the name Johnny O'Rourke, and finds a room at a theatrical boarding house. He becomes friends with some other boarders (including O'Connor, Ryan and Gloria Jean) and falls in love with a woman (Frazee). His friends overhear him talking to his officer on the phone. They misinterpret the conversation and conclude that he is a deserter. They push him into giving himself up and returning to duty. Confused by their behavior at first, he figures out what they are up to, and plays along. It all works out in the end. The closing song in the picture is a rousing patriotic number sung directly to the audience by the main players in the film.

Cast

• Allan Jones as Johnny Kovacs aka Johnny O'Rourke
• Jane Frazee
  Jane Frazee
  Mary Jane Frehse , known as Jane Frazee, was an American actress, singer, and dancer.-Professional life:...
  
   as Joyce Benton
• Gloria Jean
  Gloria Jean
  Gloria Jean is an American singer and actress who starred or co-starred in 26 feature films between 1939 and 1959. She also made radio, television, stage, and nightclub appearances.-Career:...
  
   as Marilyn Benton
• Donald O'Connor
  Donald O'Connor
  Donald David Dixon Ronald O’Connor was an American dancer, singer, and actor who came to fame in a series of movies in which he co-starred alternately with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talking Mule...
  
   as Frankie Flanagan
• Peggy Ryan
  Peggy Ryan
  Margaret O'Rene "Peggy" Ryan was an American dancer, best known for starring in a series of movie musicals at Universal Pictures with Donald O'Connor and Gloria Jean....
  
   as Dusty
• Richard Davies as Lt. Tommy Bridges
• Clyde Fillmore as Hamilton Wellman
• Marla Shelton as Diana Wellman
• Olin Howland
  Olin Howland
  Olin Howland was an American film actor. From 1909 to 1927 he appeared on the Broadway stage while balancing a career in silent movies. In 1921, he appeared in the play Two Little Girls in Blue with Oscar Shaw and the Fairbanks Twins. He was in Janice Meredith with Marion Davies...
  
   as Trullers
• Emma Dunn
  Emma Dunn
  Emma Dunn was an English-born American film actress. She appeared in 108 films between 1914 and 1948....
  
   as Ma (Norah) Flanagan
• Four Step Brothers as Themselves
• Phil Spitalny
  Phil Spitalny
  Phil Spitalny was a musician, music critic, composer and bandleader heard often on radio during the 1930s and 1940s...
  
   as Himself

Soundtrack

• My Little Dream Girl
  • Written by A. Friedland and L. Wolfe Gilbert
  • Sung by Allan Jones

• You and the Night and Music
  • Written by Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz
  • Sung by Allan Janes and Jane Frazee

• Romance
  • Written by Edgar Leslie and Walter Donaldson
  • Sung by Allan Jones and Gloria Jean

• Say It With Dancing
  • Written by Don Raye and Gene de Paul
  • Sung by Allan Jones and Jane Frazee

• This Is It
  • Written by Don Raye and Gene de Paul
  • Sung by Allan Jones and Jane Frazee

• Green Eyes
  • Written by Adolfo Utera and Nilo Menendez
  • Sung by Gloria Jean

• One Of Us Has Gotta Go
  • Written by Inez James and Buddy Pepper
  • Sung by Gloria Jean and Donald O'Connor

• This Is Worth Fighting For
  • Performed by the (credited) Phil Spitalny All-Girl Orchestra with Evelyn and Her Magic Violin

• The Yanks Are Coming
  • Written by Harry Seymour
  • Performed by Allan Jones, Jane Frazee, Gloria Jean, Donald O'Connor, Peggy Ryan with the Phil Spaltany All-Girl Orchestra

• We Must Be Vigilant
  • Written by Edgar Leslie and Joseph Burke
  • Performed by the Phil Spaltany All-Girl Orchestra with Evelyn and Her Magic Violin

• Red Safarin

• Jazz Etude

Reception

The New York Times

The New York Times

The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

called Universal Pictures "miraculous" for "bringing this star-studded entertainment in under budget and within a 73-minute running time".