Part of Nashville: A City On Film
Sat, Sep 20 at 12:00pm: Introduction by T. Minton, Belcourt’s public historian and archivist | BUY TICKETS
A spirited wartime musical comedy, THANK YOUR LUCKY STARS tells the tale of two struggling producers desperate to stage a charity revue. When egomaniacal entertainer Eddie Cantor agrees to help — only if he can run the show himself — chaos and comedic deception ensue. Meanwhile, an ambitious young couple with dreams of stardom hatch a plan to sneak their way into the spotlight by substituting Cantor with a lookalike bus driver.
Featuring a dazzling array of 1940s-era Warner Bros. talent — including the rare musical debuts of Bette Davis and Ida Lupino — the film is also notable as the screen debut of Dinah Shore. Before her rise to fame as a singer and actress in 12 feature films, Shore trained her voice on Nashville’s WSM radio and performed onstage at the Belcourt Theatre during the 1930s Community Playhouse era while studying at Vanderbilt University. Her breakout in this film was a national unveiling of a talent long nurtured in Nashville’s artistic circles.
A feel-good spectacle during WWII, the film also showcases how wartime cinema became a patriotic stage — launching careers, boosting morale and, in Shore’s case, connecting Nashville’s performance culture to Hollywood’s golden spotlight.
“It's all so gloriously unapologetic in its randomness, a cinematic variety show that allows stars to get silly for a good cause.” —David Cornelius, dvdtalk.com
