Caught in the Draft (1941)

A movie star who can't stand loud noises accidentally joins the Army.

Director:

David Butler

Writers:

Harry Tugend (original story), Harry Tugend (screenplay)

Stars:

Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Lynne Overman

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Bob Hope	...	Don Bolton
Dorothy Lamour	...	Antoinette 'Tony' Fairbanks
Lynne Overman	...	Steve Riggs
Eddie Bracken	...	Bert Sparks
Clarence Kolb	...	Col. Peter Fairbanks
Paul Hurst	...	Sgt. Burns
Ferike Boros	...	Yetta
Phyllis Ruth	...	Margie
Irving Bacon	...	Cogswell
Arthur Loft	...	Movie director
Edgar Dearing	...	Recruiting Sergeant
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Heinie Conklin	...	Sign Hanger (scenes deleted)
Phyllis Kennedy	...	Susan (scenes deleted)

Storyline

Don Bolton is a movie star who can't stand loud noises. To evade the draft, he decides to get married...but falls for a colonel's daughter. By mistake, he and his two cronies enlist. In basic training, Don hopes to make a good impression on the fair Antoinette and her father, but his military career is largely slapstick. Will he ever get his corporal's stripes?

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Plot Keywords:

movie star | colonel | military | army | covered in mud | 

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Taglines:

THE BIG LAUGH BLITZ OF 1941! (original print media ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 July 1941 (USA)

Also Known As:

El cabo raso

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since. It was released on DVD 8 October 2002 in tandem with Give Me a Sailor (1938) as part of the Bob Hope Tribute Collection.

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Quotes

Bert: I went out with a girl once that told me to go jump in the lake... When I got back, she was gone.

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Connections

Referenced in Lights Fantastic (1942)

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Soundtracks

LOVE ME AS I AM
Written by Louis Alter, lyrics Frank Loesser
Credited but used only as instrumental

User Reviews

SCARCELY A TRACE OF WIT

Not even Bob Hope, escorted by a raft of fine character actors, can save this poorly written attempt at wartime comedy, as his patented timing has little which which to work. The plot involves a Hollywood film star named Don Bolton (Hope), and his attempt to evade military service at the beginning of World War II, followed by his enlistment by mistake in a confused attempt to court a colonel's daughter (Dorothy Lamour). Bolton's agent, played by Lynne Overman, and his assistant, portrayed by Eddie Bracken, enlist with him and the three are involved in various escapades regarding training exercises, filmed in the Malibu, California, hills. Paramount budgeted handsomely for this effort, employing some of its top specialists, but direction by the usually reliable David Butler was flaccid, and this must be attributed to a missing comedic element in the scenario. A shift toward the end of the film to create an opportunity for heroism by Bolton is still-born with poor stunt work and camera action in evidence. Oddly, Lynne Overman is given the best lines and this veteran master of the sneer does very well by them. Dorothy Lamour looks lovely and acts nicely, as well, and it is ever a delight to see and hear Clarence Kolb, as her father, whose voice is unique on screen or radio, but there is little they can do to save this film, cursed as it is with an error in script assignment.