When Willie Comes Marching Home (1950)

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

Sy Gomberg (story)
Richard Sale (writer)

Release Date:

February 1950 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | War

Plot:

Willie Kluggs enters the service with hopes of going overseas, but his uncanny marksmanship keeps him at home as a shooting instructor... much to his embarrassment.

Plot Keywords:

Embarrassment | Pentagon | Nazi | London England | Rocket

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Dan Dailey	...	William 'Bill' Kluggs
Corinne Calvet	...	Yvonne Le Tete
Colleen Townsend	...	Marjorie 'Marge' Fettles
William Demarest	...	Herman Kluggs
Jimmy Lydon	...	Charles 'Charlie' Fettles (as James Lydon)
Lloyd Corrigan	...	Maj. Adams
Evelyn Varden	...	Mrs. Gertrude Kluggs
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Mitchum	...	Schreves (scenes deleted)
Paul Picerni	...	Kerrigan (scenes deleted)

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | USA:Approved (PCA #13928) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Conejo Valley, Thousand Oaks, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

June Haver declined to play the role of Marge Fettles. In response, Twentieth Century-Fox placed Miss Haver on suspension.

Goofs:

Continuity: Willie goes in to see Col. Butterworth about a transfer in the late evening, and when he goes into the office, rear projection shows it's daylight outside.

Quotes:

William 'Bill' Kluggs: Somehow that stop-off at Loring Field began to stretch out like a visiting mother-in-law.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in MASH (1970)

Soundtrack:

The Army Air Corps Song

Misfired comedy attempt loses impact due to sour premise

With John Ford at the helm, one expected a quality piece, but this one is very disappointing. Ford, after all, was not a master at comedic direction. The premise is that Dan Dailey plays a home town lug, who volunteers for the service at the outbreak of war and is then stationed in his hometown for the duration. All attempts to get in the action or even get a transfer are turned down because he is a master at teaching gunning and the Army doesn't want to lose him. He loses face and then becomes a paraiah for his fellow townspeople and finally his own family. He eventually gets a mission that brings back such top secret information he can't share it - and when he disobeys his order and does share it with his family, they don't believe it. His parents and the townsfolk come across as such nasty, stupid, pseudo-patriotic, brainless masses that one comes to hate them. Consequently the premise is NOT funny and the film is one big dud. Oddly enough it was Oscar nominated for Original Story, which I felt was undeserving. I don't believe this misfired attempt at a comedy deserved any recognition whatsoever. Dailey tries valiantly but can't save it. Only for those with insomnia.