No Time for Sergeants (1958)

Will Stockdale is a country bumpkin drafted into the Air Force and too dumb to realize he's driving everyone around him crazy -- no one more than Sgt. King.

Director:

Mervyn LeRoy

Writers:

John Lee Mahin (screenplay), Ira Levin (play),

Stars:

Andy Griffith, Myron McCormick, Nick Adams

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Andy Griffith	...	Pvt. Will Stockdale
Myron McCormick	...	Sgt. Orville C. King
Nick Adams	...	Pvt. Ben Whitledge
Murray Hamilton	...	Irving S. Blanchard
Howard Smith	...	Maj. Gen. Eugene Bush
Will Hutchins	...	Lt. George Bridges
Sydney Smith	...	Maj. Gen. Vernon Pollard
James Millhollin	...	Maj. Royal B. Demming (as James Milhollan)
Don Knotts	...	Cpl. John C. Brown
Jean Willes	...	WAF Captain
Bartlett Robinson	...	Captain
Henry McCann	...	Lt. Cover
Dub Taylor	...	McKinney
William Fawcett	...	Pa Stockdale
Raymond Bailey	...	Base Colonel

Storyline

Hillbilly, Will Stockdale, drafted into the United States' Air Force, combines crushing naivety, stubbornness, a completely literal mind, and amazing physical strength. Will the Air Force survive all the numerous experiences?

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Plot Keywords:

sergeant | military | draftee | hillbilly | barracks | 

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Taglines:

The funniest play and happiest best-seller is even funnier on the screen!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 June 1958 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Blindgänger der Kompanie

Filming Locations:

Stage 14, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The stage production of "No Time for Sergeants" by Ira Levin opened at the Alvin Theater in New York on Thursday, October 20th, 1955 and ran for 796 performances. Andy Griffith received a 1956 Tony Award nomination for Best Actor.

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Goofs

The movie has Will and Ben being drafted into the Air Force and seeking transfer into the Army infantry. At the time the movie was made, by law draftees were automatically assigned to the Army for two years (e.g., Elvis); the Air Force has never had to use the draft since it became a separate branch of the service in 1947. The original novel and play that the movie is based on did have Will drafted into the Army during WW II and seeking to transfer to what was then the Army Air Corps, but the film was set in 1958, when interservice transfers were no longer being done.

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Quotes

[Will and Ben have made it back to the base and see the troops massed on the field]
Will Stockdale: How 'bout that. It's some kind of real big ceremony.
Benjamin B. Whitledge: Look... the flag - it's at half-mast. It's a funeral ceremony, that's what it is! Lt. Bridges and them others they didn't get out of the plane. Now we got that on our heads, too.
Will Stockdale: Aw, now, Ben, they warn't so easy-going they wouldn't know they was on fire!

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Crazy Credits

During a ceremony to Will Stockdale and Benjamin Whitledge, a radio announcer mentions Operation Prometheus, (that Will Stockdale jumped out of and pulled Ben Whitledge out with him, to parachute to the ground) mentions privates Stockdale and Whitledge's names. Stockdale and Whitledge (in unison) each ask saying their last-name Stockdale and Whitledge? The radio announcer answers back "Yes, Stockdale and Whitledge."

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Connections

Referenced in One for the Fire: The Legacy of 'Night of the Living Dead' (2008)

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Soundtracks

"I Love a Parade"
(uncredited)
Music by Harold Arlen
First tune played on the radio in the woods

User Reviews

Country Boy takes on USAF

In rebuttal to "Helpless Dancer" of Oklahoma, I would gently point out that the movie IS SUPPOSED to be about a country bumpkin, a very unworldly person who makes his way through the "modern" technically-oriented Air Force. Yes, he does have the comprehension of a barnyard rooster - that's the main gag of the character!! It isn't supposed to represent the president of the high school rocket club.. This movie was a good vehicle for Andy Griffith playing up his "professional country boy" persona. The standout performance for me, however, was Myron McCormick as the Sergeant - what a masterly performance of the exasperated professional Air Force versus the seemingly unbeatable reverse logic of Andy Griffith. McCormick really pulled the movie together for me, taking the role way above a typical sergeant-private adversarial relationship. No, it's not Citizen Kane, nor is it meant to be. It's a fun movie with lots of great characters. Just enjoy it for what it's supposed to be.