Pillow to Post (DVD)

Ida Lupino could make a meal out of fiery dramas (They Drive by Night, High Sierra) and handily deliver a song (Thank Your Lucky Stars), and would later direct acclaimed thrillers in the 1950s. But only once did the multitalented marvel tackle romantic comedy, rejoining The Hard Way director Vincent Sherman for the friskily funny Pillow to Post. As an idly rich daughter of an oil-drilling equipment tycoon striving to help the war effort, she hits the road as a company saleswoman. Near a military base, she takes on another role: Here comes the Army bride, a ruse necessary to secure housing at a marrieds-only auto court. William Prince is the lieutenant roped into playing hubby, and Sydney Greenstreet plays his crusty base commander -- and fellow resident. Get the picture? Lupino does, dizzily closing a crucial sale while being a supportive "wife" who has to save her "spouse" from a courtmartial. As Louis Armstrong's band swings and saucy chanteuse Dorothy Dandridge sings "What'cha Say?," you'll say Pillow to Post is one charmingly hilarious way to go.

• comedy
• war