Let's be realistic.

Fantastic!

A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The songs are ridiculous. What Hitler is portrayed by a monkey, which is appropriate, the words were inane, especially when they kept saying his real last name- Shikelgruber.At his first song, Vaughan Monroe sounded as though he had his jaw wired. June Allyson belting out I Don't Recognize This Song was also inane, as the words were silly.As shown in your page, Lucy as Julie Hampton, was a Broadway star and not a Hollywood luminary. She is caught up with Dick Powell, a shipbuilder, who has written a play Meet the People. The two, of course, fall in love, but tangle over what kind of version his play should take, he wants it centered around the ship-builders and the people of war-time and she prefers a more glamorous rendition. He later accuses her of using the play for publicity. What was the headline about jobs being frozen causing the Ball character to remain among the ship-folk?Bert Lahr also appears, but his funniest scene is where a tuba practically goes on top of his nose.Silly fanfare with the predictable ending.

For having been made at MGM, "Meet the People", didn't get the usual treatment by the studio. The film was shot in black and white and there are no lavish production numbers. The movie was based on a musical revue that played in Los Angeles during WWII. It has its share of propaganda, since most of the action takes place around a navy yard where war ships were constructed.The best thing in the film are some of the songs that were composed for it. The best song heard on the film is "I Like to Recognize the Tune", composed by Richard Rogers and Laurenz Hart. The other great number is one in which Spike Jones and his City Slickers appear dressed as Mussolini, Hitler, and figures on the wrong side of the war, as they sing a parody of a sextet of "Lucia di Lamermoor".Lucille Ball plays Julie Hampton. She was at the height of her good looks and cut a lovely figure. Her love interest is played by Dick Powell, an actor with a lovely manly voice who was also at a good point of his career. Bert Lahr, Virginia O'Brien and a young June Allyson, soon to be Mrs. Dick Powell, appear in supporting roles.The film was directed by Charles Reisner and the black and white cinematography was by Robert Surtees that has kept its crispness in spite of having been shot more than sixty years ago. The film would be a curiosity piece by fans of Lucille Ball.

I went into this movie hoping for the best. I like wartime musicals in general. Dick Powell and Lucille Ball did good jobs with their roles; however, the writers gave them boring dialog. The love-interest between the two of them was not given any real growth; just suddenly it was there. I did not think much of the music; the best number was the snippet we heard of Spike Jones with "Der Fuhrer's Face." The one complete number that Spike Jones did had little of his great musical comedy; pretty tame stuff,even with the monkey. Bert Lahr's comedy skits were interminable.There were parts to enjoy: Lucille Ball was quite a looker, and there was a good selection of bit players who really deserved more time on screen.

Forget the period propaganda or the corny jokes. This movie has some sensational music in it, great arrangements & great singing, especially one of the greatest songs written by one of the greatest teams: Rogers & Hart's "I Like to Recognize the Tune". A gorgeous rendition by one of the most beautiful pop songs ever written or performed. Worth reviving this movie (& then there's Spike Jones).