Attempts to categorize this film is a futile exercise. I've seen it referenced as a comedy-drama but attaching either connotation to it would be a disservice. It's probably best to call it a novelty film and leave it at that. Or perhaps Steve McQueen's own comment about the movie should serve as a guide - "I felt it was time to do something different. But the picture just didn't come together. I really don't know why, because all the right elements were there."
If you're talking about the principal players McQueen was certainly correct. You had Jackie Gleason and Tuesday Weld in lead roles along with the King of Cool, a distinguished director in Ralph Nelson, and producer Blake Edwards who co-wrote the screenplay. So what went wrong? To my mind, try as they might, it didn't look like McQueen and Gleason gelled very believably as a couple of Army buddy-buddies. McQueen in particular approached the comic aspect of his role in a very goofy manner, with the dopey looking checkered cap he wore and the oddball way he attempted to dance at the Army mixer. Just embarrassing.
If anything, I thought it was Gleason's performance that salvaged any respectability the film might have had. He handled a range of emotions in the story quite credibly, and delivered comedy in stride with his character; an especially effective scene was when he corroborated Sergeant Clay's (McQueen) 'scabosis' story with Lieutenant Magee (Tom Poston). As for Tuesday Weld's Bobby Jo, what's not to believe? A gorgeous eighteen year old high school senior alternately calling forty plus year old Gleason 'Fatty' and then hanging off his arm walking down the midway of the carnival. Yeah, I can buy that.
The thing is, I would really have liked to enjoy this movie but it was just a little too bizarre. Sort of like the gossamer quality of the cotton candy the Master Sergeant (Gleason) bought for Bobby Jo, he called it the stuff dreams are mad of. Bogie called the Maltese Falcon the same thing a couple decades earlier but there's no comparison.
You know, I couldn't help thinking what might have made the film for me. It was during the golf match when McQueen was getting ready to hit the ball; it should have been right there at the tip of his tongue. If he had only addressed the tee with 'Heloooo ball".
Note: The Steve McQueen quote is from the 2010 book by Marshall Terrill "Steve McQueen, The Life and Legend of a Hollywood Icon".
If you're talking about the principal players McQueen was certainly correct. You had Jackie Gleason and Tuesday Weld in lead roles along with the King of Cool, a distinguished director in Ralph Nelson, and producer Blake Edwards who co-wrote the screenplay. So what went wrong? To my mind, try as they might, it didn't look like McQueen and Gleason gelled very believably as a couple of Army buddy-buddies. McQueen in particular approached the comic aspect of his role in a very goofy manner, with the dopey looking checkered cap he wore and the oddball way he attempted to dance at the Army mixer. Just embarrassing.
If anything, I thought it was Gleason's performance that salvaged any respectability the film might have had. He handled a range of emotions in the story quite credibly, and delivered comedy in stride with his character; an especially effective scene was when he corroborated Sergeant Clay's (McQueen) 'scabosis' story with Lieutenant Magee (Tom Poston). As for Tuesday Weld's Bobby Jo, what's not to believe? A gorgeous eighteen year old high school senior alternately calling forty plus year old Gleason 'Fatty' and then hanging off his arm walking down the midway of the carnival. Yeah, I can buy that.
The thing is, I would really have liked to enjoy this movie but it was just a little too bizarre. Sort of like the gossamer quality of the cotton candy the Master Sergeant (Gleason) bought for Bobby Jo, he called it the stuff dreams are mad of. Bogie called the Maltese Falcon the same thing a couple decades earlier but there's no comparison.
You know, I couldn't help thinking what might have made the film for me. It was during the golf match when McQueen was getting ready to hit the ball; it should have been right there at the tip of his tongue. If he had only addressed the tee with 'Heloooo ball".
Note: The Steve McQueen quote is from the 2010 book by Marshall Terrill "Steve McQueen, The Life and Legend of a Hollywood Icon".