Pin Up Girl (film)
Encyclopedia
Pin Up Girl is a 1944
20th Century Fox
Technicolor
musical
romantic comedy
motion picture
starring Betty Grable
, John Harvey
, Martha Raye
, and Joe E. Brown
.
Directed
by H. Bruce Humberstone
and produced
by William LeBaron
, the screenplay
was adapted
by Robert Ellis
, Helen Logan and Earl Baldwin
based on a short story titled Imagine Us! (1942) by Libbie Block.
Pin Up Girl capitalized on Grable's iconic pin-up
status during World War II, even using her famous swimsuit photo in portions of the movie.
) is working as a hostess at the local USO
canteen in "Missoula, Missouri," where she performs as a singer and signs photographs of herself for adoring soldiers.
It is her job to keep them happy and routinely accept every marriage proposal. One of her suitors, Marine Sergeant George Davis (Roger Clark), does not realize she has no real intention of marrying him.
Meanwhile, Lorry and her best friend, Kay Pritchett (Dorothea Kent
), have accepted jobs as stenographers in Washington, D.C.
, but they tell the soldiers that they are going on a USO tour.
The night before leaving for Washington, D.C., they go out partying in New York City
. Upon arriving in the city by train, they are welcomed by Navy hero Tommy Dooley (John Harvey
), who fought at the Battle of Guadalcanal
.
That night, they try to get into the Club Chartreuse, but are not allowed to go in without escorts. Lorry does not want to leave and tells the lie that she is meeting Tommy and his friend, Dud Miller (Dave Willock
), in the club. She is not aware that Tommy is the best friend of Eddie Hall (Joe E. Brown
), the club's owner. When Eddie is told that Lorry and Kay are escorts of Tommy, he lavishes them with champagne.
When Tommy and Dud arrive, Tommy thinks Eddie has set them up in blind dates with the girls. Dud believes the two women are actresses. Before Tommy can prove Dud wrong, Kay drunkenly tells them she and Lorry are in the Broadway
musical Remember Me.
Molly McKay (Martha Raye
), star singer at the club, does not believe Kay, until Lorry, telling everyone her name is Laura Lorraine, performs a song without trouble. Lorry and Kay eventually spend their night dancing with Tommy and Dud and leave for Washington the next morning. The men lose the women's address by accident. Two weeks later, Lorry and Kay are insulted with not having heard from their beaus.
Meanwhile, Lorry is bored with her life as a stenographer, until Tommy and Dud surprisingly show up in Washington. Lorry is assigned as his stenographer, but does not want him to find out her real career. She decides to disguise herself, so he will not recognize her as Laura.
Lorry sets up a date between Tommy and "Laura." At their date, Tommy tells her he loves dating an actress. She is hurt and tells him she is going to give up her stage life. Tommy responds by offering her a job at Eddie's club. Molly is jealous when she finds out, but sees an opportunity to get rid of her when George comes to town and recognizes her as Lorry. She introduces George to Tommy, who is insulted when he hears the truth. When Lorry finds out what has happened, she tells George she has no intention of marrying him.
Laura then dresses as stenographer Lorry and visits Tommy to beg him to give "Laura" another chance. Things do not go her way, however, so she reveals that she is both Lorry and Laura. Tommy eventually forgives her.
and Don Ameche
were set to star. However, it was decided the movie would be made as a musical, thereby replacing Darnell by musical actress Betty Grable
. She was seven months pregnant when the movie was completed.
When Pin Up Girl was released, it received mixed reviews from critics. Variety
wrote: "This is one of those escapist filmusicals which makes no pretenses at ultra-realism, and if you get into the mood fast that it's something to occupy your attention for an hour and a half. It's all very pleasing and pleasant." The New York Times
criticized the script, stating it was a "spiritless blob of a musical." However, it praised Grable.
1944 in film
The year 1944 in film involved some significant events, including the wholesome, award-winning Going My Way plus popular murder mysteries such as Double Indemnity, Gaslight and Laura.-Events:*July 20 - Since You Went Away is released....
20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
musical
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
romantic comedy
Romantic comedy film
Romantic comedy films are films with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as that true love is able to surmount most obstacles. One dictionary definition is "a funny movie, play, or television program about a love story that ends happily"...
motion picture
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
starring Betty Grable
Betty Grable
Elizabeth Ruth "Betty" Grable was an American actress, dancer and singer.Her iconic bathing suit photo made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era. It was later included in the LIFE magazine project "100 Photos that Changed the World"...
, John Harvey
John Harvey (American actor)
John Harvey was an American actor. He starred in stage plays in Los Angeles, then went to New York, where he played Private Earhart in the hit comedy Kiss and Tell on Broadway....
, Martha Raye
Martha Raye
Martha Raye was an American comic actress and standards singer who performed in movies, and later on television....
, and Joe E. Brown
Joe E. Brown (comedian)
Joseph Evans Brown was an American actor and comedian, remembered for his amiable screen persona, comic timing, and enormous smile. In 1902 at the age of nine, he joined a troupe of circus tumblers known as the Five Marvelous Ashtons which toured the country on both the circus and vaudeville...
.
Directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by H. Bruce Humberstone
H. Bruce Humberstone
H. Bruce 'Lucky' Humberstone was a movie actor , a script clerk, an assistant director, working with directors such as King Vidor, Edmund Goulding and Allan Dwan and, ultimately, a director.One of twenty-eight founders of the Directors Guild of America, Humberstone worked on several...
and produced
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
by William LeBaron
William LeBaron
William LeBaron was an American film producer. His credits included Cimarron, the film that won the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 4th Academy Awards ceremony for 1930/1931....
, the screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
was adapted
Film adaptation
Film adaptation is the transfer of a written work to a feature film. It is a type of derivative work.A common form of film adaptation is the use of a novel as the basis of a feature film, but film adaptation includes the use of non-fiction , autobiography, comic book, scripture, plays, and even...
by Robert Ellis
Robert Ellis (actor)
Robert Ellis was an American film actor, screenwriter and film director. He appeared in 166 films between 1913 and 1934...
, Helen Logan and Earl Baldwin
Earl Baldwin
Note: This page is about the screenwriter. For the British peer, see Earl Baldwin of Bewdley.Earl Baldwin was an American screenwriter...
based on a short story titled Imagine Us! (1942) by Libbie Block.
Pin Up Girl capitalized on Grable's iconic pin-up
Pin-up girl
A pin-up girl, also known as a pin-up model, is a model whose mass-produced pictures see wide appeal as popular culture. Pin-ups are intended for informal display, e.g. meant to be "pinned-up" on a wall...
status during World War II, even using her famous swimsuit photo in portions of the movie.
Plot
Lorry Jones (Betty GrableBetty Grable
Elizabeth Ruth "Betty" Grable was an American actress, dancer and singer.Her iconic bathing suit photo made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era. It was later included in the LIFE magazine project "100 Photos that Changed the World"...
) is working as a hostess at the local USO
United Service Organizations
The United Service Organizations Inc. is a private, nonprofit organization that provides morale and recreational services to members of the U.S. military, with programs in 160 centers worldwide. Since 1941, it has worked in partnership with the Department of Defense , and has provided support and...
canteen in "Missoula, Missouri," where she performs as a singer and signs photographs of herself for adoring soldiers.
It is her job to keep them happy and routinely accept every marriage proposal. One of her suitors, Marine Sergeant George Davis (Roger Clark), does not realize she has no real intention of marrying him.
Meanwhile, Lorry and her best friend, Kay Pritchett (Dorothea Kent
Dorothea Kent
Dorothea Kent was an American film actress. She appeared in 42 films between 1935 and 1948.In addition to her credited roles, she also had roles in 6 other films, including her last role in the 1948 film The Babe Ruth Story.She was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, and died in 1990 from breast cancer...
), have accepted jobs as stenographers in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, but they tell the soldiers that they are going on a USO tour.
The night before leaving for Washington, D.C., they go out partying in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Upon arriving in the city by train, they are welcomed by Navy hero Tommy Dooley (John Harvey
John Harvey (American actor)
John Harvey was an American actor. He starred in stage plays in Los Angeles, then went to New York, where he played Private Earhart in the hit comedy Kiss and Tell on Broadway....
), who fought at the Battle of Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal campaign
The Guadalcanal Campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by Allied forces, was a military campaign fought between August 7, 1942 and February 9, 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theatre of World War II...
.
That night, they try to get into the Club Chartreuse, but are not allowed to go in without escorts. Lorry does not want to leave and tells the lie that she is meeting Tommy and his friend, Dud Miller (Dave Willock
Dave Willock
Dave Willock was an American character actor. Willock appeared in 181 films and television shows from 1939 to 1989. He is probably most familiar to modern audiences from his performance as Baby Jane Hudson's father in the opening scenes of the cult classic What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?...
), in the club. She is not aware that Tommy is the best friend of Eddie Hall (Joe E. Brown
Joe E. Brown (comedian)
Joseph Evans Brown was an American actor and comedian, remembered for his amiable screen persona, comic timing, and enormous smile. In 1902 at the age of nine, he joined a troupe of circus tumblers known as the Five Marvelous Ashtons which toured the country on both the circus and vaudeville...
), the club's owner. When Eddie is told that Lorry and Kay are escorts of Tommy, he lavishes them with champagne.
When Tommy and Dud arrive, Tommy thinks Eddie has set them up in blind dates with the girls. Dud believes the two women are actresses. Before Tommy can prove Dud wrong, Kay drunkenly tells them she and Lorry are in the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
musical Remember Me.
Molly McKay (Martha Raye
Martha Raye
Martha Raye was an American comic actress and standards singer who performed in movies, and later on television....
), star singer at the club, does not believe Kay, until Lorry, telling everyone her name is Laura Lorraine, performs a song without trouble. Lorry and Kay eventually spend their night dancing with Tommy and Dud and leave for Washington the next morning. The men lose the women's address by accident. Two weeks later, Lorry and Kay are insulted with not having heard from their beaus.
Meanwhile, Lorry is bored with her life as a stenographer, until Tommy and Dud surprisingly show up in Washington. Lorry is assigned as his stenographer, but does not want him to find out her real career. She decides to disguise herself, so he will not recognize her as Laura.
Lorry sets up a date between Tommy and "Laura." At their date, Tommy tells her he loves dating an actress. She is hurt and tells him she is going to give up her stage life. Tommy responds by offering her a job at Eddie's club. Molly is jealous when she finds out, but sees an opportunity to get rid of her when George comes to town and recognizes her as Lorry. She introduces George to Tommy, who is insulted when he hears the truth. When Lorry finds out what has happened, she tells George she has no intention of marrying him.
Laura then dresses as stenographer Lorry and visits Tommy to beg him to give "Laura" another chance. Things do not go her way, however, so she reveals that she is both Lorry and Laura. Tommy eventually forgives her.
Cast
- Betty GrableBetty GrableElizabeth Ruth "Betty" Grable was an American actress, dancer and singer.Her iconic bathing suit photo made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era. It was later included in the LIFE magazine project "100 Photos that Changed the World"...
as Lorry Jones/Laura Lorraine - John HarveyJohn Harvey (American actor)John Harvey was an American actor. He starred in stage plays in Los Angeles, then went to New York, where he played Private Earhart in the hit comedy Kiss and Tell on Broadway....
as Tommy Dooley - Martha RayeMartha RayeMartha Raye was an American comic actress and standards singer who performed in movies, and later on television....
as Molly McKay - Joe E. BrownJoe E. Brown (comedian)Joseph Evans Brown was an American actor and comedian, remembered for his amiable screen persona, comic timing, and enormous smile. In 1902 at the age of nine, he joined a troupe of circus tumblers known as the Five Marvelous Ashtons which toured the country on both the circus and vaudeville...
as Eddie Hall - Eugene PalletteEugene PalletteEugene William Pallette was an American actor. He appeared in over 240 silent era and sound era motion pictures between 1913 and 1946....
as Barney Briggs - Dorothea KentDorothea KentDorothea Kent was an American film actress. She appeared in 42 films between 1935 and 1948.In addition to her credited roles, she also had roles in 6 other films, including her last role in the 1948 film The Babe Ruth Story.She was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, and died in 1990 from breast cancer...
as Kay Pritchett - Dave WillockDave WillockDave Willock was an American character actor. Willock appeared in 181 films and television shows from 1939 to 1989. He is probably most familiar to modern audiences from his performance as Baby Jane Hudson's father in the opening scenes of the cult classic What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?...
as Dud Miller - Charlie SpivakCharlie SpivakCharlie Spivak was an American trumpeter and bandleader, best known for his big band in the 1940s.-Biography:...
as Himself (bandleader) - Roger Clark as Marine Sgt. George Davis (uncredited)
Production and release
In October 1942, Linda DarnellLinda Darnell
Linda Darnell was an American film actress.Darnell was a model as a child, and progressed to theater and film acting as an adolescent. At the encouragement of her mother, she made her first film in 1939, and appeared in supporting roles in big budget films for 20th Century Fox throughout the 1940s...
and Don Ameche
Don Ameche
Don Ameche was an Academy Award winning American actor with a career spanning almost sixty years.-Personal life:...
were set to star. However, it was decided the movie would be made as a musical, thereby replacing Darnell by musical actress Betty Grable
Betty Grable
Elizabeth Ruth "Betty" Grable was an American actress, dancer and singer.Her iconic bathing suit photo made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era. It was later included in the LIFE magazine project "100 Photos that Changed the World"...
. She was seven months pregnant when the movie was completed.
When Pin Up Girl was released, it received mixed reviews from critics. Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
wrote: "This is one of those escapist filmusicals which makes no pretenses at ultra-realism, and if you get into the mood fast that it's something to occupy your attention for an hour and a half. It's all very pleasing and pleasant." The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
criticized the script, stating it was a "spiritless blob of a musical." However, it praised Grable.
Soundtracks
- You're My Little Pin Up Girl
- Music by James V. Monaco
- Lyrics by Mack Gordon
- Sung by chorus, uncredited players, and Betty GrableBetty GrableElizabeth Ruth "Betty" Grable was an American actress, dancer and singer.Her iconic bathing suit photo made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era. It was later included in the LIFE magazine project "100 Photos that Changed the World"...
- Danced by the Condos Brothers
- Time Alone Will Tell
- Music by James V. Monaco
- Lyrics by Mack Gordon
- Sung by June HuttonJune HuttonJune Hutton was an American popular singer.-Career:Born in Chicago of African American descent, in the late 1930s, Hutton joined the band of her older sister, Ina Ray Hutton, singing under the name of Elaine Merritt...
and male trio with Charlie SpivakCharlie SpivakCharlie Spivak was an American trumpeter and bandleader, best known for his big band in the 1940s.-Biography:...
and His Orchestra
- Red Robins, Bobwhites and Bluebirds
- Music by James V. Monaco
- Lyrics by Mack Gordon
- Performed by Martha RayeMartha RayeMartha Raye was an American comic actress and standards singer who performed in movies, and later on television....
- Danced by Skating Vanities
- Don't Carry Tales out of School
- Music by James V. Monaco
- Lyrics by Mack Gordon
- Performed by Betty Grable and chorus with Charlie Spivak and His Orchestra
- Yankee Doodle Hayride
- Music by James V. Monaco
- Lyrics by Mack Gordon
- Performed by Martha Raye with Charlie Spivak and His Orchestra
- Danced by the Condos Brothers
- Once Too Often
- Music by James V. Monaco
- Lyrics by Mack Gordon
- Sung by Betty Grable
- Danced by Betty Grable, Hermes PanHermes Pan (choreographer)Hermes Pan was an American dancer and choreographer, principally celebrated as Fred Astaire's choreographic collaborator on the famous 1930s movie musicals starring Astaire and Ginger Rogers.-Early life:...
and Angela Blue with Charlie Spivak and His Orchestra
- The Story of the Very Merry Widow
- Music by James V. Monaco
- Lyrics by Mack Gordon
- Performed by Betty Grable with chorus
- The Caisson Song
- Music by Edmund L. GruberEdmund L. GruberEdmund Louis "Snitz" Gruber was an artillery officer and general in the United States Army who also gained popularity as composer of military music. He served as Commandant of the Command and General Staff College from October 1940 to May 1941.-Life and career:Edmund Louis Gruber was born in...
- Played briefly during the opening credits
- Music by Edmund L. Gruber
- Anchors Aweigh
- Music by Charles A. ZimmermanCharles A. ZimmermanCharles A. Zimmermann was an American composer of marches and popular music. A graduate of the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, he was appointed bandmaster at the United States Naval Academy in 1887 at the age of 26. He served as the Academy's bandmaster until his death from a brain...
- Played briefly during the opening credits
- Music by Charles A. Zimmerman
- The Marine Hymn
- Music by Jacques OffenbachJacques OffenbachJacques Offenbach was a Prussian-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s–1870s and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Johann Strauss, Jr....
from Geneviève de BrabantGeneviève de BrabantGeneviève de Brabant is an opéra bouffe, or operetta, by Jacques Offenbach, first performed in Paris in 1859. The plot is based on the medieval legend of Genevieve of Brabant.... - Played briefly during the opening credits
- Music by Jacques Offenbach
- You'll Never Know
- Music by Harry Warren
- Played on the trumpet after the "Yankee Doodle Hayride" number
- The Army Air Corps Song
- Music by Robert Crawford
- Played briefly during the opening credits
- Minnie's in the Money
- Music by Harry Warren
- Played when the protest proclamation is read to Lorry
- Goin' to the County Fair
- Music by Harry Warren
- Played when Eddie Hall stops by Lorry and Kay's table