Call Me Mister
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Lloyd Bacon
Betty Grable
Dan Dailey
Danny Thomas
Dale Robertson
Benay Venuta
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
After Japan surrenders at the end of World War II, American soldiers anxiously await their transfer back to the United States. Among the men stationed at Camp Zama in Tokyo is former dancer Staff Sgt. Shep Dooley, who attempts to sell his tap shoes on the black market. During his outing, Shep runs into his estranged wife and former partner, Kay Hudson, who is now a member of the Army organization C.A.T.S.: The Civilian Actress Technicians Service. Although she is initially pleased to see Shep after their three-year separation, Kay quickly remembers that she left him because of his womanizing and tells him that they are through. Later, after Kay and her pal, Billie Barton, appear in a show in Tokyo, Kay learns that two C.A.T.S. volunteers are needed to organize a musical revue for the troops in remote Kyoto. Not realizing that Shep is scheduled to return to the United States soon, Kay hopes to escape his attentions by going to Kyoto. The next day, at their new post, Kay and Billie are frustrated in their attempts to secure forty soldiers to help them mount the show until Capt. Johnny Comstock of the engineering company assigns them a platoon. Johnny is enamoured of the lovely Kay, but she is distracted from his attentions by the sudden arrival of Shep. Kay reluctantly admits that she still loves Shep, although their romance encounters difficulties when he is accidentally locked in the women's barracks overnight and therefore is late returning to Tokyo. When he arrives back at Camp Zama, Shep learns that his comrades sailed for home that day, and he is now considered AWOL. Fearful of being arrested and desiring to return to Kay, Shep forges official orders sending him back to Kyoto to help her stage the revue. Johnny continues to pursue Kay, although she warns him that she is in love with someone else. Kay resumes dating Shep and begins rehearsals of the show. Shep, meanwhile, is desperate to retrieve his orders from the orderly sergeant before it is discovered that they are forgeries. With the aid of Pfc. Stanley Popopolis, Shep sneaks into the sergeant's office but winds up trapped in the closet and misses a date with Kay. The next day, Kay furiously rejects Shep's apology but once again relents and offers him one last chance to prove that he has changed. Hoping to remove Shep as a rival, Johnny orders him to pull guard duty that night, and although Johnny has a change of heart about the subterfuge, the damage is done and Shep again stands Kay up. The next day, Johnny proposes to Kay but she gently turns him down. Shep visits her soon after and admits to her that he is AWOL and in Kyoto under phony orders, but Kay, believing that he is lying, sends him away. The next evening, as the show is about to begin, Johnny informs Kay that Shep has been arrested for leaving her quarters after hours, as the women's barracks are off-limits to male personnel. Johnny also reveals that Shep did perform guard duty, and Kay, realizing that Shep has told her the complete truth, begs Johnny to obtain his release so that he may perform in the show. When the MPs bring Shep to the theater, however, Stanley misunderstands their presence and reveals that Shep is AWOL. The problem is solved, however, when it is discovered that Shep's paperwork was processed with the rest of his company when they were transferred to the United States and released from duty. Because Shep is no longer in the Army, he cannot be AWOL, and he is released to appear in the show. Shep and Kay then sing together happily, secure in the knowledge that they have a bright future together.
Director
Lloyd Bacon
Cast
Betty Grable
Dan Dailey
Danny Thomas
Dale Robertson
Benay Venuta
Richard Boone
Jeffrey Hunter
Frank Fontaine
The Dunhills
Bobby Short
Robert Ellis
Jerry Paris
Dave Willock
Tommy Bond
Frank Clark
Fred Libby
Ken Christy
Russ Conway
Robert Scott
Dabbs Greer
Mack Williams
Maylia
Steven Clark
Robert Easton
John Mckee
Robert Rockwell
John Mcguire
Richard Allan
Marion Marshall
Eileen Howe
Ann Beck
William Edwards
Walter Sande
William Pullen
Betty Jane Howarth
Lovyss Bradley
Dorinda Clifton
Frank Iwanga
Sam Mckim
Ralph Brooks
Robert Bohannon
Paul Burke
John Close
Harry Lauter
Jack Laird
Mike Mahoney
George Offerman
Jack Kelly
Johnny Lais
Ted Jordan
Kenneth Du Main
John Rosser
Raymond Gray
Billy Lechner
Hal Townsend
William Mauch
Frank Erickson
Bob Milton
Paul Hostetler
Harry Mackin Jr.
Roger Mcgee
Joe Rocca
Ralph Nagara
Yumin Akita
Kyudayu Kishi
William Yakota
Frank Kumagai
Michael Darrin
Geraldine Knapp
Renny Mcevoy
Robert Hightower
Gordon Armitage
Rush Williams
Buddy Martin
Henry Kruse
Erin Selwyn
David Post
Charles Tannen
Kathleen Hughes
Mitzie Uehlein
Betty Ozaki
Bo Ling
Florence Quin
Mari Young
Esther Lee
Betty Jane Barton
Patsy Lee
Amy Barnhart
Emy Ezaki
Barbara Kato
Yukie Sato
Eileen O'donnell
Bob Crosby
Emiko Iwanabe
Toshi Mizuno
Helen Maruyama
Sallie Matsuhara
Katherine Kim Shibuyama
George Boyce
Joanne Dale
Jetsy Parker
Ann Cameron
William Purington
Lennie Smith
Lee Snedden
William Chatham
Betty Hannon
Don Hulbert
Jess Mendelson
Claire Wesley
Denise Lemley
Janet Davis
James Gonzalez
Michiko Taniguchi
Lois James
Beverly Jordan
Lucille La Marr
Stephen G. Kirchner
Joe Evans
Camille Williams
Dorothy Tuttle
Charlotte Hunter
Geraldine Farnum
Ray Smith
Walton Walker
Evelyn Moriarty
Sethma Williams
Jean Harrison
Harold Shields
Lee Kass
Yoshiko Nagai
Leon Alton
Harvey Karels
Carmen Clifford
Bob Mascagno
Georgia Crane
Willetta Smith
Dorothe Ward
Wanda Stevenson
Dale Lefler
Patricia Sims
Blanche Taylor
Perk Lazelle
Tim Taylor
Bernard Elmore
Crew
Jeff Alexander
Jeff Alexander
Arthur E. Arling
Frances Ash
Busby Berkeley
Marie Braselle
Earl K. Brent
Alfred Bruzlin
Robert Crawford
Hugh Cummings
Ken Darby
Leonard Doss
Doris Drought
Sammy Fain
Max Golden
Mack Gordon
Robert Gordon
Dolores Gregory
Earle Hagen
Charles Hall
Leigh Harline
Morris Harmell
Roger Heman
Fred Kohlmar
George Lane
Otto Lang
Charles Lemaire
Albert E. Lewin
George Light
Joseph J. Lilley
Thomas Little
Louis Loeffler
Bruce Macdonald
William H. Maybery
Donna Murphy
Alfred Newman
Ben Nye
Maj. Robert B. Randle
Harold J. Rome
Joseph H. Santly
Ad Schaumer
Jerry Seelen
Fred Sersen
Fred Simpson
Herbert Spencer
Burt Styler
Eiji E. Tanabe
Lyle Wheeler
Grace Wilson
Joseph C. Wright
Paul Wurtzel
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
In this musical, director Lloyd Bacon and dance director Busby Berkeley worked together for the first time since 42nd Street (1933).
Notes
The working title of this film was The CATS. The following cadence chant is heard over the opening credits: "Sound off, one two, sound off, three four. Cadence count, one two three four, one two three four. Betty Grable's on the loose, Dan Dailey's neck is in a noose. So settle down folks here we go! Strike up the band, on with the show! And sound off!" According to information in the Twentieth Century-Fox Records of the Legal Department, located at the UCLA Arts-Special Collections Library, Arnold B. Horwitt collaborated with Arnold M. Auerbach on two of the sketches appearing in the original stage revue. It is unlikely that Horwitt's material was used for the film, however. Studio records also indicate that Marion Turk, E. Edwin Moran, Wanda Tuchock and John Larkin worked on early drafts of the screenplay, but the extent of their contribution to the completed picture has not been determined.
According to an October 1947 Hollywood Reporter news item, George Jessel was originally set to produce the picture, which was to star Rex Harrison and Peggy Cummins. Studio records note that Mark Stevens was first signed to play "Johnny Comstock," Don Hicks was cast as "Pvt. Stewart" and Thurston Hall was set to play "Gen. Steele." None of those actors appear in the completed film, however. Hollywood Reporter news items indicate that shooting on the film's musical numbers May have begun in early June 1950. Music score writer Leigh Harline was borrowed from RKO for the production. Contemporary sources note that background footage was shot on location in Tokyo, Japan, and that a newsroom scene was shot in the offices of the Los Angeles Daily Mirror. Call Me Mister marked the screen debut of actor Paul Burke.
