Four Jills in a Jeep

1944 "Meet the G.I. Janes in the Most Screamingly Funny Entertainment of the Year!"
6.3| 1h29m| NA| en| More Info
Released: 17 March 1944 Released
Producted By: 20th Century Fox
Country:
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

Reenactments of actual USO experiences of its female stars entertaining troops overseas.

Genre

Comedy, Music, War

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Director

William A. Seiter

Production Companies

20th Century Fox

Four Jills in a Jeep Videos and Images

Four Jills in a Jeep Audience Reviews

Taraparain Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.
Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.
Jemima It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.
Fulke Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.
mark.waltz The adventures of four babes on a binge, four minxes on a mission, or four dames on a dare was popularly documented by one of the four, the beautiful blonde Carole Landis who literally found love on this mission but unfortunately later died tragically. She's traveling all over the world with Kay Francis, Martha Raye and Mitzi Mayfair to entertain the boys. Kay Francis, the mother hen of the group, doesn't sing or dance, but she does look good in clothes, and once considered the most fashionable woman in Hollywood, she's still very chic as herself, even in the middle of nowhere. Martha Raye, the self-declared "Miss Big Mouth", is at the height of her popularity here, doing what she loved to do most, entertain the troops and living the life that would eventually give her the nickname of "Colonel Maggie".Mitzi Mayfair, the most obscure member of the group, was the star of a few musical shorts, but her name means almost nothing surrounded by the other three. Throw in comic man Phil Silvers as the women's driver and cameos by Alice Faye, Betty Grable and Carmen Miranda (all singing songs they've already performed on screen), and you've got a feel good war musical that gives indication of what the stars were doing to entertain the troops. This film was just one of many, and upset some film viewers because it seemed to be made more out of self-gratification than to serve a purpose in the war. The four girls names are mentioned in another similar 1944 movie, "Follow the Boys", but here, their adventure is dramatized, much of it fictional, but most of it entertaining.There's certainly nothing remarkable in the story, even if the girls were often thrown into danger during their mission to entertain as many troops as they could. This was Kay's last big studio movie, and got some rather shocking revelations years later when Phil Silvers commented on Kay's romance with a General showed what a good actress she was, insinuating details about her private life long after she was deceased. This is actually closer to a movie music video with a slight plot than an actual musical comedy so as historical reference, it is of value, even if some of what is presented on screen really isn't based upon fact.
utgard14 Wartime musical comedy about four actresses (Kay Francis, Martha Raye, Carole Landis and Mitzi Mayfair, playing themselves) touring with the USO. The film is based on the book of the same name written by Landis, based on her experiences with the USO. Some good musical numbers but the comedy (mostly Raye) is the pits.Landis is beautiful and glamorous as always. Francis seems matronly and out of place. Raye hams it up as she often did in her films. Her brand of comedy isn't to my tastes. Mayfair I was unfamiliar with prior to this film. She doesn't really leave an impression here, good or bad. She's the Zeppo of the group I guess. Support from Dick Haymes and Phil Silvers. Also features Jimmy Dorsey, Betty Grable, Alice Faye, and Carmen Miranda as themselves.
MartinHafer "Four Jills and a Jeep" is a film about four entertainers who leave the comfort of the United States and head overseas to do their part for the war effort. The stars are Kay Francis, Martha Raye, Carole Landis and Mitzi Mayfair (who was famous for her stage work).When I watched "Four Jills and a Jeep", a assumed that this film was pure fiction. While I know some actresses DID go to the front lines during WWII, I assume Twentieth Century-Fox chose the four featured actresses purely according to who was available. However, after watching one of the special features on the DVD for this film, I watched "The Real Four Jills" and learned much about the background for the film. It turns out that the story was based on a book by Kay Francis about her and the other three women in the film and their experiences traveling together to entertain the US troops in North Africa and England! So, the story is ESSENTIALLY true. What I mean by that is that the four stars were correct but the film was made here in the States AND liberties were taken with their story. So, while the film is pretty good, it's even better knowing the background for their story. Overall, it's enjoyable and worth your time. Plus, while I usually don't like cameos, I really liked seeing and hearing Alice Faye (in a tiny scene) sing her signature song, "You'll Never Know"--a tune that always gets me. And, that jitterbug sequence....WOW! By the way, I was just curious and read through the five stars' biographies on IMDb for Kay Francis, Carole Landis, Mitzi Mayfair, Martha Raye and Dick Haymes and found that between them, they had 24 marriages! And, while I already knew this, Landis killed herself at age 29. Yikes...such is the Hollywood life.
bkoganbing Four Jills in a Jeep was inspired by a book that Carole Landis wrote about the tours she made with USO overseas at the beginning of American participation in World War II. Besides Carole, the other three performing with her on this tour were Kay Francis, Mitzi Mayfair and Martha Raye. When 20th Century Fox did this film they appealed to the fantasy of every GI in the field as well those potentially going overseas. Not only do the stars entertain the boys over there, but they get romantically involved with a few of them. Talk about a morale booster. Besides the four stars playing themselves, Alice Faye, Betty Grable and Carmen Miranda came on via radio broadcast from the Armed Forces Radio broadcast show Command Performance USA. All of them reprised numbers that they had sung in Fox musicals. In addition to the female film stars Four Jills in a Jeep was the feature film debut of singer Dick Haymes. After Crosby and Sinatra, Haymes was probably the best known male singer of the Forties. He had a smooth baritone and really knew his way around a lyric. He introduced a song How Blue the Night that became a hit for him and just in time to record as the famous musicians strike against the record companies was just concluding.Seeing Dick Haymes in an army uniform is quite ironic indeed as it was later brought out about how he had claimed Argentine citizenship in order to avoid the draft. Haymes was born in Argentina of visiting American parents. His career sank like an anchor after that one.Phil Silvers did a version of the character he later perfected as Sergeant Bilko in the Fifties on television. Martha Raye who also made it big on television in the Fifties, complements Silvers well in the comedy department. Phil's a funny guy all right, but he should only be taken in moderation. Martha of course entertained our troops in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam with the same enthusiasm that you see here on the screen.With Jimmy Dorsey and his band in the cast for some up to date Forties swing, what more could you get in a Forties musical. A nice film, I'm sure appreciated both at home by the Rosie the Riveteer crowd and the troops abroad.