AFI|Catalog

Beautiful Lorry Jones is the favorite hostess at the local U.S.O canteen in Missoula, Missouri, where she performs and signs photographs of herself for the adoring soldiers. Lorry routinely accepts the marriage proposal of any soldier who asks, and her latest suitor, Marine George Davis, does not realize that the flirtatious, fibbing Lorry has no intention of marrying him. Lorry and her best friend, Kay Pritchett, take civil service jobs to become stenographers in Washington, D.C., but Lorry tells everyone at the canteen that she is going on a U.S.O. tour. Kay reprimands Lorry for lying, but is persuaded by her to visit New York City for one night before reporting for work. When they arrive at the train station in New York, Lorry and Kay watch a welcoming committee greet Tommy Dooley, a Navy hero of the battle of Guadalcanal. That night, the two women try to get into the Club Chartreuse, but are told that women without escorts are not allowed. Lorry then tells headwaiter Pierre that they are meeting the celebrated Tommy and his pal, Dud Miller, and Pierre shows them to the best table in the club. Unknown to Lorry and Kay, Tommy is old friends with Eddie Hall, the club's owner, and is expected to arrive shortly. Eddie, who believes that Tommy invited the girls, lavishes them with champagne, and when Tommy and Dud arrive, they think that Eddie set them up with Lorry and Kay as blind dates. Dud believes that the women are actresses, but before Lorry can tell the truth for once, the drunken Kay states that they are in the Broadway musical comedy ...

More Less

Beautiful Lorry Jones is the favorite hostess at the local U.S.O canteen in Missoula, Missouri, where she performs and signs photographs of herself for the adoring soldiers. Lorry routinely accepts the marriage proposal of any soldier who asks, and her latest suitor, Marine George Davis, does not realize that the flirtatious, fibbing Lorry has no intention of marrying him. Lorry and her best friend, Kay Pritchett, take civil service jobs to become stenographers in Washington, D.C., but Lorry tells everyone at the canteen that she is going on a U.S.O. tour. Kay reprimands Lorry for lying, but is persuaded by her to visit New York City for one night before reporting for work. When they arrive at the train station in New York, Lorry and Kay watch a welcoming committee greet Tommy Dooley, a Navy hero of the battle of Guadalcanal. That night, the two women try to get into the Club Chartreuse, but are told that women without escorts are not allowed. Lorry then tells headwaiter Pierre that they are meeting the celebrated Tommy and his pal, Dud Miller, and Pierre shows them to the best table in the club. Unknown to Lorry and Kay, Tommy is old friends with Eddie Hall, the club's owner, and is expected to arrive shortly. Eddie, who believes that Tommy invited the girls, lavishes them with champagne, and when Tommy and Dud arrive, they think that Eddie set them up with Lorry and Kay as blind dates. Dud believes that the women are actresses, but before Lorry can tell the truth for once, the drunken Kay states that they are in the Broadway musical comedy Remember Me . Molly McKay, Eddie's jealous star singer, is suspicious of Kay's claim, but Lorry, who gives her name as Laura Lorraine, easily performs a number from the show. Tommy and Dud happily spend the rest of the evening dancing with their "blind dates," and in the morning, see them off at the train station. The men inadvertently lose the girls's address, and as two weeks pass, Lorry and Kay fret over not hearing from their beaus. Lorry is bored by the simple life of a stenographer but soon has her hands full when Tommy and Dud arrive in Washington, where they are to report on their combat experiences. Chief Barney Briggs assigns Lorry to take Tommy's statement, and, not wanting Tommy to know that she lied to him, Lorry disguises herself so that Tommy will not recognize her as "Laura Lorraine." Lorry arranges for Tommy and the glamorous "Laura" to have a date, and after Tommy declares his love for her, he tells her how important it is to him to have a girl who is "on the level." Upset, Lorry states that she is giving up the stage and returning home, and so Tommy arranges for her to get a job at Eddie's new club in Washington. Molly is infuriated by the arrangement, but sees an opportunity to get rid of Lorry when George, who has seen her picture in the newspaper, arrives and states that he is Lorry's fiancé. Eddie, however, is thrilled to learn that Lorry is a popular pin-up girl, and uses her photograph, in which she poses in a bathing suit, to advertise the new show. On Lorry's opening night, Molly introduces Tommy to George, and the angry Tommy leaves the club without seeing Lorry. When Lorry learns what has happened, she tells George that their engagement is not real, and in her stenographer clothes, asks Tommy to give "Laura" another chance. Tommy refuses and instead asks Lorry to accompany him to the club, where he can show "Laura" that he has gotten over her. At the club, Lorry performs in her stenographer clothes, thereby revealing her true identity to both Tommy and Eddie. After Tommy learns that she is not engaged to George, Lorry leads an elaborate marching drill. As she and Tommy exchange smiles, she realizes that he has forgiven her.

Less