![]() It makes for bulk of the plot in this fast paced musical of the World War II years. And somewhere along the line they all get the idea he's gone AWOL. They don't know him as Johnny Kovacs the hero, they only know him as band singer Johnny O'Rourke who enlisted in the army. O'Connor's mother Emma Dunn is Jones's former landlady and it's her place he considers home. She's got a sister played by Gloria Jean who has a trio act going with Donald O'Connor and Peggy Ryan. Coming home he finds that Phil Spitalny's whole orchestra is now women including new singer Jane Frazee. He's a fighting man under his real name, Johnny Kovacs, but everybody knows him under the name of Johnny O'Toole when he was in his civilian occupation, singer with Phil Spitalny's band. When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again finds Allan Jones as a hero soldier on home with some well earned leave, not only from combat, but from a bond tour where shapely débutante Marla Shelton has been sticking to him like glue. IMDb policy forbids the listing of URLs, but you can find her website by using a search engine and her full name of "Gloria Jean Schoonover." If you're a fan of the old "B" musicals, you'll want to see this one. I haven't seen this movie on TV in recent years, but as is the case for every movie that Gloria Jean appeared in, you can buy a copy from Gloria herself on her website. As was the case in many of these musicals, Universal basically built the story around the entertainment. Other song and dance routines are worked in by others. Violinist Evelyn Silverstone (billed as "Evelyn and her Magic Violin"), who later gained fame with Lawrence Welk, performs a couple of virtuoso numbers. O'Connor and Ryan are their usual zany selves, and of course they perform a couple of their energetic dance routines (with Jean joining them briefly in each), and they even sing. Popular Phil Spitalny appears with his "all girl orchestra". Jones, Frazee and Jean all sing several songs. What Universal didn't scrimp on was entertainment the movie is packed with it from beginning to end. The rest of the cast were pretty much stock. Well-known Allan Jones and Jane Frazee highlighted the marquee, with studio contract-kids Gloria Jean, Donald O'Connor, and Peggy Ryan doing their part. Universal didn't really splurge on acting talent in this film. The movie gets zealously patriotic at times, and some of the situations in the movie are dated to the war years and won't be fully understood by those not familiar with how times were then. Dramatic irony sets in, the usual complications ensue, and eventually everything gets straightened out. In the process, the people he's around mistakenly think he's a deserter and scheme to convince him to turn himself in. He assumes a different name and settles in. The plot is simple: A war hero is on a 30 day leave and wants to spend his furlough in peace and anonymity. This movie was shot in 1942, at a time in which the USA was just starting to get heavily involved in WW2. This one was different from most made during this era in that it was aimed not only at teenagers, but at the adults as well. Many lyrical variations were put to the tune originally used for "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" over time."When Johnny Comes Marching Home, was one of several musicals made by Universal during the WW2 years. Moreover, it seems unlikely that "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" is a reworking of "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye" because as originally published, the latter song used a different tune. Although the latter song was published later, some contend that it actually relates to the return of Irish soldiers from Ceylon however, Irish troops were stationed there from at least 1837 until 1866, so that versions of "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye" which refer to Ceylon (all do not) are not inconsistent with the notion that "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" is the earlier work. The song "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye" - an Irish anti-war song now sung to the same tune as "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" - first published in 1867 is also claimed by some to predate "When Johnny Comes Marching Home", which is said to be a reworking of "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye". Durnal" as the arranger of the music, but not its composer. ![]() The sheet music for this work credits a "J. The melody for the song was previously published in July, 1863 under the title "Johnny Fill Up the Bowl" - an American drinking song. Gilmore disclaimed writing the music, stating that he adapted it from an African-American spiritual. The lyrics were copyrighted on Septemunder the name "Louis Lambert", which was a pseudonym used by Gilmore. Civil War era song of the people in the North whose friends and family were away from home. ![]() ![]() Music written by Lyrics written by Patrick Gilmore Copyright date SeptemLanguage English ISWC ![]()
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