Advance to the Rear (1964)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

George Marshall

Writers:

William Bowers (writer)
Robert Carson (writer)

Release Date:

1964 (Italy)

Genre:

Comedy | War | Western

Tagline:

You've heard of the Victors...Now see the Losers!!!!

Plot:

A Union army outfit of misfits and rejects is sent to the Western territory. Southern spies try to figure out what they're up to. |

Plot Keywords:

Spy | Slapstick | Civil War | Beautiful Woman | Based On Novel

Cast

Glenn Ford	...	Capt. Jared Heath
Stella Stevens	...	Martha Lou Williams
Melvyn Douglas	...	Col. Claude Brackenbury
Jim Backus	...	Gen. Willoughby
Joan Blondell	...	Easy Jenny
Andrew Prine	...	Pvt. Owen Selous
Jesse Pearson	...	Cpl. Silas Geary
Alan Hale Jr.	...	Sgt. Beauregard Davis
James Griffith	...	Hugo Zattig
Whit Bissell	...	Capt. Queeg
Michael Pate	...	Thin Elk

Also Known As:

Company of Cowards? (UK)

Runtime:

100 min | Canada:97 min (Ontario)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

West Germany:6 | Finland:K-7 (new rating: 2001) | France:U | Australia:PG | Finland:K-8 | Sweden:11 | USA:Approved (PCA #20551) | Argentina:Atp | Canada:G (Ontario)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

According to "Gilligan's Island" (1964) creator Sherwood Schwartz, he was having trouble casting the right actor for the part of the Skipper. Several had auditioned (including Carroll O'Connor) but Schwartz couldn't find the right guy. While he was having dinner in a Hollywood restaurant, he noticed Alan Hale Jr. dressed in a Civil War uniform, having dinner. Schwartz liked what he saw in Hale and began planning on casting him for the Skipper.

Quotes:

Martha Lou: Well aren't you something? First you break into my cabin with that disgusting display of animal lust. Then you accuse me of being a spy. And now all of a sudden, I'm the only girl in the world for you.
Heath: Well that's the way it goes sometimes.

Soundtrack:

Whistlin' Dixie

A B-movie masterpiece

I saw this movie in the basement movie studio of Ytterboe Hall (my freshman college dorm -- alas now only a memory) when it came out 37 years ago. After I got married and settled down, I started scanning the television listings regularly for it. After 20 years, one of the channels started showing it in the wee hours so I managed to tape it. 'Advance To The Rear' is a rare gem.

This movie was made during the short but glorious window of cultural innocence (between R & B and the Rolling Stones) when folk music was as popular as rock. The music is by Randy Sparks and sung by his New Christy Minstrals. The song 'Today' is from this movie.

Stella Stevens, as the Confederate spy, is gorgeous beyond description. Glen Ford plays the bemused hero trying to do things by the book admidst a collection of misfits ('We're a company of cowards and we've come to save the day.'). Jim Backus ('Gilligan's Island' and the voice of Mr. Magoo) leads a familiar cast of veteran supporting actors and actresses of the era. Did I mention that Stella Stevens is good looking?

'Advance To The Rear' is a B-movie masterpiece. One of those rare examples of everything coming together perfectly. For those of us who remember the era, it is also very evocative -- perhaps more so than any other movie of its time. It would be nice if whoever has the rights would release it, my VHS tape is getting a little flaky. By the way, they made an LP of the sound track. Now that be a major garage sale find.