Best movie of this year hands down!

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

I heard of this movie while watching a documentary about Donald O'Connor. I thought it sounded good and watched some clips online. It was great! I tried to find the film and I couldn't find it anywhere. Finally, after a few months of searching, I found that Gloria Jean herself was selling copies. I bought one immediately. I saw it and it is now my favorite movie. The comedy is hilarious. Like the rationing scene between Peggy and Donald. I loved the songs. They were very well written and the choreography was phenomenal. All the performances given were stupendous. Especially Bobby Brooks and the Ben Carter Choir. They were fabulous! I highly recommend this film to everyone. It is appropriate for families to watch, too. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

My copy of this is so murky it's like looking through the mists of time, but the movie itself is as fun now as it was in 1943. It was a star-maker for Donald O'Connor, and it's easy to see why - he's hilarious, adorable, and already shows the crisp, weightless precision in his dancing that later became his trademark.Peggy Ryan (like a young Lucille Ball!) and Gloria Jean (endearingly beautiful and with a voice to die for) are both at their best, and Louis DaPron, head choreographer at Universal, did right by the Jivin' Jacks and Jills, who are thrilling to watch. Some even get small acting parts, but it's their acrobatic dancing that astounds, then and now.As another reviewer commented, there is a routine in blackface, and that is always jarring for modern audiences, me included. The later sequence where the black children sing in a hayloft could (as the earlier reviewer suggested) be seen as demeaning, or it could be seen as the kids being an angelic choir (I think more the intent). I doubt that Universal gave it a lot of deep thought either way... it was intended as a means of separating on stage two separate 'acts', the choir from the dancers.There's not too much time wasted on plot here, but what little there is is friskied-up by off-the-cuffs and a general lack of formality. According to Peggy Ryan, the filming took eight days. The result is a film with a lively spontaneity that would only have been muted with further polishing.

This utterly delicious hilarious swing musical is terrific. Made as part of a series at Universal that seem to be the dance version of those MGM Andy Hardy films; instead (and better) here we have the dynamic and effervescent talent of Donald O'Connor with gorgeous Gloria Jean and zany Peggy Ryan who make a trio of song and dance talent that is an entertaining as it is astonishing. MISTER BIG is completely engaging for its 63 minutes and with sensational tap numbers from the jivin' Jacks and Jills solid Universal production values and a roster of house actors, this film deserves renewed appreciation on DVD. It would be appropriate for Universal to box-set all these teen 40s musicals with Donald O'Connor and the Jivin Jacks and Jills and set them before a very appreciative public again. The group tap numbers are real musical dynamite; O'Connor is simply hilarious; the music numbers are fun and the sets and art direction is excellent. The other titles in the series are: GET HEP TO LOVE.... CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK... PATRICK THE GREAT... GIVE OUT SISTERS... PRIVATE BUCKAROO... and WHAT'S COOKIN'.... all of which I now am keen to enjoy. What a teen talent Donald O'Connor was! I have never seen his early comedy films and this intro into the 40s musicals he made has me enthralled to see more. MISTER BIG is the sort of musical with acrobatic group tap dance numbers you could only dream of, and here is a 63 minute musical with 7 songs and routines, better than I could have wished for. MISTER BIG is just great. My dollars are ready for the whole box set, when Universal care to plonk it on a shelf in a DVD store anytime soon.

Originally titled, "School of Jive", this movie is one of the standard "Hep" musicals that were popular with the young crowd during the WW2 years. It features the popular Gloria Jean, Donald O'Connor, and Peggy Ryan in a swinging, breezy, upbeat production that runs at a frantic pace for the full 63 minutes.The plot is simple: Teens, in a school that teaches the arts, would rather perform popular music of the day. They overcome their stuffy highbrow sponsor's objections by performing a Swing musical instead of the classical work that's requested. Of course, the kids' version is a big success.The movie features jazz and swing music, and popular bands of the era appear. A lot of the dialog, while dated to that day and age, is nonetheless entertaining. O'Connor and Ryan are their usual energetic selves and, of course, perform their zany songs and dances. Gloria Jean is charming as always and sings beautifully. Several other kids and adults perform as well, including a very talented six-year-old Elinor Donahue (who later played Betty in "Father Knows Best" and has many other TV and screen credits).I haven't seen this movie on TV for over 25 years, and it's hard to find a good copy of it. However, you can buy a quality copy of it from Gloria Jean herself at her website. IMDb policies forbid the posting of URL's, but you can find her site by using your favorite search engine and her full name of "Gloria Jean Schoonover".