Call Me Mister is a revue

Revue

A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...

 with sketches by Arnold Auerbach

Arnold M. Auerbach

Arnold M. Auerbach was an American comedy writer, especially for radio, television and newspapers. Auerbach wrote radio and television scripts for Eddie Cantor, Milton Berle, Fred Allen, Frank Sinatra and Phil Silvers, among others...

 and words and music by Harold Rome. The title refers to returning soldiers who expected to be addressed as civilians instead of by their military rank.

The Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 production, directed by Robert H. Gordon, opened on April 18, 1946 at the National Theatre. It transferred twice, to the Majestic and the Plymouth, before completing its run of 734 performances. The cast included Betty Garrett

Betty Garrett

Betty Garrett was an American actress, comedienne, singer and dancer who originally performed on Broadway before being signed to a film contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer...

, George S. Irving

George S. Irving

George S. Irving is an American actor, known primarily for his character roles on Broadway. Born George Irving Shelasky in Springfield, Massachusetts, he made his debut in the original 1943 production of Oklahoma!, only to be drafted days later to serve in World War II...

, Maria Karnilova

Maria Karnilova

Maria Karnilova was an American actress.Born as Maria Kasnilovich in Hartford, Connecticut, Maria Karnilova made her Broadway debut in Call Me Mister in 1946...

, Harry Clark, Jules Munshin, and Lawrence Winters

Lawrence Winters

Lawrence Winters , bass-baritone, was an African American opera singer who had an active international career from the mid 1940s through the mid 1960s. He was part of the first generation of black opera singers to achieve wide success and is viewed as part of an instrumental group of performers who...

. A cast recording was released by Decca Records

Decca Records

Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....

.

In 1951, 20th Century Fox

20th Century Fox

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...

 released a Lloyd Bacon

Lloyd Bacon

Lloyd Francis Bacon was a screen, stage, and vaudeville actor and film director.-Life:Bacon was born in San Jose California, the son of actor Frank Bacon, later the co-author and star of the long running Broadway show 'Lightnin' , and Jennie Bacon. He was not related to actor Irving Bacon whom he...

-directed film version

Call Me Mister (film)

Call Me Mister is a 1951 musical film released by Twentieth Century-Fox. The feature was directed by Lloyd Bacon, and re-written from the Broadway version by Albert E...

 with a storyline corresponding with current events. Only three songs from the Broadway production were retained. Set in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 during the transition period between World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 and the Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

, it starred Betty Grable

Betty Grable

Elizabeth Ruth "Betty" Grable was an American actress, dancer and singer.Her iconic bathing suit photo made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era. It was later included in the LIFE magazine project "100 Photos that Changed the World"...

 as American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 USO

United Service Organizations

The United Service Organizations Inc. is a private, nonprofit organization that provides morale and recreational services to members of the U.S. military, with programs in 160 centers worldwide. Since 1941, it has worked in partnership with the Department of Defense , and has provided support and...

 entertainer Kay Hudson, who crosses paths with former husband Shep Dooley (Dan Dailey

Dan Dailey

Daniel James Dailey Jr. was an American dancer and actor.-Early life and career:Born in New York City on December 14, 1915, to James J. and Helen Dailey, both born in New York City. He appeared in a minstrel show when very young, and appeared in vaudeville before his Broadway debut in 1937 in...

), who is determined to win her back despite the presence of her current beau Capt. Johnny Comstock (Dale Robertson

Dale Robertson

Dayle Lymoine "Dale" Robertson is an American actor best known for his starring roles on television. He played the role of Jim Hardie in the TV series, Tales of Wells Fargo, and the owner of an incomplete railroad line in ABC's The Iron Horse, often appearing as the deceptively thoughtful but...

).

Song list on original cast recording

• Going Home Train
• Along With Me
• Little Surplus Me
• Red Ball Express
• Military Life
• Yuletide, Park Avenue
• When We Meet Again
• Face on the Dime
• South America, Take It Away
• Call Me Mister