Privileged college student Andy Shaeffer is a mama's boy who flunks out of school and is drafted by the army where he becomes a real man, to the astonishment of everyone.Privileged college student Andy Shaeffer is a mama's boy who flunks out of school and is drafted by the army where he becomes a real man, to the astonishment of everyone.Privileged college student Andy Shaeffer is a mama's boy who flunks out of school and is drafted by the army where he becomes a real man, to the astonishment of everyone.
- Congressman Hardison
- (as Wilfred Knapp)
- Young Boy
- (uncredited)
- Taxi Driver
- (uncredited)
- Football Game Announcer
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- Guy Trosper
- Marion Hargrove(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaNatalie Wood had originally intended to attend the 1956 Academy Awards with Raymond Burr as her date. Warner Brothers, however, felt that Wood's perceived involvement with a much older man appeared unseemly. The studio instead forced her to attend the ceremony with her co-star in this film, Tab Hunter.
- GoofsIt is not an error that several of the soldiers seen in this film are wearing other unit patches on their right sleeves. They are all wearing the 5th Infantry diamond on their left sleeve. A soldier's current unit is always worn on the left sleeve. Those soldiers who are combat veterans are authorized to permanently wear the unit patch of the unit they fought with on their right shoulder. So all those patches on the right sleeves represent units those men served in during World War II or Korea.
- Quotes
Mrs. Madeline Shaeffer: I'm here to see my son.
Military Policeman: Yes, ma'am. What outfit is he in?
Mrs. Madeline Shaeffer: Outfit? I suppose just the regular thing a soldier wears.
Military Policeman: I mean what company is he in ma'am?
Mrs. Madeline Shaeffer: Well, only the best, I'm sure. He was never a boy to run around.
- Crazy creditsAfter the opening credits: " To the United States Army...and its famous Fifth Infantry Division at Ford Ord, California...whose generous and effective cooperation made this motion picture possible...And to the future young soldiers of America...Greetings!"
- ConnectionsFeatured in I Am Divine (2013)
- SoundtracksHoney-Babe
(uncredited)
Music by Max Steiner
Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
Sung by the soldiers while marching
For about a ten-year period from the smash-hit Mr. Roberts (1955) to the deepening involvement in Vietnam, Hollywood produced a spate of service comedies, including this one. These were movies trading on the lighter side of military service. They existed in what might be called the triumphant after-glow of WWII, and perhaps as a way of further forgetting that awkward war in Korea. Of course, Hollywood being Hollywood, liberties with real military service were taken, sometimes in wholesale lots. Nonetheless, comedies like Mr. Roberts, Operation Mad Ball (1957), Operation Petticoat (1959) were genuinely funny and harmless entertainment unless taken seriously.
Few people, I expect, remember this entry and for good reason—it's not even amusing, let alone funny. Which means for one thing that folks familiar with Basic Training are not apt to overlook the many liberties taken, as other reviewers detail. Clearly, Warner Bros. intended the movie as a vehicle for its younger players, probably hoping for chemistry between Hunter and Wood. And that's the trouble. Hunter simply lacks the skills for what's actually a rather difficult role. Shaeffer needs to be not just arrogant, but also likable at some level. Unfortunately, Hunter's Pvt. Shaeffer is just obnoxious without the redeeming qualities that a Jack Lemmon or a Tony Curtis, for example, could have managed. And since Hunter's miscasting is in about every scene, the movie is more unpleasant than anything else.
Wood's role as the girlfriend is clearly secondary to Hunter's, and one most any young actress less talented could have handled. But at least, the movie's a payday for such fine supporting players as Jones, Janssen, and especially the arch Murray Hamilton whose platoon sergeant is made to suffer indignities from a trainee no real sergeant would put up with. I'm just sorry Jim Garner wasn't young enough to bring his superb light-comedy skills to the lead role. Then the movie might have worked.
- dougdoepke
- Jul 3, 2010
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Marion Hargrove's the Girl He Left Behind
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 43 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1