Here Come the Waves (1944) Online

A previous reviewer remarked that part of the plot involved Bing Crosby memorizing color tests to mask his color blindness to get in the Navy. In point of fact Bing was actually color blind. During the 1930s and 1940s it was not uncommon to see him photographed in a lot of loud and mismatched apparel which was a source of fodder for Bob Hope's monologues. The reason was he couldn't pick out matching stuff for his wardrobe.

Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer wrote a great score for Bing and Betty Hutton to vocalize. Hutton manages to take her manic energy down a notch in the duet I'll Promise You with Bing. But Betty goes full blast on There's A Fella Waiting in Poughkeepsie. Bing has a nice solo ballad in Let's Take The Long Way Home.

The hit song of the movie was one of Bing's biggest Ac-cent-chu-ate the Positive. Johnny Mercer wrote that Bing was an instant study, he could hear a tune once and get it. He knew without being told where to come in on the downbeat. But you had to record him that first time if you wanted your version of the song. After that he started with the ad-libs his recordings are famous for.

The plot is easy to take and it allowed Crosby to satirize his up and coming rival Frank Sinatra. Too bad he never commercially recorded That Old Black Magic which was reprised for this film.

Do you recall the brouhaha when Elvis was drafted? Well, that's nothing compared to what happens when the Navy lowers their physical requirements and the bobbysoxer's idol Johnny Cabot (Bing Crosby) enlists. Bing is quite funny spoofing that Hoboken lad as he ca-roons into the microphone for legions of swooning gals. His biggest fan is entertainer turned WAVE Susie Allison (Betty Hutton) who goes ga-ga in a big way. Susie's twin sister Rosemary (Betty Hutton) is the more sensible and reserved type so, naturally, Johnny falls for her. Sonny Tufts is appealing as a sailor pal with his own agenda. Lots of laughs and Harold Arlen/Johnny Mercer tunes make this wartime morale booster a pleasant way to spend an evening. Look for Ann Doran and Noel Neil in uniform.

Time capsule alert: The Arlen/Mercer standard "Acc-Cen-Tu-Ate the Positive" is introduced in this feature. Georgia boy Johnny Mercer wrote the tune to a specific cadence that fans of his recordings recognize and enjoy. I'm certain no offence was meant (even at such as late date as 1944) by introducing the song in blackface, but oh my, that sort of thing can be hard to take in 2007. On the plus side the performance of the song is straight-forward and attached to a delightful ensemble dance routine.

Bing Crosby was highly capable of really memorable acting jobs, but many of his musicals were good for just sheer entertainment. This is a good example of a Crosby film with sheer entertainment value.

Crosby is a very popular singer - entertainer named Johnny Cabot. Cabot has been drafted into the navy. He is constantly wearing false whiskers that make him older and less recognizable by his fans, who are mostly young women (like the bobby soxers). He meets a pair of twin sisters played by Barbara Hutton who are both WAVES. One is Susan, who is a madcap type, and the other is Rosemary who is quieter. Actually Hutton does quite well separating the two sisters' personalities. Susan wants to win Cabot for herself - and the antics of Susan involving Cabot make up most of the film. However, he's more impressed by Rosemary. At the same time, Sonny Tufts is a sailor named Windy who is interested in Susan.

Shakespeare it certainly ain't, but it is a well made musical comedy, containing several popular tunes such as "Ac-cen-tu-ate the Positive" and the song which I believe is the show stopper: "There is a Fellow Waiting in Poughkeepsie", wherein Hutton and the other women singing the song reverse the sexual stereotypes with Crosby and Tufts. Hutton and her pals are like the soldiers and sailors with their little "black books", full of the names of available dates - only the dates are Crosby, Tufts, and the other males, who are shown concerned about make-up and proper attire for their dates. It's a rather unusual number, and quite good of it's kind.

The film was meant as escapism in wartime - and concentrates on the loves of four people in the naval forces during the war. But it is so goofy in it's way that the dated nature of it's original purpose does not really matter. It's fun to watch, so that I can strongly recommend it.

My late aunt, Kathleen C. Quinn, was the technical advisor for "Here Come the Waves". She was a Lieutenant(jg) in the WAVES and was assigned to the movie. She said that the most difficult part of her job was in getting both the studio and the female cast, including Betty Hutton, to keep the hair styles within WAVE regulation length. (Regulation length was much shorter than the popular styles of the time.) She always told us that both Bing and Betty were very easy to work with.

If a plot involves twins you know what you are in for and this film gives you all of the mistaken identity situations that you expect.

Crosby is good as always but seems to be coasting here and the existence of Sonny Tufts' career still escapes me but while this is far from her best film the reason to watch this film is Betty Hutton. She plays twins - one amped up and zany and one demure - and does a very good job with each. The story goes that after this film came out Paramount got a lot of calls from moviegoers asking who the brunette was that played Betty's sister. She does photograph differently in each role and it is not from any makeup but from the differences in her performance.

James Agee wrote about Betty Hutton over 50 years ago, "to me she is beyond good and evil." and I agree with him completely, watching her energy and talent on the screen it is easy to see why she such a huge star in the 1940s and early 50s. Her best films are Annie Get Your Gun, The Perils of Pauline, and The Stork Club. Also try to catch The Fleet's In whenever AMC gets around to showing it to see her first film which instantly turned her into a star.

This is a movie that turned out to be much better than I thought it would. I had been led to believe that it was a light, patriotic movie. Certainly it was patriotic. However the story line was really quite good. Betty Hutton was challenged to play twins and to play two different personalities (one bubbly and scatterbrained, the other far more serious). She pulled it off very well indeed. The movie keeps getting better as Susan (the bubbly one) plots to get Johnny (Bing) for herself while Johnny really wants Rosemary (the serious one). As the plots and the misunderstandings grow there is also a show to put on that is touring the country to get women to enlist in the WAVES. There is good music and there are numerous scenes of light humor. This one qualifies in my book as good fun.

Although this is a Bing Crosby film, the star of the film is Betty Hutton, as she's in the lion's share of the scenes--mostly because she plays twin sisters and she gets a lot of screen time. As one sister, Susan, she is very goofy and VERY unsubtle (much like her typical screen persona) and as the other, Rosemary, she is much more subtle and believable. Frankly, I felt her character of Susan was just TOO MUCH--and came off poorly. But, I was more impressed by her in the other role.

The film begins with Bing playing a man who is, pretty much, Bing Crosby--though he's named Johnny Cabot. Despite his age (41), he manages to enlist in the Navy--partly out of a desire to serve and partly to get away from his insane female fans. As for Susan and Rosemary, they are also performers and decide to enlist in the Waves (the female branch of the Navy). Susan is thrilled when she hears about Johnny being in the service, she endeavors to do ANYTHING to meet him and become his girlfriend. However, Johnny is NOT insane, so he naturally is not interested in the ditsy and obnoxious Susan but her sister. But, Johnny's 'pal' (Sonny Tufts) is determined to get Rosemary for himself--even if it mean double-crossing Johnny and helping Susan in her insane quest to trap Johnny for herself. The plan is so insane, that Susan poses as her sister and behaves abominably in order to drive a wedge between him and Rosemary! Like most Bing Crosby films, he naturally sings a few numbers--and his character is assigned to sing and dance to recruit ladies to the service. Hutton also sings a few numbers well but I was surprised to hear Tufts singing--particularly because of his very soft and high voice for a guy his size. It wasn't bad--just unexpected. Overall, the film has some cute moments and decent songs and is worth seeing. However, be forewarned--like in Crosby's "Holiday Inn" (1942), he does a horribly offensive black-face number--something that played okay back in the day but which will shock nearly everyone today!

I've never really been enamoured with Betty Hutton, finding her a tad too manic for my palate, on the other had the bulk of her output had some great songs, many by Frank Loesser, including the outstanding ballad I Wish I Didn't Love You So from The Perils of Pauline. Arguably for the first time I find her very appealing in this dual role where she more or less has to play serious half the time. This time around the score is down to Johnny Mercer - who worked on an earlier Hutton movie, The Fleet's In - and Harold Arlen and it's out of the right bottle albeit the big number, Accentuate The Positive is performed in blackface for no discernible reason. The plot is the old chestnut about the two buddies trying to con each other out of the affections of a love object but overall the effect is effortless pleasure.

"Here Come the Waves" is an entertaining film -- mostly for its musical numbers. By the mid-1940s, Bing Crosby had been a long- established singer and movie star. The film is a late entry in wartime movies that might be considered recruitment films for the U.S. war effort. But it's interesting and something of a curiosity as well. It's a light comedy romance that also seems to be something of a spoof. All of Crosby's tunes here are very slow love songs. And, in the early scenes of swooning women in the audience, Johnny Cabot (Crosby) exaggerates his crooning hilariously.

Betty Hutton is OK but not exceptional in her double role as twin sisters Susan and Rosemary Allison, and Sonny Tufts is OK as Johnny's friend, Windy Windhurst. The comedy is so-so, and the script is just mediocre.

Audiences today may not be that familiar with the Waves. In its plural reference, it was the WW II women's branch of the U.S. Navy. The acronym stood for Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service." But this movie isn't as much about the Waves as it is about a star singer who flees the adulation of screaming fans to become part of a romantic triangle. Another film, "In the Navy," was made in early 1941, and is a much better portrayal of a star fleeing his fans. That Abbott and Costello film, with Dick Powell, has much more humor and dwells much more on the star escaping his adoring public. Both of these films are early portrayals of the mob hysteria of idol worshippers.

In the 1941 film, the mobs are usually the screaming teenage girls that were common to films in the later rock and roll age. But in this 1944 film, the adulation – if not the hysterics, includes young women and some into middle age.

Modern audiences that watch rock and roll era movies may think of that time as the birth of idol worship. Films of the late 1950s and into the 1960s had scenes of crazed idol worshipers. The hordes of mostly teenage girls were "madly in love" with a male singer. Hollywood made many such films, so it's no wonder people today might think that was when idol worship in the entertainment field began. But its start was much earlier.

Fan clubs of stars sprang up within a short time after the inventions that brought entertainment to the public on a large scale. Thomas Edison's phonograph of 1877 led the way, and the inventions of radio and moving pictures in the early 20th century ushered in more fan clubs of the big stars. But few movies made in the early decades showed the clubs. None had them as screaming, crazed idol worshipers. That became a trademark of the rock and roll films.

Yet, as these early films show, frenzied idol worship was a reality early in the 20th century. It was here well before the bobby soxer generation of the 1940s and early 1950s that preceded the age of rock and roll. Rudy Vallee was one of the 1930s crooners who had a big following of boisterous females. And Frank Sinatra had a huge following of crazed fans as the top pop singer of the mid-1940s. But Elvis Presley became the king of mob idol hysteria as well as king of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. With a number of contemporary stars around Presley, it's little wonder that that period should have so many films – mostly musical romances, that would show the hysterics in the worship of entertainment idols.

HERE COME THE WAVES (Paramount, 1944), produced and directed by Mark Sandrich, is not a beach movie about surfers balancing themselves on the ocean waves. With this being the 1940s rather than any one of many teenage beach musicals from the 1960s, HERE COME THE WAVES is a reflection of the times set during World War II where those from all walks of life, in this case women, working for the morale of their country by joining the WAVES. With a handful of war-related dramas commonly seen in theaters during the war years (1941-45), the movie industry also went on the lighter side of entertainment with its abundance of musicals as well. With the feature named players of Bing Crosby, Betty Hutton and Sonny Tufts over the title, HERE COME THE WAVES may have its Paramount Number One box-office attraction, Bing Crosby, in the lead, but in the long run the film very much belongs to Betty Hutton in roles that allows her to be the body of two different personalities, one her usual free-spirited self, the other a serious-minded one.

The first thirteen minutes devotes itself on the Allison twins, Susan and Rosemary (Betty Hutton), sisters of very different personalities entertaining at New York City's Cabanna Club. Susan, a happy-go-lucky twin born 12 minutes after her dignified older sister, Rosemary, worships Johnny Cabot, a singing idol of millions. In spite of their popularity, Rosemary enlists in the Navy, with Susan following suit, each becoming members of the WAVES. Both girls going through their five month training process with other female recruits at the Naval Training School in the Bronx. While on liberty leave, Susan takes Rosemary to a movie theater, seated seated thousands of swooning teenage bobby soxers, attending the personal appearance of Johnny Cabot (Bing Crosby) following the release of his latest motion picture. After the performance, Windy Windhurst (Sonny Tufts), Johnny's Navy pal, introduces him to his girlfriends from back home, who happen to be Susan and Rosemary. While Susan is overly excited seated next to her living legend, Rosemary snubs him. Because Johnny is tired of being chased by female fans, disguising himself to avoid being attacked, finds the serious-minded Rosemary a welcome change of pace, a girl who actually dislikes him. Initially rejected from Navy enlistment because of his color-blindness, Johnny gets his wish enlisting after the Navy requirements become less strict, stationed at a Navy Base in San Diego, California, leaving his thousands of swooning females fans behind him. With Johnny attempting to be a good a sailor as his father was during World War I, thanks to one of the Allison twins, also stationed in San Diego, does Johnny get himself involved in some theatrical project rather than fulfilling a personal obligation he's long wanted to do. Other members of the cast are: Ann Doran (Ruth); Gwen Crawford (Tex); Noel Neill (Dorothy); Mae Clarke (Ensign Kern); Harry Barris (The Bandleader), and in bit parts, Mona Freeman and Yvonne DeCarlo, among others.

Between some mishaps on Betty Hutton's madcap part, the motion picture soundtrack with score by Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen are as follows: "Join the Navy" (sung by WAVES and two Betty Huttons); "Moonlight Becomes You" (Bing Crosby's voice heard over the radio); "That Old Black Magic," "Let's Take the Long Way Home" (both sung by Crosby); "Accentuate the Positive" (sung by Crosby and Sonny Tufts); "There's a Fellow Waiting in Poughkeepsie" (sung by one Betty Hutton); "I Promise You" (sung by Crosby and Hutton); and "Here Come the Waves" and "Join the Navy" (sung by the WAVES). Of the songs in the final print, some refreshing, others good but forgettable (in terms by today's standards), "Accentuate the Positive" earned an Academy Award nomination as Best Song for 1945, while "I Promise You" is wonderfully done.

With a story about a popular crooner getting away from it all by enlisting in the military branch is nothing new when HERE COME THE WAVES was released. Dick Powell did the very same thing in IN THE NAVY (Universal, 1941) where his shipmates turned out to be the popular comedy team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. Frank Sinatra, whose crooning popularity was then on the rise, was no doubt, going through the same process as Crosby's on screen character, hence the similarities depicted here. It's a wonder if Sinatra actually used sunglasses and fake beard to disguise himself from the crowds outside the theater? As for Sonny Tufts, his performance comes as a sheer reminder of Randolph Scott's character from the Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers musical, FOLLOW THE FLEET (RKO, 1936), the latter which dealt with two sailors and two non-twin sisters, though Ginger playing twins might have been interesting casting had that been considered.

What makes HERE COME THE WAVES enjoyable is watching the two personality proceedings enacted by two Betty Huttons, one blonde, the other red-headed, while seeing how she develops her character playing the serious-minded sister as opposed to her typical wild and crazy one in the same motion picture. Though Crosby seems a bit too old playing a Navy recruit as well as working opposite the much younger Betty Hutton(s), it really didn't matter considering their box-office appeals back in the day. Another notable mention are those comic-strip type backdrops used in production number sequences that seems to get enough attention during the proceedings.

Quite popular in 1944/45, but nearly forgotten today, HERE COME THE WAVES, which had numerous late show showings on commercial television from the 1960s to 1980s, along with cable TV broadcast on American Movie Classics (1993), home video distribution (1994) and later on DVD as part of the Bing Crosby collection that keeps this wartime musical from becoming obscure in cinema history. (***)

After years of knowing about this Bing Crosby-Betty Hutton movie musical, I finally got to see this on YouTube in an excellent print. Crosby plays a singer who all the women are crazy about-his character is possibly a parody of then-newcomer Frank Sinatra and his following though Der Bingle himself had a similar crowd when he was just starting out a decade before. One of those women happens to be one of the twin sisters Betty plays, the one who's the usual characterization of Ms. Hutton-all over the place emotionally-instead of the more serious and calm one. She's convincing in both roles. Many fine songs provided by Harold Arlen & Johnny Mercer including the Oscar-nominated song, "Ac-Cen-Tchu-Ate the Positive", which unfortunately is a little marred by the fact that Crosby and Sonny Tufts perform it in blackface. In summary, Here Come the Waves was a pretty funny movie and a nice tribute to the women in uniform during World War II. Oh, and I also liked the cartoon sets as drawn by Milt Gross.

Bing Crosby and Betty Hutton are always watchable and both had wonderful voices. Here Come the Waves showcases their talents very well. Admittedly the story is pretty disposable, being predictable and at times over-complicated. However, Here Come the Waves is well-made, I never found myself bored and the songs are absolutely great. Accentuate the Positive is the one that was nominated for an Oscar, and as fun that song is(yes even with the black-face) I Promise You and There's a Fellow Waiting Poughkeepsie left more of an impression on me. Here Come the Waves has a very witty script full of broad comedy situations and sharp satire that always go along at an energetic pace, never losing its entertainment value. Bing Crosby sings beautifully, particularly in That Old Black Magic and is a charming leading man. Sonny Tufts is an awkward actor somewhat but there is outside of his handsomeness that is pretty endearing to watch. But it's Betty Hutton who steals the show, her voice is as powerful as ever, she brings a huge amount of energy to everything she does here and she does sassy and touching remarkably well in two contrasting roles. Overall, very entertaining and well worth seeing for the songs and Betty Hutton. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Meant as partly entertainment and partly a promotion for enlistment in the WAVES, during the latter part of WWII. Bing Crosby is the male lead, with New England blue blood Sonny Tufts as his more or less constant and not always welcomed companion. Paramount's new female sensation: Betty Hutton, is her popular scatter-brained frantic persona as Susie and her calm sane persona as twin Rosemary Allison. Susie is mad for bobby-soxer idol Johnny Cabot(Bing), while Rosemary is not impressed, favoring his incognito pal Windy (Sonny Tufts). Problem is Johnny also much favors Rosemary, as much more compatible with his laid back persona. That's the basic plot, with the foursome mostly at odds with each other over their romantic relationships and desired assignments in the Navy throughout, with only a cursory resolution at the end. Harold Arden and Johnny Mercer composed all the tunes, most new for this film. Would have been much nicer in color for some of the stage numbers.

At age 41, Bing hardly makes a convincing Sinatra-like bobby-soxer heart throb, any more than did Robert Young in the pre-Sinatra craze "Honolulu". Don O'Connor, for instance, could have made a much more convincing Sinatra stand-in. The screaming girls and WACS inexplicably disappear part way through the film, as the romantic intrigues between the foursome take over the melodrama.The first stage production involving Bing starts out promising , with exotically costumed female dancers and a fiery caldron in the background. But Bing delivers the flatest, slowest, version of "That Old Black Magic" imaginable. His singing style just wasn't suited to this song. Presumably, he was parodying Sinatra's typical slow romantic ballads of the time This Judy Garland-inspired song was definitely meant to be done vigorously in a moderate to fast tempo, as was later done by any number of male and female singers. Sinatra later recorded a decent-sounding mellow version, while Bobby Rydell did a fast tempo rock and roll-styled version.

Bing later sings the romantic ballad "Let's Take the Long Way Home" off stage to sister Rosemary. Again, this rendition is way too slow for my liking. On stage, near the end, he croons the romantic ballad "I Promise You" to Rosemary, who chimes in for the latter part. Between, Bing and Sonny don blackface for their elaborately staged "Ac-Cen-Tchu-Ate the Positive" number, accompanied by WAVES and sailor dancers. They finally got the tempo right for this one! Sony gets to sing a bit here. Actually, he trained in opera at Yale, but seldom got to sing in films and failed to catch on as a major star. I thought this blackface routine was done in good taste, as was Bing's blackface routine in "Holiday Inn". By '44, blackface was very rare in Hollywood films, except perhaps in historical period films.

Betty had a girlish clown-like face which she could easily use to create a big smile or frown, and wasn't afraid to express her emotions with her face or whole body. Audiences took to this novel personality right away(although clearly not all reviewers of her films did). The Hollywood actresses of this era who probably came the closest to her typical stage persona were Martha Raye, who left Paramount about when Betty arrived, and Universal's Peggy Ryan, who mostly was cast in Don O'Connor as a teenager. Martha was cast in several films with Bing or Bob Hope before they were cast together in their 'road series'.

Betty gets to do 3 stage numbers, including part of the somber romantic "I Promise You" duet with Bing near the end, in her Rosemary persona. She was much more distinctive doing her trademark manic song and dance numbers: "Join the Navy" , near the beginning, and the long elaborately-staged "There's a Fellow Waiting in Poukeepsie". Bing recorded a single of the latter with the Andrew Sisters, but Betty's version with worth seeing. "Join the Navy" involved Betty singing and dancing around the stage in both her Susie and Rosemary personas. I don't know how this and all the other many scenes in which the twin sisters are shown talking and moving around face forward were shot. Amazing! Many other films with an actor playing 2 roles never show the 2 characters together face forward. Another web site claims Vera Marshe doubled for Betty in some scenes, but I haven't found this claim at other sites.

The final stage production involves a large contingent of women dressed as WAVES marching around and singing "Here Come the WAVES", with film clips of various on-the-job WAVES interspersed. This is reminiscent of the contemporary morale-boosting Warner production "This is the Army", the finale of Fox's "Pin Up Girl", in which Betty Grable serves as drill sergeant for women dressed as WACS, and the finale of Universal's "When Johnny Comes Marching Home".

I much prefer Bing's performances in several other films of this era, such as several of his 'road series' with Bob Hope, "If I Had My Way", with Gloria Jean; and "Holiday Inn", with Fred Astaire and Marjorie Reynolds"

This film is an interesting piece of US moral boosting propaganda, though any black folks watching it, particularly those in the services at the time must have wondered how they fitted in to the war effort. A highlight (pardon the pun) is Bing and Sonny's rendition of 'Accentuate The Positive' whilst in blackface, which along with minstrelsy in general was beginning to be challenged at the time, pace ''Amos and Andy". Notions of minstrelsy and happy black folks on de old plantation were beginning to be usurped by jazz, rhythm and blues by 1944, but the producers must have thought this would rally the populace. The storyline is banal. The dancers try their best with the limited resources available.

Bing Crosby stars in this paper-thin musical comedy which doubles as an all-out flag waving morale-builder for the war effort. Although it boasts a noteworthy Johnny Mercer score, and Crosby's buoyant personality, `Here Come the Waves' is marred by extreme predictability and a glaringly overexuberant turn by Betty Hutton.

Crosby stars as a popular singer and bobbysoxers' idol, in a quasi-parody of Sinatra or even Crosby himself. Despite his colorblindness, he enlists in the navy and becomes romantically involved with a pair of WAVES who happen to be twin sisters (both played by Hutton). This leads to the usual complications, schemes, mistaken identities, one-upmanship, hurt feelings, and reconciliations. Along the way, Crosby and the WAVES put on a gala production for the servicemen, which climaxes in a show stopping performance of `Accentuate the Positive.'

Crosby brings his routine charisma to the role, which fits him like a glove. He gets to croon several other memorable songs, including `That Old Black Magic' and `Let's Take the Long Way Home.' But Hutton throws herself completely into her role(s), and comes off as far too bubbly and high-strung. Whether she honestly felt that the part called for so much pep or if perhaps she was trying her best to steal scenes from Crosby I do not know, but regardless of her motivations it is just too much, as director Mark Sandrich should have realized and immediately corrected. I grant that in a movie like this the plot is of minimal importance and exists merely to hold the tunes together, but this premise is tired and stale, and all the plot twists can be predicted from a mile away. It's unabashedly patriotic and perfectly harmless enough as entertainment, but there's honestly nothing new here.

This film should have worked. great Mercer score, Bing Crosby songs and Mark Sandrich directing.. but along comes Hutton to spoil the show.

Screeming like a demented banshee for much of the film, Hutton spoils what merit there is in the somewhat thin plot. Basically a flag waver along the lines of the earlier Crosby film "Star Spangled Rhythm" where Hutton also ruined the stirring Crosby number "Old Glory" again with her ear shattering screems, this film fails because someone failed to put prosac into Hutton's tea. If you can put up with Hutton then this makes for average rainy afternoon viewing. Bing deserved a better co-star than this and there were plenty around in 1944.

Two identical twins named "Rosemary Allison" (Betty Hutton) and "Susan Allison" (also Betty Hutton) join the Navy during World War II. Susan is head over heals for a singer by the name of "Johnny Cabot" (Bing Crosby) and when he also joins the Navy she does everything in her power to be close to him. Rosemary, on the other hand, doesn't care much for Johnny which causes him to become very interested in her. However Johnny's best friend, "Windy Windhurst" (Sonny Tufts) is also interested in Rosemary which creates complications all around. Now rather than reveal any more of the story and risk spoiling the movie for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this movie was made during World War II and as a result it reflected the time. Personally, I didn't feel much chemistry between any of the actors and the over-acting on the part of Betty Hutton was a bit too much at times. Accordingly, I rate this movie as slightly below average.

Betty Hutton plays twins, Susan and Rosemary, who both sign up to join the WAVES. Singer Johnny (Bing Crosby) also joins the navy and is posted alongside his friend Windy (Sonny Tufts). The foursome start dating and put on a show........what a surprise!.....

It's wartime morale-boosting blurge and it's all just a bit boring. Betty Hutton plays one twin - Rosemary - as demure with dark hair and she is her usual boisterous, shouty self for the other twin - Susan. Sonny Tufts is pretty dreadful and Bing Crosby, for all his transparent enthusiasm to join the forces, really doesn't belong in the navy. The standout part of the film is the "Accentuate The Positive" number which is done in black-face. As for the story, just when you hope it's going to end, it seems to continue with yet another misunderstanding. The film is overcomplicated with few highlights. Oh yeah, Betty Hutton looks like a transvestite in a dark wig - she's much better as a blonde.

Let's get the bad news out of the way first: "Accentuate the Positive" is performed in blackface, and it's pretty awful to watch, especially since it's such a famous song and was obviously well-received at the time.

Now the good part of the movie: the storyline. It's a case of twin sisters who fall for the same guy, and if you think that somewhere along the line, they'll impersonate each other, get ready for a lot of fun! Betty Hutton stars as both sisters, one straight-laced and the other spastic and flighty. The silly sister is in love with singer and movie star Bing Crosby, even though she's never met him. Both girls join the Navy when WWII breaks out, and when Bing and his buddy Sonny Tufts join up too, there's a great opportunity for a meet-cute.

And boy, is it cute! With wigs and different facial expressions, Betty is so convincing as her two sisters, I kept referring to them as "Betty Hutton and the other one". Bing is simultaneously charming and aloof, a winning combination for women everywhere, and it's very funny to see him perform in front of a crowd of screaming, fainting women. I wonder if this movie was initially written for Frank Sinatra!

"WAVES" here means "Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service", the women's branch of the US Navy during World War II. Their British equivalents, the Women's Royal Naval Service, were similarly always referred to as "WRENS". The story revolves around twin sisters who are identical apart from their hair colour, but who have very different personalities. (Both are played by the same actress, Betty Hutton). Brunette Rosemary is sensible and practical, whereas blonde Susan is flighty and empty-headed.

As the film opens the two girls are performing together as a singing duet, but it is wartime and the patriotic Rosemary decides to join the WAVES in order to do her bit for her country. Susan decides to follow suit, motivated less by patriotism than by the thought that she and Rosemary have always done everything together and she cannot imagine the two being separated. The film then follows the girls' adventures in the WAVES and their rivalry for the affections of Johnny Cabot, a popular singer who has joined the Navy. Cabot is anxious to see active service, following in the footsteps of his father, a naval hero killed in the First World War, but is disappointed when Susan's machinations lead to him being ordered to direct a morale-raising revue.

Although the film is a light-hearted musical comedy, it is essentially a propaganda vehicle intended to publicise the role of the WAVES and to encourage more American women to serve their country in a military capacity. (Not all propaganda films were deadly serious). It doesn't, however, have much to recommend it to the modern viewer seventy years later. The songs are mostly forgettable; the best-known is "Accentuate the Positive", but that suffers in the context of this film of being performed by Bing Crosby and his sidekick Sonny Tufts in "blackface". Some have attempted to defend this practice by stating that it was all regarded as good harmless fun in 1944, but I can never understand how people of that period ever regarded it as anything but offensive, given that it seemed designed to mock and ridicule black people. Political correctness is not always a bad thing.

Hutton copes well with the task of conveying the sisters' differing personalities, but Crosby makes an unlikely romantic hero. He was a popular singer in his day, and a technically accomplished one, but his was a style of singing that seems very dated today. Like many male "crooners" of the era he has always struck me as too emotionally laid-back and distant, the sort of performer who sings about love without actually knowing what love is. (For some reason many female singers of the period seemed much more emotionally involved with their material). His acting tended to suffer from the same fault as his singing, and he never manages to convey any deep feelings, even though we are supposed to accept him as a man in love. "Here Come the Waves" is largely forgotten today, and I can understand why. 5/10