The West Point Story

Unread post by **webmaster** » 13 Feb 2006, 21:40

How do you rate "The West Point Story"?

http://www.dorisday.net/the-west-point-story/

Jas1 · Unread post by **Jas1** » 14 Feb 2006, 11:34

Average for me. Not enough Doris although I love her singing "Ten thousand sheep" in this one. Do not like the Day look at this time!

Wonder if it is true as Virginia Mayo said that Doris tried to have her put off this picture to ensure she [Doris] was the only female lead? If it did happen it sounds more the thing Marty would have done (or tried) and perhaps Doris didn't know a thing about it.

Peter Flapper · Unread post by **Peter Flapper** » 14 Feb 2006, 13:21

Hi all,

This film has Doris and Gordon singing: The Military Polka. When I hear this song I jump around my house... and I play it very loud... What a song. Although this film is not so good, I like to listen to the music

Peter

Ken · Unread post by **Ken** » 14 Feb 2006, 17:46

I rated this as average too. Not enough Doris in the movie.It would be better if it were in color.

Unread post by **webmaster** » 15 Feb 2006, 12:45

I can't help seeing this as a propaganda film for the military. Apart from that, if you consider what Cagney and Day were able to do together in "Love Me or Leave Me", it was a missed opportunity.

If Cagney hadn't come across as 'all man' you would have thought "That's a bit gay! Mounting a musical in a military academy - and with such passion! Perhaps if they'd made it as a comedy- in colour - with Billy De Woolfe in the Cagney role, camping it up, with all-male dancers, it might have worked?!!

Ralph · Unread post by **Ralph** » 14 Jun 2006, 21:10

READ MY REVIEW, PEOPLE!

Debbi Austen · Unread post by **Debbi Austen** » 04 Jan 2007, 00:14

Although it is not as good as DD's other pictures, I thought it was cute. I have to agree, not enough Doris, it should have been shot in color, and at times, it did seem like a comercial for West Point. But what a wonderful cast.

If you know anything about James Cagney's biography, you would know that he was always a song and dance man at heart, and that he was typecast as a gangster. He tried and tried to get Warner Brothers to put him in musicals~ they put him in one in 1933. After disputes with WB, he made two musicals with other companies (both flops I think). Then he left WB in 1942, made Yankee Doodle Dandy, and later with his brothers formed his own production company (where he put himself in musicals again).

I'm sure he was very happy making this film, but I have to agree with Bryan ~ he was better in Love Me or Leave Me.

howard · Unread post by **howard** » 04 Jan 2007, 12:44

Cagney has often stated that "Love Me" was one of his favorite films!

dayniac · Unread post by **dayniac** » 25 May 2007, 18:49

Don't enjoy this movie. Love Doris -- but not nearly enough of her to make this enjoyable.
LOVE - Ten Thousand Sheep ! She really got to shine in that segment of the movie.
I really think Virginia Mayo was probably just a wee bit jealous of Doris. She knew she'd never attain the stardom that Doris already had -- just my opinion !
Too bad Warners couldn't have given Doris better material to display her talents in !

Doris on set with her mother, brother and sister-in-law.

ray · Unread post by **ray** » 25 May 2007, 19:17

Nice picture of Doris's Brother, I have only seen one picture of him in her book from 1975 when it was published.

suzie · Unread post by **suzie** » 25 May 2007, 21:46

rated this movie as average.Doris wasnt even enough to make this picture better. Always love doris but this movie is a stinker.

I love the picture of alma and paul and shirley,paul was so cute and a sweetheart,looks a little like terry.

Pam · Unread post by **Pam** » 26 May 2007, 00:59

What a great picture of Doris's family! This is the first time, that I have seen an older picture of her brother Paul, and his wife. Paul was such a nice looking man.

Thanks Toni, for sharing this wonderful photo with us!

Theodomus · Unread post by **Theodomus** » 09 Sep 2008, 05:30

Actually I did kinda like this movie - Doris was really cute in it (I do like her with short hair) and took over the screen everytime she appeared. Naturally you are all right that there wasn't enough of her in that movie by far!

I love the songs and think they should have included more scenes from rehearsals (with Doris that is) etc. Instead they could have cut out the tribute to the army and I also didn't like the Brooklyn-song.

Watching the scene while dancing to the Military Polka and also in the hotel room when he "recruits" her I couldn't help but compare the duo Day/Cagney in this movie to their relationship in LMOLM. It's so completely different; so full of life and friendship and I enjoyed that - As much as I do like LMOLM with it's grand acting.

Ralph was right in his review about the part - If I may quote:

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.

Also that she gives up her career at the end to become a second lieutenant's wife - Isn't that what Doris always wanted for herself?

For me The West Point Story is a nice movie to relax by - though knowing what the movie is about now I mostly start at around 30 minutes in the movie...

mikeydv · Unread post by **mikeydv** » 09 Sep 2008, 10:43

Doris was never bad in ANY movie; the scripts just were seldom up to her capabilities..let's face it.
As a vehicle for Gordon MacRae...this movie was great
As a propaganda vehicle for the army...also great
I don't believe the movie music was ever released....one of the cutest songs BY THE KISSING ROCK...never available. lOVED "Military Polka", and 10,432 was silly, but cute. Certainly nothing wrong with YOU LOVE ME, sung by either of the stars. Everyone is right...Doris was not in it enough. I think this goes in the same category as STAR LIFT....Doris appears in it "as a star", and that served its purpose.

(by the way, it ended just as she would want it to end....)

Theodomus · Unread post by **Theodomus** » 09 Sep 2008, 10:51

Not to mention the freckles they let her have in this movie - love it!

suzie · Unread post by **suzie** » 09 Sep 2008, 17:11

Yes , Marion wasnt she cute, You know its funny about freckles , doris had them when she was young and so did I, but now that im 50 they are almost gone. Ive heard that doris no longer has them either, it must be they go away with age.

(yea , you trade them in for age spots ....)

lol. You know I really dont remember the west point story too well .Guess i,ll have to get it and enjoy..

Haymarketaddict · Unread post by **Haymarketaddict** » 10 Sep 2008, 13:53

Watched this yesterday for the first time with Marion - she had to endure my moaning and waiting till Doris finally came on the screen

I enjoyed her scenes - totally - she is very cute .... loved the scenes with Cagney - nice to see them get along quite nicely AFTER seeing LMOLM. But I didn't really care for the rest of the movie I guess .... I'm not much into all that military West Point stuff - that's so boring

Not a movie I'd watch every day .. but I still voted it "good" just for Doris' cute scenes and for "Kissing Rock" *and* of course the freckles

puck · Unread post by **puck** » 25 May 2010, 08:41

I did colored the pictures, love the last one. Virgina Mayo and Miss Day two beautiful lady.

Jas1 · Unread post by **Jas1** » 25 May 2010, 14:17

I liked Virgina Mayo, however she did not age very well, unlike our fine wine Miss Day.

melancholy · Unread post by **melancholy** » 25 May 2010, 18:34

Absulutely unique picture posted earlier by Dayniac!!
Dorine

TCMMovieFan · Unread post by **TCMMovieFan** » 14 Aug 2010, 22:34

I read somewhere that Virginia Mayo liked Doris so I was surprised to read here differently.
This I thought was a nice fun film. Pure entertainment. A good array of talent and they all did a get a chance to strut their stuff...be it singing or dancing.
Yes Doris was not really the 'star' of this show though her role was important to the plot. She and Gordon always made a fetching pair.
Virginia Mayo was plagued by ill-health in her final years. I don't know much about her beyond the fact that she was beautiful during her glory years and she began as a dancer. She was married but once to comedian Michael O'Shea and that marriage lasted till his passing. She never married again and was not really a HOLLYWOOD type personality---i.e. no multiple marriages.
As for recordings from this movie -- My Dad has the original soundtrack album (LP) of YOUNG MAN WITH A HORN---on the back cover - there is a listing of other DD recordings available - from that era. There actually was a WEST POINT STORY soundtrack album released by Columbia Records though I never actually saw the album so I guess this item did exist for a brief time.

mikeydv · Unread post by **mikeydv** » 15 Aug 2010, 00:40

NEVER a sound track album from this movie...not in the US

Lauren Benjamin · Unread post by **Lauren Benjamin** » 15 Aug 2010, 14:21

Just a clarification:

The photo above is named "Paul and wife Alma." Participants in the photo are: Paul, his wife Shirley, Doris and mother Alma.

Lauren

BabeWilliams · Unread post by **BabeWilliams** » 16 Aug 2010, 23:08

I really did like this movie. I just wish they would have told us if Bix and Eve had gotten married or something. But overall I liked it much more than I thought I would.

Unread post by **webmaster** » 17 Aug 2010, 04:59

Jas said,"I liked Virgina Mayo, however she did not age very well, unlike our fine wine Miss Day."

As Doris said, 'the scary thing about middle age is that you grow out of it'.

RIP, Virginia

I liked her in