Advance to the Rear (1964)

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	...	Captain Jared Heath
Stella Stevens	...	Martha Lou Williams
Melvyn Douglas	...	Colonel Claude Brackenbury
Jim Backus	...	General Willoughby
Joan Blondell	...	Easy Jenny
Andrew Prine	...	Private Owen Selous
Jesse Pearson	...	Corporal Silas Geary
Alan Hale Jr.	...	Sergeant Beauregard Davis
James Griffith	...	Hugo Zattig
Whit Bissell	...	Captain Queeg
Michael Pate	...	Thin Elk
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Reginald Denny	...	(scenes deleted)

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: All right. Let's say, just for the moment, that I am a spy.
Heath: A very pretty one too.
Martha Lou: That would make us enemies, Jared.
Heath: Yeah, of course it would. And, we'd be starting out at a point in marriage that takes some couples, twenty or thirty years to achieve.

Soundtrack:

Anything Love Can Buy

A Rare Gem OF A Movie

It is impossible to see this film and not find it intelligently hilarious. You will laugh your way through it and never once feel your time has been wasted. The premise is simple and, in an odd way, that may in fact be it's strength.

During the last days of the Civil War, a contingent of Union soldiers, have made an uneasy accommodation with their Confederate counterparts stationed a few miles away. Every day at a certain time, each side fires a round of cannon fire at the other, timed to a deliberate miss. The aim of both sides is to, hopefully, last out the war in this manner: reasonably safe and secure.

This arrangement works quite well, until a brash headstrong Union Captain (played well by Glenn Ford)decides,on his own, to go out and capture a few of the "enemy". This of course forces their equally reluctant "enemy" to retaliate.

Ford's Commander,(played with exquisite timing by veteran actor Melvyn Douglas) is horrified. "What have you done?" he shouts at him, "take them back! How many times have I instructed you not to show initiative?" From this point on, the humor escalates and never ceases.

Staffed by some of the most recognized character actors of the time, we are treated to a highly skilled portrayal of an incredibly believable assortment of military misfits. What makes them believable is that their characterizations are delivered with depth. And this, in a sense, makes them somewhat realistic and all the more funnier.

This high caliber B-film is well scripted and, to it's credit, is finally being recognized for the cinematic gem that it is. My advice to all film lovers is to seek out this almost forgotten treasure. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.