You're in the Army Now (1941)

Vacuum-cleaner salesmen Homer "Jeeter" Smith and "Breezy" Jones are accidentally inducted into the army, and "Jeeter", who can sell anything, immediately begins to try and convince, Colonel... See full summary »

Director:

Lewis Seiler

Writers:

Paul Girard Smith (original screen play), George Beatty (original screen play),

Stars:

Jimmy Durante, Phil Silvers, Jane Wyman

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jimmy Durante	...	Jeeper Smith
Phil Silvers	...	Breezy Jones
Jane Wyman	...	Bliss Dobson
Regis Toomey	...	Captain Radcliffe
Donald MacBride	...	Colonel Dobson
Joe Sawyer	...	Sergeant Madden (as Joseph Sawyer)
Clarence Kolb	...	General Winthrop
Paul Harvey	...	General Philpot
George Meeker	...	Captain Austin
Paul Stanton	...	Lt. Col. Rogers
William Haade	...	Sergeant Thorpe
John Maxwell	...	Army Doctor
Etta McDaniel	...	Della
Navy Blues Sextette	...	Singers
Kay Aldridge	...	Navy Blues Sextette Member

Storyline

Vacuum-cleaner salesmen Homer "Jeeter" Smith and "Breezy" Jones are accidentally inducted into the army, and "Jeeter", who can sell anything, immediately begins to try and convince, Colonel Dobson, their cavalry officer of the Old School---from the "nothing can replace a horse in a battle" school---that the age of mechanization has arrived and "Jeeter" has a deal for him on some tanks. This also helps further the romance between the colonels' daughter, Bliss (named after the fort in El Paso), and Captain Joe Radcliffe, a mechanical engineer with the tank corps. Along the way, at an U. S. O show (featuring the Navy Blues Sextette from the film "Navy Blues"), "Jeeper" does an Apache Dance, spikes the lemonade with alum, and sings "I'm Glad My Number Was Called."

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Plot Keywords:

colonel | vacuum cleaner | apache dance | mechanization | lemonade | 

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Taglines:

A Regiment of Roars!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 December 1941 (USA)

Also Known As:

Schrecken der zweiten Kompanie

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Listed in the Guinness Book of Records for many years for containing the single longest on-screen kiss, between Jane Wyman and Regis Toomey.

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Quotes

Supply Man: Hats: What size, buddy?
Breezy Jones: Seven-and-two-eighths
Supply Man: Hats: Seven-and-two-eh-uh... Seven-and-a-quarter.

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Connections

Referenced in Kids in America (2005)

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Soundtracks

"You're in the Army Now"
(uncredited)
Traditional
Played during the opening credits and occasionally in the score

User Reviews

Try Making Abbott&Costello Work With Two Comics

Released on Christmas Day in 1941, You're In The Army Now is a marvelous opportunity to see a pair of comedic greats Jimmy Durante and Phil Silvers teaming up in an obvious attempt by Warner Brothers to cash in on the success Universal was having with Abbott&Costello in Buck Privates. Even some of the routines that Durante and Silvers use are straight from the A&C play-book.

The subplot of the film involves stubborn old cavalry colonel Donald MacBride not wanting to convert to a mechanized army to the distress of daughter Jane Wyman and her fiancé Regis Toomey. That's the way it is with some military folks, slow to adapt to change.

The Durante and Silvers styles clash and with good reason, try making Abbott&Costello work with two comics. Of the two of them, Silvers is strangely subdued for him. Nevertheless they do have some really funny bits and the climax involving MacBride's house is absolutely hysterical.

Next to Edgar Kennedy no one had a better slow burn going in films than Donald MacBride. He had a marvelously expressive face and his reactions to Durante and Silvers are sometimes funnier than the two comedians themselves.

You're In The Army Now is a curious piece of nostalgia with a once in a lifetime opportunity to see two comic legends together.