Duffy's Tavern (film)

Duffy's Tavern is a 1945 American comedy film directed by Hal Walker and written by Melvin Frank and Norman Panama. The film stars Ed Gardner, Bing Crosby, Betty Hutton, Paulette Goddard, Alan Ladd, Dorothy Lamour, Eddie Bracken and Brian Donlevy. The film was released on September 28, 1945, by Paramount Pictures.

Plot
Duffy’s Tavern was one of Paramount’s ‘all-star cast’ films, a large scale musical based upon characters created by Ed Gardner for his popular radio show, Duffy's Tavern. Archie [played by Ed Gardner] (with regulars Eddie (Eddie Green) and Finnegan (Charles Cantor)), was surrounded by many of Paramount Pictures stars playing themselves, including Robert Benchley, William Bendix, Eddie Bracken, Bing Crosby, Cass Daley, Brian Donlevy, Paulette Goddard, Betty Hutton, Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake and Dorothy Lamour. The film's plot involves a war-displaced record manufacturer whose staff—those not sent off to war—drown their sorrows at Duffy's on credit, while the company owner tries to find ways around the price controls and war attrition that threaten to put him out of business. Bing Crosby makes two appearances in the film, once to sing with a group, which includes Betty Hutton, Sonny Tufts, Diana Lynn, Billy De Wolfe, Cass Daley, Dorothy Lamour and Howard da Silva, a parody of "Swinging on a Star", and again in a sketch where Robert Benchley tells a bed-time story about Bing to the four Crosby boys. He is also heard, but not seen, singing "Learn to Croon", "Please", and "Love in Bloom" when recordings are presented on an on-screen phonograph. It was the film debut of the four Crosby boys other than Gary Crosby’s walk-on part in Star Spangled Rhythm.

Cast

 * Ed Gardner as Archie
 * Bing Crosby as himself
 * Betty Hutton as herself
 * Paulette Goddard as herself
 * Alan Ladd as himself
 * Dorothy Lamour as herself
 * Eddie Bracken as himself
 * Brian Donlevy as himself
 * Sonny Tufts as himself
 * Veronica Lake as herself
 * Arturo de Córdova as himself
 * Barry Fitzgerald as Bing Crosby's Father
 * Cass Daley as herself
 * Diana Lynn as herself
 * Victor Moore as Michael O'Malley
 * Marjorie Reynolds as Peggy O'Malley
 * Barry Sullivan as Danny Murphy
 * Charles Cantor as Finnegan
 * Eddie Green as Eddie the Waiter
 * Ann Thomas as Miss Duffy
 * Robert Benchley as himself
 * William Demarest as himself
 * Howard da Silva as Tough Guy
 * Billy De Wolfe as Doctor
 * Walter Abel as Director
 * Johnny Coy as Dancer / Waiter
 * Miriam Nelson as Dancer
 * Charles Quigley as Ronald
 * Olga San Juan as Gloria
 * Bobby Watson as Masseur
 * Gary Crosby as himself
 * Phillip Crosby as himself
 * Dennis Crosby as himself
 * Lindsay Crosby as himself
 * William Bendix as himself
 * James Brown as himself
 * Joan Caulfield as herself
 * Gail Russell as herself
 * Helen Walker as herself
 * Jean Heather as herself
 * Maurice Rocco as himself

Reception
The film was placed 15th in the list of highest-grossing movies in the US in 1945.

Bosley Crowther of The New York Times summarized it as "Take it for what it is, a hodge-podge of spare-time clowning by the gang, including a large hunk of Archie, and you’ll find Duffy’s Tavern fair enough." Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide gave the film a BOMB rating. Film Daily commented: "There isn’t much to the story itself, which merely offers an excuse for bringing in such topflighters as Bing Crosby, Betty Hutton, Paulette Goddard, Dorothy Lamour, Eddie Bracken, Veronica Lake, to name but a handful, so that they may do their bit in the manner of guest stars. Most of the big names are introduced at the end in a benefit show staged to raise money to permit Victor Moore to reopen his record factory and put a lot of nice guys back to work."

Soundtrack

 * "Swinging on a Star" sung by Bing Crosby and group.
 * "His Rocking Horse Ran Away" (Jimmy Van Heusen / Johnny Burke) sung by Betty Hutton
 * "He Says 'Murder' He Says" (Frank Loesser / Jimmy McHugh) sung by Betty Hutton