Saturday, April 7, 2018

A Quick Look: AT WAR WITH THE ARMY (1950)


   Like most comedy teams who came from the stage, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis were subject to a bit of experimentation when writers tried to adapt them to the big screen. AT WAR WITH THE ARMY was a service comedy based on a popular stage play, and Dean and Jerry were tossed into a show which really didn't have a headline star or act. As result, Dean and Jerry actually have few scenes together of the type we're all familiar with. With his zany antics, the film seems to favor Jerry and gives him several solo scenes. There's actually not much plot here, as it's more just a series of Army-related scenes played for laughs. One subplot involves a G.I. discovering his girl is That Way and framing Jerry as the father. Honestly, I need to see it again, but one gag that has always stuck with me involves an early scene where the schedule is being made out for the next morning and it keeps getting stretched earlier and earlier on account of several incidental details. The film has since fallen into public domain, and thus was issued on numerous tapes of varying quality. The best print I ever ran across was actually broadcast on TCM.

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