Search - Verna - USO Girl (Broadway Theatre Archive) on DVD


Verna - USO Girl (Broadway Theatre Archive)
Verna - USO Girl
Broadway Theatre Archive
Actors: Sissy Spacek, Howard Da Silva, Sally Kellerman, William Hurt, Joseph Turrin
Director: Ronald F. Maxwell
Genres: Drama, Television, Musicals & Performing Arts, Military & War
NR     2002     1hr 30min

Academy Award-winner Sissy Spacek (Carrie, Coal Miner's Daughter) is Verna, USO Girl, a kindhearted - but not particularly talented - member of a performing troupe in World War II Belgium. She wins the heart of an American...  more »

     
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Movie Details

Actors: Sissy Spacek, Howard Da Silva, Sally Kellerman, William Hurt, Joseph Turrin
Director: Ronald F. Maxwell
Creators: Albert Innaurato, Paul Gallico
Genres: Drama, Television, Musicals & Performing Arts, Military & War
Sub-Genres: Drama, Television, Musicals, Broadway Theatre Archive, Military & War
Studio: Kultur Video
Format: DVD - Color
DVD Release Date: 10/29/2002
Original Release Date: 01/25/1978
Theatrical Release Date: 01/25/1978
Release Year: 2002
Run Time: 1hr 30min
Screens: Color
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaDVD Credits: 1
Total Copies: 0
Members Wishing: 7
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Languages: English

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Movie Reviews

Beautifully Acted Feel Good Drama!!
12/21/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sissy Spacek stars as a second rate wartime USO Girl entertainer trying to make the bigtime.It's a beautifully acted feel good movie!!"
Verna- Little Girl, Big Dreams
Edward L. Covington | Claremore OK USA | 08/30/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)

"It was at least 10 years ago when I first saw "Verna - USO Girl." I never forgot this story and the poignant portrayal by Sissy Spacek. I was thrilled when I found I could get it from Amazon. This film was everything I remembered, and more. I'm sharing it with everyone I can get to sit still long enough and we cry every time.
Jere Covington
Claremore OK"
A little gem
Dana R. Baggett | Maine | 05/26/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this DVD some time ago but only got around to playing it on the occasion of Memorial Day 2009. I'm glad I did. The talent - actors, writers, direction - is top-notch which is rather surprising since it was a made-for-TV production (i.e., small budget). It was shown nationwide by PBS as part of the Great Performances series on January 25, 1978 and then dropped out of sight.

What gives it an aura of authenticity is that it was filmed on location on US Army combat training centers in Germany. I suspect that the soldiers in the film were loaned by the US Army to be "extras." The same with the military equipment.

The cast is top notch. The hard part for them is playing "down" to the talent level of their characters who are essentially vaudevillians. Sissy Spacek in the title role is very convincing as someone who imagines that she is on her way to stardom but really has only "third-rate talent." (Two years later she won an Oscar for her role in "Coal Miner's Daughter" and has received many awards since.)

One curiosity. There is no mention of Howard Da Silva on the keep case and yet he has a big role in the film. Amazon corrects that oversight - deservedly so.

This is apparently a transfer from VHS. Indeed, the original production may have been originally taped for TV. There is a warning screen on the DVD that the conversion to digital exposes the flaws in the original media. Never mind. As the story unfolds, you won't care.

Finally, this little film is a tribute to all the USO troupers - men and women who slogged through the mud, danced in the dirt, sang in the tropical sun and the rain, lived in tents, bounced around in trucks, told bad jokes and took big risks in combat zones and military bases around the world - who gave what talent they had so GIs could have a laugh and see some feminine pulchritude if only for a little while.

God Bless Them All."