She's a Sweetheart
Cast & Crew
Del Lord
Jane Frazee
Larry Parks
Jane Darwell
Nina Foch
Ross Hunter
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
The plump, sixtyish woman known affectionately as "Mom" acts as a "mother-away-from-home" for the servicemen visiting her canteen. Mom takes a personal interest in her "boys," and consequently, when Rocky Hill, a naïve orphan, becomes infatuated with canteen singer Maxine LeCour, Mom becomes concerned. Maxine is strongly influenced by her cynical press agent, Fred Tilly, and Mom fears that a desire for publicity, not altruism, is motivating her to entertain the soldiers at the canteen. When Rocky learns that he is to be shipped overseas, he confides to his friend, Pete Ryan, that he plans to marry Maxine before departing. After Pete warns Rocky that he is making a mistake, the friends come to blows. Rocky later apologizes, however, when he discovers that many of the soldiers possess an affectionately inscribed picture of Maxine. Unknown to Rocky, the pictures have been distributed by Tilly and not Maxine, and consequently, Rocky reports for duty without saying goodbye to Maxine. Rocky is not the only GI that Mom worries about. She also becomes concerned upon learning that Paul, who has been honorably discharged with a leg injury, has neglected to inform his fiancée, Jeanne, that he has returned. Realizing that Paul is hesitant to contact Jeanne because he fears he would be a burden to her, Mom decides to take matters into her own hands. At the same time, Jimmy, a bashful GI with an injured hand, asks Frances, one of the performers at the canteen, to write letters to his sweetheart. Frances is at first jealous of Jimmy's letters to the "other woman" until she learns that the letters are really intended for her, and that Jimmy was too shy to court her directly. After Jimmy and Frances decide to get married, Paul is persuaded to serve as their best man and is surprised to discover that Jeanne is their bridesmaid. With Jeanne and Paul now reunited, Mom arranges for a double wedding ceremony. On the night of the eagerly awaited benefit show, Mom receives a telegram from the War Department, notifying her that Rocky is missing in action. Heartbroken at the news, Maxine spends most of her time at the canteen scrubbing the floors and washing the dishes. Maxine's reaction forces Pete and Mom to realize that she really is in love with Rocky. In honor of Mom's dedication to keeping up the morale of the soldiers, the War Department, with the aid of her "boys," plans a surprise party for her. In the crowd assembled for the event, Mom sights the wounded and exhausted Rocky and hurries to the soldier, who is surprised to learn that she never received his telegram reporting that he was safe. When Rocky refuses to see Maxine, Mom tells him that they all misjudged the singer and that she is the girl for him. Mom's declaration causes Rocky to relent, and he eagerly follows Mom as she leads him to Maxine.
Director
Del Lord
Cast
Jane Frazee
Larry Parks
Jane Darwell
Nina Foch
Ross Hunter
Jimmy Lloyd
Loren Tindall
Carole Mathews
Eddie Bruce
Pat Lane
Danny Desmond
Ruth Warren
Dave Willock
Kay Dowd
Fred Graff
John Tyrrell
Mildred Law
Pat O'malley
Jimmy Carpenter
Selmer Jackson
Oliver Cross
Gary Bruce
Don Gallaher
Bob Arnold
Doug Henderson
Blake Edwards
Dave Ballard
Emmett Vogan
Crew
Carl Anderson
Muriel Roy Bolton
Jackie Camp
Saul Chaplin
Al Clark
Louis Diage
Redd Evans
Chet Forrest
Jack Goodrich
Benjamin Kline
John Jacob Loeb
Juanita Lopez
Russell Malmgren
James Nicholson
Ted Richmond
Vincent Rose
Anton Rubinstein
Robert Scherman
Albert Stillman
Larry Stock
Robert Tobey
Bob Wright
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this film was Hello, Mom. According to a Hollywood Reporter news item, the story was inspired by the women who served as hostesses and surrogate mothers to service men frequenting the canteens.
