In the summer of 1942, Irving Berlin and an all-Army cast put on one of the best shows seen on Broadway in many a decade. After the show finished its tour, it went to Hollywood, and from it Warners has made and distribute a good picture for Army Emergency Relief.

The additions made by Warners are poor, with but one exception, while the subtractions are downright criminal, but the show was so good that it makes what would otherwise be no picture. There is a plot, but you don't have to worry about it--it's pure Hollywood, and takes up little of your time. The good addition to the show was the character of a tough top sergeant ("he wasn't born, he was issued.")

The number "Russian Winter" and the song-comedy act "The Army Made A Man Out of Me" were both out from the show, and both certainly belonged in any reproduction of "This Is the Army." Of the stars of the show, Julie Oshins was cut entirely from the picture, while Ezra Stone is allowed to say one "oh, boy!" and then doesn't appear again.

But you can't keep a good show down, and Hollywood's worst could not keep "This Is the Army" from being the best cinemusical in Boston today.