Taglines: Laughter and tears. Tragedy and triumph. They lived it all. For the boys.
For the Boys movie storyline. In the early 1990s, retired entertainer Dixie Leonard (Midler) has a commitment to attend a Hollywood ceremony being televised live to honor her and her longtime show-biz partner Eddie Sparks (Caan). When a young man from the TV show comes to pick her up, Dixie balks and explains what brought Eddie and her together, as well as what drove them apart. The majority of the film is an extended flashback.
Dixie’s story begins during World War II when she receives an offer to entertain the troops overseas as part of Eddie’s act. Dixie is an instant hit with the boys in uniform, but Eddie wants her gone, ostensibly because he finds her kind of humor too coarse, but really because she stole the show by topping his jokes. Dixie doesn’t care for him much either, but fellow entertainers and her joke-writer uncle (Segal) persuade her to stay.
Eddie wins her over, particularly by reuniting Dixie with her soldier husband on stage. However, later in the war, Dixie’s husband dies in battle. Despite her distaste for Eddie, she continues working with him back in the U.S. to support herself and her son. Eddie is married with daughters, but treats Dixie’s son as if he were his own.
As the Korean War breaks out, Eddie announces on stage that he and Dixie will be performing for the US troops there, without having told Dixie of his plans first. In revenge, Dixie announces that Eddie made a $100,000 donation to the Red Cross. Reluctantly, she travels to Korea with him. On their way to the camp, they encounter a unit of soldiers which has been ambushed.
For the Boys is a 1991 American comedy-drama musical film which traces the life of Dixie Leonard, a 1940s actress/singer who teams up with Eddie Sparks, a famous performer, to entertain American troops. The film was adapted by Marshall Brickman, Neal Jimenez, and Lindy Laub from a story by Jimenez and Laub. It was directed by Mark Rydell and the original music score was composed by Dave Grusin. It stars Bette Midler, James Caan, George Segal, Patrick O’Neal, Christopher Rydell, Arye Gross, Norman Fell and (a then-unknown) Vince Vaughn in his film debut, playing a Cheering Soldier in a Crowd.
For her performance, Bette Midler was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. The movie soundtrack features covers 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.
For the Boys (1991)
Directed by: Mark Rydell
Starring: Bette Midler, James Caan, George Segal, Patrick O’Neal, Christopher Rydell, Arye Gross, Norman Fell, Rosemary Murphy, Shannon Wilcox, Melissa Manchester
Screenplay by: Marshall Brickman, Neal Jimenez, Lindy Laub
Production Design by: Assheton Gorton
Cinematography by: Stephen Goldblatt
Film Editing by: Gerald B. Greenberg, Jere Huggins
Costume Design by: Wayne A. Finkelman
Set Decoration by: Marvin March
Art Direction by: Dianne Wager, Donald B. Woodruff
Music by: Dave Grusin
MPAA Rating: R for language.
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: November 22, 1991
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