Here Come the Waves (1944)

(Second Viewing, On Cable TV, November 2020) The advantage of a film having, say, Bing Crosby as a headliner is that it can coast on his charm for a long time. Fortunately, Here Come the Waves does have a bit more than that in its assets, including a spirited double performance from Betty Hutton as twin sisters crushing hard on a crooner (Bing, obviously). As with many wartime movies, it’s meant to showcase a very specific section of the military service—in this case, the Navy Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES)—along with a big helping of musical numbers. The standout song here is probably “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive,” which, alas, is performed in blackface. That blemish aside, Here Come the Waves is an innocuous, almost unremarkable WW2 musical. There isn’t anything memorable about the result even despite the easy charm of Crosby or the way Hutton acquits herself well in two roles with a fair amount of interaction. It doesn’t do much to impress, but it’s watchable enough, with a few good jokes and musical numbers. Anyone compiling a list of which branches of the US military forces were covered by which WW2 film (it’s a long list) should make a note of Here Come the Waves even if it’s not exactly a very realistic portrayal.