At War with the Army (1950)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Hal Walker

Writers:

James B. Allardice (play)
Fred F. Finklehoffe (screenplay)

Release Date:

13 December 1950 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance | War

Tagline:

THE FUNNIEST PICTURE EVER! (re-release print ad - all caps)

Plot:

Alvin Corwin is low man on the totem pole, and goes from one mishap to another at an army training camp in World War II. |

Plot Keywords:

Cross Dressing | Army Life | Beautiful Woman | Based On Play

Cast

Dean Martin	...	1st Sgt. Vic Puccinelli
Jerry Lewis	...	Pfc. Alvin Korwin
Mike Kellin	...	Sgt. McVey
Jimmie Dundee	...	Eddie
Dick Stabile	...	Pvt. Pokey
Tommy Farrell	...	Cpl. Clark
Frank Hyers	...	Cpl. Shaughnessy
Danny Dayton	...	Supply Sgt. Miller (as Dan Dayton)
William Mendrek	...	Capt. Ernest Caldwell
Kenneth Forbes	...	Lt. Davenport
Paul Livermore	...	Pvt. Jack Edwards
Ty Perry	...	Lt. Terray
Jean Ruth	...	Millie
Angela Greene	...	Mrs. Deborah Caldwell
Polly Bergen	...	Helen Palmer

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Corriganville, Ray Corrigan Ranch, Simi Valley, California, USA

Company:

Fred F. Finklehoffe Productions

Trivia:

Danny Dayton's film debut.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where Sgt. McVay is checking for dust, he wipes his dirty fingers on Corwin's shirt, leaving a dirty smudge. On the next shot, Corwin's shirt is clean again.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Martin and Lewis (2002) (TV)

Soundtrack:

You and Your Beautiful Eyes

Great musical comedy, featuring Jerry Lewis at his slapstick best.

This is a fun WWII-era B&W movie, full of Jerry Lewis and his ridiculous goofiness! Featuring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis in their first collaboration, this film gave our family some wonderful laugh relief from our January, cabin-fever suffering.

Jerry is a hapless private and Dean is the bossy First Sergeant of a slipshod platoon at a stateside training base. Jerry and Dean were friends who grew up in the same neighborhood before Uncle Sam made GIs out of them. All of the stereotypical military comedy characters are present, including the loudmouth drill instructor, the conniving supply sergeant, the doting corporal and the bumbling, hen-pecked company commander.

Most of the action takes place in the orderly room, but our favorite scene involved Jerry singing a love song...I don't want to reveal any more details, but I think Jim Carrey may have studied acting by watching Jerry Lewis movies.

My kids liked this film more than (the original) "The Nutty Professor", because of its lighter tone. I rate this comedy "8" on a scale of 1 to 10, and highly recommend it!