Stage Door Canteen
Every so often, movie studios would make a movie to show off their "stable of stars". This was back when the studio's owned their actors and actresses. Sometimes a simple movie was made just to show off the stars.. Stage Door Canteen filled that bill, and kept in mind we were still at war at the same time.
"Dakota," a young soldier on a pass in New York City, visits the famed Stage Door Canteen, where famous stars of the theatre and films appear and host a recreational center for servicemen during the war. Dakota meets a pretty young hostess, Eileen, and they enjoy the many entertainers and a growing romance
There were so many stars in this movie I gave the though to finding a photo of each of them and I would put it next to their names... then after I found a number of photo's I realized what a huge post this would be.. so, I decided not to get photo's of everyone.
Once again.. this is one of those old movies that not everyone watches (but should). Most of this cast just did cameo appearances but the fact that they put so many of them in is amazing.
Many of you will scroll down and maybe recognize a name or two here and there but if not an avid old movie watcher will not know many of them.
Here is the list of the Cast (in credits order) verified as complete
Kenny Baker ... Himself
Charlie McCarthy ... Himself
Ina Claire ... Herself
Katharine Cornell ... Herself
Lynn Fontanne ... Herself
Helen Hayes ... Herself
Katharine Hepburn ... Herself
Jean Hersholt ... Himself
George Jessel ... Himself
Gypsy Rose Lee ... Herself
Alfred Lunt ... Himself
Elsa Maxwell ... Herself
Yehudi Menuhin ... Himself
Ethel Merman ... Herself
Paul Muni ... Himself
Merle Oberon ... Herself
Lanny Ross ... Himself
Martha Scott ... Herself
Johnny Weissmuller ... Himself
Henry Armetta ... Himself
Benny Baker ... Himself
Helen Broderick ... Herself
Lloyd Corrigan ... Himself
Jane Darwell ... Herself
William Demarest ... Himself
Virginia Field ... Herself
Vinton Freedley ... Himself
Ann Gillis ... Herself
Lucile Gleason ... Herself (as Lucille Gleason)
Vera Gordon ... Herself
Virginia Grey ... Herself
Sam Jaffe ... Himself
Allen Jenkins ... Himself
Roscoe Karns ... Himself
Tom Kennedy ... Himself
Otto Kruger ... Himself
June Lang ... Herself
Betty Lawford ... Herself
Bert Lytell ... Himself - Canteen Master of Ceremonies
Aline MacMahon ... Herself
Horace McMahon ... Himself (as Horace MacMahon)
Helen Menken ... Herself
Peggy Moran ... Herself
Ralph Morgan ... Himself
Alan Mowbray ... Himself
Elliott Nugent ... Himself
Patrick O'Moore ... Australian
Franklin Pangborn ... Himself
Helen Parrish ... Herself
Brock Pemberton ... Himself
Selena Royle ... Herself
Marion Shockley ... Lillian
Cornelia Otis Skinner ... Herself
Ned Sparks ... Himself
Bill Stern ... Himself
Arleen Whelan ... Herself
Dame May Whitty ... Herself
Count Basie ... Himself - as Conductor of the Count Basie Orchestra
Xavier Cugat... Himself - as Conductor of the Xavier Cugat Orchestra
Benny Goodman ... Himself - as Conductor of the Benny Goodman Orchestra
Kay Kyser ... Himself - as Conductor of the Kay Kyser Band
Guy Lombardo ... Himself - Conductor of the Guy Lombardo Orchestra
Freddy Martin ... Himself - as Conductor of the Freddy Martin Orchestra (as Freddie Martin)
Cheryl Walker ... Eileen Burke
William Terry ... Dakota Smith
Marjorie Riordan ... Jean
Lon McCallister ... California Jack Gilman
Margaret Early ... Ella Sue
Sunset Carson ... Tex (as Michael Harrison)
Dorothea Kent ... Mamie - Jersey's Girl
Fred Brady ... Jersey Wallace
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kay Kyser Band ... Themselves
Benny Goodman Orchestra ... Themselves
Guy Lombardo Orchestra ... Themselves
Count Basie Orchestra ... Themselves
Freddy Martin Orchestra ... Themselves
Xavier Cugat Orchestra ... Themselves
Harry Babbitt ... Kay Kyser Band Singer (uncredited)
Dave Barbour ... Himself (uncredited)
Julie Conway ... Kay Kyser Band Singer (uncredited)
Jane Cowl ... Herself (uncredited)
Helen Dumas ... (uncredited)
Trudy Erwin ... Kay Kyser Band Singer (uncredited)
Dorothy Fields ... Herself (uncredited)
Pat Flaherty ... Dubious Army Sergeant (uncredited)
Arlene Francis ... Herself (uncredited)
Mack Gray ... Waiter (uncredited)
George E. Green ... Himself - Freddy Martin Orchestra Member (uncredited)
Eddie Hall ... Soldier on Train (uncredited)
Louis Jean Heydt ... Captain Robinson (uncredited)
John James ... Don Brandt - Marine with Virginia Grey (uncredited)
Virginia Kaye ... Herself (uncredited)
Kenner G. Kemp ... Marine (uncredited)
Jack Lambert ... Sailor Cutting In withIna Claire (uncredited)
Gertrude Lawrence ... Herself (uncredited)
Peggy Lee ... Herself - Benny Goodman Orchestra Singer (uncredited)
Jack Martin ... Kay Kyser Band Singer (uncredited)
Sully Mason ... Kay Kyser Band Singer (uncredited)
George Mathews ... Marine Sergeant with Ray Bolger (uncredited)
Marian Moore ... (uncredited)
Elizabeth Morgan ... (uncredited)
Caleb Peterson ... Johnny Jones (uncredited)
Francis Pierlot ... Minister at Jersey's Wedding (uncredited)
Ruth Roman ... Girl (uncredited)
Lina Romay ... Xavier Cugat Orchestra Singer (uncredited)
Johnny Roventini ... Johnny - Bellhop 'Living Tradmark' for Philip Morris Cigarettes (uncredited)
Mortimer Snerd ... Himself (uncredited)
Arthur Walsh ... Jitterbugging Soldier (uncredited)
Max Williams ... Kay Kyser Band Singer (uncredited)
Matt Willis ... Sergeant on Train (uncredited)
Have you ever seen such a list of names in one movie?!?
It's one of those movies worth watching just to see who's in it!...
I laugh at the thought of a studio trying to make a movie with this many stars in it today! Heh... never gunna happen! To bad, it would be neat seeing a movie that had scads and scads of today's stars doing cameo's in it, just to have them all in one movie!
Oh well... it's just one of those dreamy thoughts, ya know?!...
posted by DesLily | 6:25 AM
7 Comments:
Oooh! I haven't seen this before! I love so many of these actors! Ed Wynn, Ray Bolger, Charlie McCarthy, Katharine Hepburn, oh I've got to find this!!!
Well at least there are some clips online since my library doesn't have a copy :(
ladytink: ohhhh, sorry your library doesn't have this...not even sure it's in dvd form, I know it's in vhs, I think I even have it... in one of the boxes I can't unpack.. somewhere.. hidden.. *sigh
I had no idea that the studios did this. Look at that cast list! I have to admit that I've never heard of the movie either...
(Thoroughly enjoying The Moor.)
I freakin' love Edgar Bergan and Charlie McCarthy!!! I have not seen this movie but it is a must see now!!! :)
I LOVED all those "ALL STAR" Films and still do...And they are really such a great thing to have now---as you said...Getting all those stars together in ONE Film was fantastic!!!!
The thing is---it is History now, in one small package. Isn't that just terrific?
Naomi: you made me laugh because when I read your comment I remembered a joke of sorts that someone said, (might have been Erma Bombeck).. "You know your old when you tell your children that their history lesson was WRONG.. I should Know.. I was there!"
It's been a few years but I finally got to see it! God, I love Netflix :)
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