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IMDbPro

Advance to the Rear

  • 19641964
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 40m
IMDb RATING
5.8/10
794
YOUR RATING
Jim Backus, Joan Blondell, Glenn Ford, Stella Stevens, and Melvyn Douglas in Advance to the Rear (1964)
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:59
1 Video
24 Photos
ComedyWarWestern
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.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.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.
IMDb RATING
5.8/10
794
YOUR RATING
    • George Marshall
  • Writers
    • Samuel A. Peeples(screen play)
    • William Bowers(screen play)
    • Jack Schaefer(story)
  • Stars
    • Glenn Ford
    • Stella Stevens
    • Melvyn Douglas
    • George Marshall
  • Writers
    • Samuel A. Peeples(screen play)
    • William Bowers(screen play)
    • Jack Schaefer(story)
  • Stars
    • Glenn Ford
    • Stella Stevens
    • Melvyn Douglas
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 19User reviews
    • 1Critic review
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Advance to the Rear
    Trailer 2:59
    Watch Advance to the Rear

    Photos24

    Glenn Ford and Stella Stevens in Advance to the Rear (1964)
    Glenn Ford and Stella Stevens in Advance to the Rear (1964)
    Glenn Ford in Advance to the Rear (1964)
    Joan Blondell and Glenn Ford in Advance to the Rear (1964)
    Stella Stevens and Melvyn Douglas in Advance to the Rear (1964)
    Glenn Ford and Stella Stevens in Advance to the Rear (1964)
    Glenn Ford, Stella Stevens, and Melvyn Douglas in Advance to the Rear (1964)
    Glenn Ford, Alan Hale Jr., and Jesse Pearson in Advance to the Rear (1964)
    Glenn Ford, Alan Hale Jr., and Stella Stevens in Advance to the Rear (1964)
    Glenn Ford and Melvyn Douglas in Advance to the Rear (1964)
    Glenn Ford and Melvyn Douglas in Advance to the Rear (1964)
    Stella Stevens in Advance to the Rear (1964)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Glenn Ford
    Glenn Ford
    • Capt. Jared Heath
    Stella Stevens
    Stella Stevens
    • Martha Lou Williams
    Melvyn Douglas
    Melvyn Douglas
    • Col. Claude Brackenbury
    Jim Backus
    Jim Backus
    • Gen. Willoughby
    Joan Blondell
    Joan Blondell
    • Easy Jenny
    Andrew Prine
    Andrew Prine
    • Pvt. Owen Selous
    Jesse Pearson
    Jesse Pearson
    • Cpl. Silas Geary
    Alan Hale Jr.
    Alan Hale Jr.
    • Sgt. Beauregard Davis
    • (as Alan Hale)
    James Griffith
    James Griffith
    • Hugo Zattig
    Whit Bissell
    Whit Bissell
    • Capt. Queeg
    Michael Pate
    Michael Pate
    • Thin Elk
    Richard Adams
    • Courier
    • (uncredited)
    Leon Alton
    Leon Alton
    • Waiter
    • (uncredited)
    Don Ames
    • Townsman
    • (uncredited)
    Robert Anderson
    Robert Anderson
    • Steamboat Captain
    • (uncredited)
    Ann Blake
    • Member of the Law & Order League
    • (uncredited)
    Danny Borzage
    • Trooper
    • (uncredited)
    John Bose
    John Bose
    • Townsman
    • (uncredited)
      • George Marshall
    • Writers
      • Samuel A. Peeples(screen play)
      • William Bowers(screen play)
      • Jack Schaefer(story)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The steamboat used in this movie was originally built and used as the Cotton Blossom, in MGM's Show Boat (1951). It was also used in Raintree County (1957) and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1960). In the 1970s, it was one of the props auctioned off by the studio.
    • Goofs
      In the scenes where the cannons fire 30 rounds, some of the cannons fire before their fuses are ignited.
    • 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.

    • Soundtracks
      Company of Cowards
      Written by Randy Sparks (uncredited)

      Performed by The New Christy Minstrels

    User reviews19

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    Ford scores another deadpan triumph
    Advance to the Rear is the last of a string of films that Glenn Ford made with director George Marshall. As an actor/director combination, they don't rate as high as John Wayne/John Ford or Robert DeNiro/Martin Scorsese, but they did turn out a succession of very funny films.

    Back at the beginning of Ford's career, Marshall directed him in Texas along with another young star Bill Holden. Than it was almost a decade until they worked together again in one of Ford's best and probably funniest film, The Sheepman.

    Ford had not done that much comedy up till then. Marshall took great advantage of Glenn Ford's really great gift for deadpanning some fabulous lines. They did five more films after that and Ford used him in his television series Cade's County. A good director/actor team turning out some great product.

    I think George Marshall's not been given his due. He was best at comedy, but could also turn out good westerns. His most noted film, Destry Rides Again is a great blend of both.

    Ford is a newly assigned lieutenant in a company that bears a striking resemblance to F Troop. Possibly this film was the inspiration for same. After a major snafu, they are assigned out in the west where it is hoped they cannot do too much damage to the Union cause.

    And then it's discovered they are to be protecting a major gold shipment that Confederate guerrilla James Griffith is out to steal. Ford has an additional complication in that he's fallen for Confederate spy Stella Stevens.

    You'll have a lot of laughs along the way in seeing if and how all these situations are dealt with. Another performance of note here is Melvyn Douglas as the commanding officer of the company. Douglas, two years past his Oscar for Hud, gets a real change of pace and he looks like he's having a ball playing the bumbling and pompous Colonel Brackenby.

    Watch this one and you're in for good afternoon's share of laughs.
    helpful•28
    1
    • bkoganbing
    • Jun 24, 2005

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 10, 1964 (Australia)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Janss Conejo Ranch, Thousand Oaks, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 40 minutes
      • Black and White

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    Jim Backus, Joan Blondell, Glenn Ford, Stella Stevens, and Melvyn Douglas in Advance to the Rear (1964)
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