I Dood It

Dir. Vincente Minnelli. 1943, 103 mins. U.S. 16mm. With Red Skelton, Eleanor Powell, Lena Horne, Hazel Scott, Jimmy Dorsey, Richard Ainley. One of Minnelli’s true oddball works, this WWII-era homefront entertainment mixes comedy, thriller, and musical revue in an unofficial remake of a Buster Keaton silent film called Spite Marriage. Right after his breakthrough hit Cabin in the Sky, Minnelli was handed this troubled production—which had lost its original director during shooting—which somehow concerns both a backstage love affair and foiled Nazi saboteurs. But Minnelli put his signature touch on it, especially in the musical sequences, the best of which, featuring his Cabin co-star Lena Horne in a “song battle” with the great jazz pianist Hazel Scott, both performing with an all-Black chorus and band, is worth the price of admission.

Tickets: $17.50 / $12 senior and students / $10 youth / $7 MoMI members. There is a $1.50 transaction fee per ticket for all online purchases. The cost of admission may be applied toward a same-day purchase of a membership.

Order tickets. Please pick up tickets at the Museum’s admissions desk upon arrival. All seating is general admission.