When Willie Comes Marching Home (1950)

Willie Kluggs enters the service with hopes of going overseas, but his uncanny marksmanship keeps him at home as a shooting instructor... much to his embarrassment.

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

Sy Gomberg (story), Richard Sale,

Stars:

Dan Dailey, Corinne Calvet, Colleen Townsend

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Dan Dailey	...	William 'Bill' Kluggs
Corinne Calvet	...	Yvonne Le Tete
Colleen Townsend	...	Marjorie 'Marge' Fettles
William Demarest	...	Herman Kluggs
Jimmy Lydon	...	Charles 'Charlie' Fettles (as James Lydon)
Lloyd Corrigan	...	Maj. Adams
Evelyn Varden	...	Mrs. Gertrude Kluggs
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Mitchum	...	Schreves (scenes deleted)
Paul Picerni	...	Kerrigan (scenes deleted)

Storyline

When Willie leaves home to join the war effort he is all ready to become a hero, but he is only frustrated when his posting ends up to be in his home town, and he is recruited into training, keeping him from the action. However, when he finds himself accidently behind enemy lines he unexpectedly becomes a hero after all.

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Plot Keywords:

embarrassment | home front | gestapo | peeling potatoes | rocketry | 

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Genres:

Comedy | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

February 1950 (USA)

Also Known As:

O Azar de Um Valente

Filming Locations:

Conejo Valley, Thousand Oaks, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film debut of Vera Miles.

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Goofs

Willie goes in to see Col. Butterworth about a transfer in the late evening, and when he goes into the office, rear projection shows it's daylight outside.

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Quotes

William 'Bill' Kluggs: The War went on, and I didn't. They shipped soldiers east, and they shipped 'em west, but you'd have thought I had a long-term lease.

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Connections

Referenced in MASH (1970)

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Soundtracks

"The Whiffenpoof Song"
(uncredited)
Music by Tod B. Galloway
Played at the beginning of Charlie's welcome home party

User Reviews

Fair Ford

When Willie Comes Marching Home (1950)

** (out of 4)

John Ford's comedy about a man (Dan Dailey) who joins the Army to become a war hero but he ends up in the recruiting section back in his hometown, which gets the people there thinking he's a coward. I'm not sure what it is but these Ford comedies just aren't working for me. The whole idea is that the character is a very brave man but due to his placing, people thinks he's a coward. This one joke runs throughout the entire film and it just never made me laugh. I never got bored with the film but without any laughs there's really not much else going on. Dailey is very good in his role and keeps the film moving along. Colleen Townsend and William Demarest are also good as his parents. The film is a comedy but as expected Ford treats the war stuff very serious including during the opening when we hear about the attack of Pearl Harbor. This film shares a lot with Preston Sturges's Hail! The Conquering Hero but that film works a lot better. Vera Miles has her film debut here but I didn't spot her.