James Cagney delivers a vibrant performance as a down-on-his-luck Broadway musical director in The West Point Story, featuring songs by
Sammy Cahn and
Jule Styne. Cagney plays out-of-work director Elwin "Bix" Bixby, who reluctantly accepts a job from producer Harry Eberhart (
Roland Winters) to stage a show at West Point written by Harry's nephew Tom Fletcher (
Gordon MacRae). Harry thinks Tom's show could be a Broadway success if he would only quit West Point. Bix travels to West Point, with his girlfriend, Eve (
Virginia Mayo), in tow, to whip the show into shape. But Bix is frustrated by the academy's rules, which interrupt his rehearsal schedule. In frustration, Bix hits a cadet. In order to continue to work on the show, Bix must become a cadet himself, and deal with the attendant hazing that entails. When the one of the show's stars, Jan Wilson (
Doris Day), is brought out to work on the production, Tom falls in love with her and goes AWOL to return with her to Hollywood. Bix, in order to save Tom's military career, has to go to Hollywood and bring Tom back to West Point. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide