Listen to the opening music from "The West Point Story":
"A vehicle to return James Cagney to
musicals"
"This movie should have been shot in colour" is
all I can think about every time I watch this musical. Somehow, the black
and white photography takes away from the energy of the picture. From
the very opening sequence, which was filmed at West Point, with the cadets
singing and marching around the beautiful campus, one realises how spectacular
this would have looked in CinemaScope and Technicolor.
"The West Point Story" was used as a vehicle to
return James Cagney to musicals. This would be the first time since his
Oscar win for "Yankee
Doodle Dandy" and was also an opportunity for Warner Brothers to
promote its new star, Doris Day, and feature her with some of the other
heavy-weights on the lot, notably, Virginia Mayo, who at the time, was
touted as "the
screen's most beautiful blonde". She was, of course, more than just
gorgeous, she was talented, too. It was also, in another way, a reunion
with Jimmy Cagney, with whom Mayo had shared the screen in the scorching
melodrama, "White Heat". She seemed a cinch for a best supporting
Oscar nod, but was overlooked by the Academy Awards, just as she had
been passed over a few years earlier for her exuberant acting in "The
Best Years of Our Lives." Too bad Hollywood couldn't get beyond
that classic face and body and recognise the true gifts of Virginia Mayo.
In "West
Point", she was used as mere window dressing once again.
This tale concerns Elwin Bixby, once successful producer/choreographer
on Broadway, now washed up and working at a rundown New York club called
Nick's Bohemian Gardens, and playing the horses to keep food on the
table. His fiancée, Eve Dillon (Mayo) is at the end of her rope,
trying to convince "Bix" to do something about his situation
before it's too late. Bix refuses an offer by rival producer, Harry Eberhart
(Roland Winters), to go to West Point and stage a show which was written
by his nephew, talented cadet, Tom Fletcher (Gordon MacRae), Eberhart,
assured that the show will be a hit, wants Bix to convince Tom to leave
West Point and embark on a career on the stage. Fletcher is dedicated
to the Army and has resisted all efforts his uncle has taken to lure
him away from the Academy.
The feud between Eberhart and
Bix stems from hard feelings and a tug of war concerning a young singer
called Jan Wilson (Doris Day). Jan had been in an Eberhart show, buried
in the chorus, and Bix secretly helped her get a Hollywood movie contract
when he felt she was being misused. This sparked Eberhart to fire Bix
and get him blackballed on Broadway.
Afraid that Eve will leave him (she's got an offer to go to Vegas),
Bix reluctantly accepts the West Point "gig". At West Point,
Bix and Eve hear Tom sing for the first time. Not only is he handsome,
but very talented. There are no women in the production, so all of
the parts are played by men. On another note, I'm surprised that "The
Kissing Rock" rehearsal was not picked up by the Vito Russo
documentary, "The
Celluloid Closet" with young men dancing together. It's a hoot!
The "rules and regulations" at West Point are a hindrance
to Bix. He has limited access to the actors and has to rehearse in
their spare time. A former member of the Armed Forces, Bix amassed
a formidable reputation as a hellion during his service. Now, at
West Point, he was on the verge of causing havoc once again. After
striking a cadet, who whistles at him during a demonstration of how
to dance "lady-like", Bix is
barred from the Academy. He receives a second chance to return
to the campus, as a cadet, himself. Shocked and horrified, but
realising he would have more access to the cast members, and
especially Tom, he concedes.
What follows is what you would expect, reluctance to comply with "rules
and regulations" on Bix's part, but concession for the cause. The
rehearsals continue and we are treated with MacRae's wonderful singing
of the ballad, "Long Before I Knew You" and some dynamite dancing
by Gene Nelson. Virginia Mayo gets to sing and dance, intermittently, while
showing the males how to do it the feminine way. Bix's attempts to lure
Tom away from the Point for a glamorous career on the stage fall on deaf
ears. Cadet Fletcher is determined to continue his life in the military
after graduation from West Point. Bix is no quitter and decides to change
his strategy. He invites his old friend, Jan Wilson, to be Tom's date,
or "drag" (as dates are called) at an upcoming hop.
Jan owes Bix. Without him, she'd still be dancing in the chorus
in Eberhart's show.
The movie has run almost 35 minutes before Doris Day makes
her first appearance in a New York hotel suite singing "Ten Thousand
Sheep" backed
by a male chorus of five men. She looks marvellous and sounds
incredible. Bix convinces Jan to attend the dance by pointing
out his role in her success. He wants her to break tradition
and appear with Tom in the West Point show, giving him a real
taste of show business and swaying his opinion in regards to
leaving the Point. Jan is no fool; she'd be the first woman ever
to appear in a West Point production, though she is unaware of
Bix's underlying motives. At the hop, Jan is coaxed into singing
a song from her last picture. Out of nowhere (oh! those 50s musicals!)
a big production number ensures during "The
Military Polka" with Day, Cagney, Mayo, MacRae and Gene
Nelson miraculously knowing all the dance steps. Surprise! So
does everyone else at the hop! Day looks marvellous in a white
chiffon gown, which flows gracefully when she dances. Mayo and
Nelson dance nicely together, just as they did in several Warner
Brothers musicals.
Bix is desperate. He has plans to make Tom fall in love
with Jan. On the terrace at the party, Tom sings the beautiful ballad, "You
Love Me".
This prompts a moved Jan to ask Tom about show business and encourages
him to consider changing fields. By "The Kissing Rock",
Jan agrees to be in the show. She also starts to fall in love
with Cadet Fletcher. When Eve finds out what Bix is up to, she
rebels and threatens to return to New York. She is convinced
by Tom to stay, for the good of the show. The rehearsal continues. "The
Corps" is a patriotic
song performed by the show's chorus. It's a dedication to West
Point and very moving. No doubt, it was probably an obligatory
addition to thank West Point for its cooperation in the production
of the film. Tom asks Jan to marry him, but Bix,
feeling guilty about what he's done, has contacted Jan's studio
in Hollywood and she is ordered to call off the marriage and
return to California. "You have a contract, you know?" Jan's
plans for marrying Tom are thwarted and he, desperately in love
with her, goes AWOL to be with her. Forced to decline on the
marriage proposal, Jan, in a poignant scene tells Tom why. "Tom,
at 15, I was singing in a band, making one night stands, when
other girls were going to high school dances. At 17, I had a
Hollywood contract. I'm a commodity now, I'm not a woman." Sound
familiar? This dialogue could have been lifted out of Doris Day's
own bio! This is a tender scene and one that should be included
in Day retrospectives. It's some of her best acting.
Returning to West Point, Tom is arrested for AWOL, and the
show is cancelled. After some research, Eve uncovers a plan to get
Tom pardoned by eliciting the help of a high ranking foreign
official. The visiting French Premier, when approached, is at
first reluctant to involve himself, but reconsiders after Bix
produces the French Medal of Honour which was awarded to him
during the Resistance. The show is on again with
an all-male cast. During the performance, an unfortunate accident
causes Cadet Courtland (Gene Nelson) to bow out of his solo number,
with Cagney and Mayo stepping in to do "It Could
Only Happen in Brooklyn." There is some high stepping between
the two. Cagney looking like he did in "Yankee Doodle" and
Mayo performing like a pro. When the show's ballad, "You
Love Me" is being sung
by Tom, the "princess" who materialises is not Cadet
Bull Gilbert (Alan Hale, Jr.), but Jan Wilson in a surprise appearance.
She and Tom sing the song beautifully. Doris' voice is like a
dream come true. After the performance, the book and the music
are presented to Bix and Eve, hopefully to be produced on Broadway.
This is a very entertaining show. Cagney was superb as Bix
and he was the centrepiece of the film. Doris Day was given the opportunity
to shine and her star quality was evident in every scene she
played. This was Day's first appearance with Gordon MacRae and
Gene Nelson with whom she would make several films. Day also
appeared with Virginia Mayo in "Starlift",
a movie that few Day fans have seen, but they were both "guest
stars" in
that one. The production was first rate, although
I did recognise some of the sets from other Warner Brothers pictures.
As I stated earlier, this should have been filmed in colour,
if not CinemaScope, which was invented three years later. Director,
Roy Del Ruth must be commended for keeping the continuity intact
and the believability alive even though most of the occurrences
could never happen. The movie is important because it gave you
a preview of greatness to come. Five years later, Doris Day and
James Cagney graced the screen together again, this time at MGM
in the memorable musical drama, "Love Me or
Leave Me", in CinemaScope and Colour. Ralph McKnight, New York, December 2000 Release date, November
25, 1950. Running time, 107 minutes.
Doris Day said: “Although a movie song is filmed on
the set during its performance, the song itself is prerecorded in a recording
studio under ideal conditions before the picture ever starts. In the solitude
of a room with perfect acoustics, I could record a song as many times as
possible to get it right. Of course, when you film a song it is necessary
to sing the song in perfect synchronization with the way you previously
recorded it so that your lips move at precisely the right time.” Doris Day, Her Own Story
“Doris Day and Gordon MacRae make a fine pair of lovebirds.
Dancing cadet Gene Nelson taps out some neat numbers. Put ‘em all
together and you have a bright, brisk show.” - Motion Picture Magazine
“The tunes are topnotch, catchy, and plentiful, with Doris Day and
Gordon MacRae cooing the lyrics exceptionally well. The story is overlong
and dated with corny situations that make the running time seem twice as
long…Doris Day and Gordon MacRae register well as a singing team
and help put spark into the new music.” --Film Bulletin
“The plot is as old as the hills..Although the score was by Jule
Styne and Sammy Cahn, there are no memorable musical numbers in the film,
and the story, as once can see, was primitive, but the cast was valiant.
Cagney, of course, is forever worth watching, and he did have a certain
chemistry with Doris that would later bloom in the admirable Love Me or
Leave Me…The West Point Story is one of the most forgettable movies
in the Doris Day canon.” Alan Gleb, The Doris Day Scrapbook
“Fresh treatment and new twists to the musical
formula make The West Point Story worthwhile entertainment.” -
Variety
Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Scoring of a Motion Picture.
