Thank Your Lucky Stars (film)

Thank Your Lucky Stars
theatrical poster
Directed by	David Butler
Produced by	Mark Hellinger
Written by	Norman Panama Melvin Frank
Starring	Eddie Cantor Joan Leslie Dennis Morgan
Music by	Heinz Roemheld
Cinematography	Arthur Edeson
Edited by	Irene Morra
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Release date	September 25, 1943 (1943-09-25)
Running time	124 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$2.8 million (US rentals)

Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943) is a musical comedy film made by Warner Brothers as a World War II fundraiser, with a slim plot, involving theater producers. The stars donated their salaries to the Hollywood Canteen, which was founded by John Garfield and Bette Davis, who appear in this film. It was directed by David Butler and stars Eddie Cantor, Dennis Morgan, Joan Leslie, Edward Everett Horton and S. Z. Sakall.

Theater producers (Horton and Sakall) staging a wartime charity program, only to have the production taken over by their egotistical star (Eddie Cantor). Meanwhile, an aspiring singer (Dennis Morgan) and his songwriter girlfriend (Joan Leslie) conspire to get into the charity program by replacing Cantor with their look-alike friend, tour bus driver Joe Simpson (Eddie Cantor).

Many of Warner Brothers's stars performed in musical numbers, including several who were not known as singers. The show features the only screen musical numbers ever done by Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, and Ida Lupino.

Cameo appearances

Filming for Thank Your Lucky Stars started 1 October 1942. Producer Mark Hellinger and director David Butler both made cameo appearances in the film. The film utilized sets which had been built for the Warner Bros. films The Green Pastures and Wonder Bar.Thank Your Lucky Stars was the film debut of both Dinah Shore and Spike Jones and his City Slickers. Each of the cast members was paid a $50,000 fee for their appearance which was then donated to the Hollywood Canteen.