Some of the brightest female stars of the 1940's get a chance to get dirt on their Max Factor faces in this "Women in War" drama which took them to Bataan, the location of a Robert Taylor war movie made the same year. Here, the women are nurses, brought out to aid head nurse Margaret Sullavan and her commanding officer (Fay Bainter), and conflict arises to the difference in their personalities. However, in wartime, everybody must pull their weight, put aside petty squabbles, and band together for the cause.
In addition to Sullavan and Bainter are the billed above the title Ann Sothern and Joan Blondell whose on-screen personalities were so alike that they sometimes seemed like sisters working at separate studios. Sothern has more to do here as a somewhat rebellious personality. She is classier than her MGM series character Maisie, while Blondell plays a burlesque queen who amuses everybody by referring to her job being similar to a banana. It is obvious that Blondell was cast for her name value rather than for characterization. Since she had been at MGM for more than just a few years, Sothern gets more meat to bite into with her part, Blondell simply adding a bit of comic relief to the wisecracks which seemed to be tossed up in the air for either her or Sothern to catch.
There are some very tense moments here where the women are pretty much all alone, no American or other Ally soldiers there to protect them from the villainous Japanese. This is where the film becomes very similar to Paramount's "So Proudly We Hail" which is certainly superior dramatically. Both rank equal in nail-biting emotion as to the fate of these lovelies who may be able to flip acid off of their tongue to deal with the others but won't be able to defend themselves against the enemy that surrounds them.
The always colorful Connie Gilchrist adds color as the cook, giving motherly advice towards the girls who venture into her kitchen, while Bainter provides a mentor-ship towards the women, especially the somewhat hard Sullavan. Marsha Hunt, Dorothy Morris, Heather Angel and Ella Raines round out the major female stars supporting the others, and each of them have moments to shine where their dreams seem threatened by the ugliness of war. Like "So Proudly We Hail", this contains a rather downbeat ending which is certainly within the reality of war and opens all kinds of thoughts as to what might be in store for these women.
In addition to Sullavan and Bainter are the billed above the title Ann Sothern and Joan Blondell whose on-screen personalities were so alike that they sometimes seemed like sisters working at separate studios. Sothern has more to do here as a somewhat rebellious personality. She is classier than her MGM series character Maisie, while Blondell plays a burlesque queen who amuses everybody by referring to her job being similar to a banana. It is obvious that Blondell was cast for her name value rather than for characterization. Since she had been at MGM for more than just a few years, Sothern gets more meat to bite into with her part, Blondell simply adding a bit of comic relief to the wisecracks which seemed to be tossed up in the air for either her or Sothern to catch.
There are some very tense moments here where the women are pretty much all alone, no American or other Ally soldiers there to protect them from the villainous Japanese. This is where the film becomes very similar to Paramount's "So Proudly We Hail" which is certainly superior dramatically. Both rank equal in nail-biting emotion as to the fate of these lovelies who may be able to flip acid off of their tongue to deal with the others but won't be able to defend themselves against the enemy that surrounds them.
The always colorful Connie Gilchrist adds color as the cook, giving motherly advice towards the girls who venture into her kitchen, while Bainter provides a mentor-ship towards the women, especially the somewhat hard Sullavan. Marsha Hunt, Dorothy Morris, Heather Angel and Ella Raines round out the major female stars supporting the others, and each of them have moments to shine where their dreams seem threatened by the ugliness of war. Like "So Proudly We Hail", this contains a rather downbeat ending which is certainly within the reality of war and opens all kinds of thoughts as to what might be in store for these women.