At War with the Army (1950)

Alvin Corwin is low man on the totem pole, and goes from one mishap to another at an army training camp in World War II.

Director:

Hal Walker

Writers:

James B. Allardice (based on a play by), Fred F. Finklehoffe (written for the screen by)

Stars:

Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Mike Kellin

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dean Martin	...	1st Sgt. Vic Puccinelli
Jerry Lewis	...	Pfc. Alvin Korwin
Mike Kellin	...	Sgt. McVey
Jimmie Dundee	...	Eddie
Dick Stabile	...	Pvt. Pokey
Tommy Farrell	...	Cpl. Clark
Frank Hyers	...	Cpl. Shaughnessy
Danny Dayton	...	Supply Sgt. Miller (as Dan Dayton)
William Mendrek	...	Capt. Ernest Caldwell
Kenneth Forbes	...	Lt. Davenport
Paul Livermore	...	Pvt. Jack Edwards
Ty Perry	...	Lt. Terray
Jean Ruth	...	Millie
Angela Greene	...	Mrs. Deborah Caldwell
Polly Bergen	...	Helen Palmer

Storyline

Alvin Corwin is low man on the totem pole, and goes from one mishap to another at an army training camp in World War II.

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Plot Keywords:

military | u.s. army | soldier | u.s. soldier | 20th century | 

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Taglines:

America's Funniest Guys Are GI's!

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 January 1951 (USA)

Also Known As:

El tonto del batallón

Filming Locations:

Corriganville, Ray Corrigan Ranch, Simi Valley, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fred F. Finklehoffe Productions, Screen Associates Inc., York Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

It was filmed from July through August 1949, and released on December 30, 1950 by Paramount. It was re-released in 1958 by OMAT Pictures.

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Goofs

You are supposed to "uncover" (take off your hat) when coming indoors.

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Quotes

Cpl. Clark: Ours is not to reason why. Ours but to do or die.
Millie: That's cute!

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Connections

References Going My Way (1944)

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Soundtracks

You and Your Beautiful Eyes
Lyrics by Mack David
Music by Jerry Livingston
Sung by Dean Martin and Polly Bergen

User Reviews

Great musical comedy, featuring Jerry Lewis at his slapstick best.

This is a fun WWII-era B&W movie, full of Jerry Lewis and his ridiculous goofiness! Featuring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis in their first collaboration, this film gave our family some wonderful laugh relief from our January, cabin-fever suffering.

Jerry is a hapless private and Dean is the bossy First Sergeant of a slipshod platoon at a stateside training base. Jerry and Dean were friends who grew up in the same neighborhood before Uncle Sam made GIs out of them. All of the stereotypical military comedy characters are present, including the loudmouth drill instructor, the conniving supply sergeant, the doting corporal and the bumbling, hen-pecked company commander.

Most of the action takes place in the orderly room, but our favorite scene involved Jerry singing a love song...I don't want to reveal any more details, but I think Jim Carrey may have studied acting by watching Jerry Lewis movies.

My kids liked this film more than (the original) "The Nutty Professor", because of its lighter tone. I rate this comedy "8" on a scale of 1 to 10, and highly recommend it!