Purple Heart Diary (1951) DVD-R

Starring Frances Langford, Judd Holdren, Ben Lessy, Tony Romano, Aline
Towne
Directed by Richard Quine

Print: black/white
Runtime: 73 min.
Genre: drama
Print Quality: B

Singer Frances Langford stars as herself in Purple Heart Diary. The film is
a reenactment of Langford's USO tours during WW II, as reported in the
singer's newspaper columns for the Hearst syndicate. Also appearing as
themselves are two of Langford's fellow troupers, singer Tony Romano
and comic pianist Ben Lessy. Since Langford couldn't very well participate
in a fictional wartime romance (her actual love life was public domain
thanks to the various Hollywood columnists of the era), the love interest
is handled by Aline Towne and Brett King, cast respectively as an army
nurse and a crippled ex-football jock. The musical sequences in Purple
Heart Diary play a lot more credibly than the melodramatic "courage under
fire" setpieces.