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”Hollywood Canteen” is the story of the actual organization that fed and entertained soldiers during World War II, started by Bette Davis and John Garfield, both of whom appear in the film. Actual female movie stars served as hostesses and danced with the lonely soldiers. In this story, Slim (Robert Hutton) meets his fantasy woman, Joan Leslie, at the Canteen, and when he later becomes the one millionth man to enter the Canteen, he’s allowed to choose her as his date for the weekend.

”Hollywood Canteen synopsis”
“Robert Hutton” (slim), a corporal stationed in the South Pacific, is enamored of actress “Joan Leslie”. After he is injured in battle, he and his pal, Sergeant Nolan, are sent to Hollywood, California for rest and recreation before they ship out again. When Robert Hutton mentions his desire to see movie stars, he is directed to the Hollywood Canteen, a gathering place for soldiers that is run by motion picture actors and actresses. robert hutton is impressed when he learns that all the entertainment and food is provided free of cost to servicemen and women. Learning that Robert Hutton has a crush on Joan Leslie, canteen president Bette Davis and Jane Wyman arrange for the two to meet.

“Joan Leslie” was born in Detroit and began acting as a child performer. She was never able to escape the good girl role in her early work. She married Dr. William Caldwell in 1950. She quit her acting career to raise her identical twin daughters Patrice and Ellen. Both daughters are now Doctors teaching at universities.

joan leslie got her first major role in High Sierra (1941) with Humphrey Bogart, playing a crippled girl under her new billing as “Joan Leslie”. She also starred in Sergeant York and The Wagons Roll at Night in the same year. Joan Leslie later appeared as James Cagney’s wife in Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), and at age 18 she starred in The Sky’s the Limit (1943) with Fred Astaire.