"All the Stars are Here"

Here's the trailer for Hollywood Canteen, a 1944 GI-pleaser that featured a host of silver screen greats in cameo appearances. The National World War II Museum in New Orleans is opening a reincarnation of WWII's Stage Door Canteen in November. Wonder who they'll be bringing in from the West Coast?

Taking It Off At The Stage Door Canteen

Gypsy Rose Lee (1911-1970), the famed burlesque stripper, charms her audience in 1943's Stage Door Canteen. Compared to today's tramp-stamped pole dancers, Lee is both more charming and more erudite - dropping allusions to Cezanne and Oscar Wilde while dropping her drawers. What's more, servicemen and women in the 1940s understood the humor and appreciated her act. We've come a long way, baby. And it might not be an improvement.

Keen for the Canteen

Built in an old barn at 1451 Cahuenga Boulevard, the Hollywood Canteen operated from 1942 to 1945. It was staffed with the studio's A-list stars, who entertained the servicemen and women passing through Los Angeles. This 1944 clip has young Dinah Shore giving a tour of the club, introducing Lana Turner and Marlene Dietrich among others. The canteen concept is even making a comeback. The National World War II Museum is opening a Stage Door Canteen and Victory Theater on their premises in November 2009.

... And One From the Past

Benny Goodman plays and Peggy Lee sings in 1943's wartime hit Stage Door Canteen.