For the Boys

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For the Boys is a 1991 feature film which tells the story of an 1940s actress/singer who teams with another entertainer to entertain American troops. The film traces her life through 50 years. The original music score was composed by Dave Grusin.

The movie was adapted by Marshall Brickman, Neal Jimenez and Lindy Laub from a story by Jimenez and Laub. It was directed by Mark Rydell. It stars Bette Midler, James Caan, George Segal, Patrick O'Neal, Christopher Rydell, Arye Gross and Norman Fell.

Bette Midler was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance. The movie soundtrack features adaptations of many classic songs, including "Come Rain or Come Shine", "Baby, It's Cold Outside" by Frank Loesser, "P.S. I Love You", "I Remember You", "Every Road Leads Back To You" and the Beatles' "In My Life". Many of these have lyrics by Johnny Mercer.

Although the relationships are different, actress/singer Martha Raye believed that Midler's character was based on her. Raye threatened legal action. The Caan character was supposedly based on Bob Hope.

Plot

In the early 1990s, Dixie Leonard (Midler) is supposed to attend a ceremony in honor of herself and longtime partner Eddie Sparks (Caan). Leonard explains to a young chauffeur how she and Sparks met. After a few minutes of exposition, the bulk of the film is an extended flashback.

Dixie explains that during World War II, she was asked by the USO to assist Eddie in entertaining the troops. Eddie and Dixie get into an argument over a joke that he thinks is too blue. Dixie threatens to leave, but fellow entertainers convince her to stay. Later in the war, Dixie's husband is killed in action. Despite her distaste for Eddie, she continues working with him to support herself and her son.

The two of them continue working together after the war, first on a television show and then entertaining the troops in the Korean War and the Vietnam War. They suffer numerous ups and downs, including McCarthyism and the death of Dixie's son in Vietnam.

Main cast

Actor	Role
Bette Midler	Dixie Leonard
James Caan	Eddie Sparks
George Segal	Art Silver
Patrick O'Neal	Shephard
Christopher Rydell	Danny Leonard
Arye Gross	Jeff Brooks
Norman Fell	Sam Schiff
Rosemary Murphy	Luanna Trott
Bud Yorkin	Phil
Jack Sheldon	Wally Fields
Melissa Manchester	Corrine

External links

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Last updated on Thursday March 06, 2008 at 12:20:45 PST (GMT -0800)
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