Priorities on Parade (1942)

Starring Ann Miller, Johnny Johnston, Jerry Colonna, Betty Jane Rhodes,
Barbara Jo Allen, Eddie Quillan
Directed by Albert S. Rogell

Print: black/white
Runtime: 79 min.
Genre: musical
Print Quality: B

Very much a product of its times, Priorities on Parade was disliked by
everyone but the public when it was first released in 1942. The story
takes place in a wartime aircraft plant, where a group of entertainers
secure jobs putting on shows for the workers during lunch and dinner
breaks. The troupe's duties also include a bit of spot-welding and
assembly-line work as well, leading to a variety of mildly comic
complications. Naturally, all plot roads lead to a big, morale-boosting
musical finale, highlighted by choreographer Jack Donahue's
precision-dance routines, wherein the entertainers elect to turn down a
Broadway show in favor of defense-plant work (this is a fantasy, isn't it?)
The four protagonists are played by zany Jerry Colonna, handsome
Johnnie Johnston, and gorgeous Ann Miller (in a blonde wig) and Betty
Rhodes, while Vera Vague supplies her usual dizziness as a
Rosie-the-Rivetter type. The Frank Loesser-Jules Styne-Herb Magidson
score includes the hit tune "You're in Love With Somebody Else But I'm in
Love With You".