Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation

Derry Herrera Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Robert J. Maxwell This typical training camp film has a couple of things going for it. The screenplay by Guy Trosper has some improbably keen and sarcastic exchanges between Army draftee Tab Hunter and his superiors. "Is there any chance we can make a soldier out of you, Schaeffer?", asks his barracks sergeant. Hunter is lying on his bunk, looking sour. "I'm here because the Army has many guns pointed at my back but don't wait for me to become ardent -- you haven't got the time." Another admirable element of the film is the supporting cast, and Murray Hamilton in particular. Hamilton plays much the same character as the platoon sergeant that he did as the recruit with "a touch of ROTC" in "No Time For Sergeants," except here he's largely benign. That ironic grin is peerless.There are some amusing scenes too, which some people may not get. ("Turn your head and cough.") They were funnier at the time.Alas, that about does it for the more watchable features of the movie. The plot is straight out of a training-camp-movie textbook. An unprepared ordinary citizen, preferably a little spoiled, is forced into one of the armed services, overcomes some serious difficulties, and emerges from his chrysalis, a fully-fledged Blue Admiral. Often there are army games or maneuvers of one kind or another, in which he sheds his civilian ways and saves lives. You can see it in movies as diverse as "The Caine Mutiny" and "See Here, Private Hargrove." You can see the same plot in a Laurel and Hardy feature.The two leads -- Tab Hunter and the girl he left behind, Natalie Wood -- are both very attractive but neither is much of a performer. Pretty Natalie Wood would improve with time and with better parts but handsome Hunter had already plateaued although he'd just started a year or so before.The experience that Tab Hunter has in basic training in the Fifth Infantry Division is almost incredible. The mess hall has separate tables, seating for four, with table cloths and a vase of flowers on each. I went through boot camp and the mess deck looked more like James Cagney's berserk scene in Sing Sing in "White Heat" -- and I was just in the Coast Guard.None of the recruits calls the sergeants "sir." Instead they insult the sergeants to their faces. They're full of sarcastic comebacks to which the cadre reply with tolerant smiles. If anyone in MY company had been as snotty or negligent as Tab Hunter, he'd have wound up wearing a red arm band in a retraining company -- as I did.At any rate, if you want to see the U. S. Army brainwash a winsome young man and turn him into a clone of his platoon sergeant -- make a man out of a boy -- this is the movie to watch. It ends with the regiment marching proudly on the drill field and a band playing "The Caissons Go Rolling Along."

jak-766-401436 First saw this movie in 1965 the night before marksmanship qualification at Parris Island, I suspect that the reason they showed it to us is so that we could react to the slogan on the sign at the 11th Infantry's Headquarters. Yes, it was "Semper Fidelis"! The whole theater erupted each time that was shown. We also enjoyed the Sergeant's "Your behinds are grass, and I'm the lawnmower" because it was one of our DI's favorites; although with more colorful mode of expression.The movie itself was hilarious in its badness (except for Natalie Wood). We could not fathom anyone getting away with the crap that Tab Hunter's "Andy" was dishing; not even in the Army! The less said about Andy's 'heroics', the better.As for the romantic aspects, it was clear to all of us that Hunter's interest was not in Wood. No one (especially an actor as bad as Tab Hunter) could be within a mile of Natalie Wood and pretend such indifference. Even a great actor could not be indifferent.A nice piece of big studio fluff that is too bad to get made today.

celinejanelle2000 .....then by all means let me know directly at the above e-mail address so that I may arrange for a copy for you. This winning military "dramedy" stars the never-lovelier Natalie Wood as the titular dish waiting back home for her college-flunkie boyfriend (and barracks brat) Tab Hunter to smarten up and get a life in the army. Among the many highlights are some meaty set-pieces pitting n'er-do-well Hunter against his superior officers, all played with gusto by Murray Hamilton, Jim Backus and David Janssen (while Henry Jones and Alan King deliver equally fine turns as Hunter's pals. Look for James Garner, too). Action, comedy and emotional resonance in equal measures in a true classic of its kind that unfortunately never got its due. Worth repeat viewings if only to behold Ms. Wood's unique incandescence at its peak.

gwbriggs This is a very entertaining drama/comedy about a young man who flunked out of college and ran his only remaining option - the Army. Andy Schaeffer had not yet cut the silver string to his mother, yet he pictured himself as the picture of independence. His most difficult transition into Army life is presented in alternating serious and highly humorous veins. Filmed at Fort Ord, California, this picture featured a number of future stars, such as James Garner, David Janssen, Jim Backus, Tab Hunter, Natalie Wood, Alan King, and others. This will really spark the interest - and nostalgia - of any man who ever went through basic training, in any service. Well worth watching, and owning!