At War with the Army (1950)

York Pictures Corp./ Paramount
Director: Hal Walker
Starring: Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis

One of show business’s greatest up-and-coming comedic duos of the late 40s and early 50s are finally featured in their first starring roles in 1950’s Paramount comedy At War with the Army. With Dean Martin as the smooth talking straight man with musical chops and the zany, slapstick deliveries of funnyman Jerry Lewis, the team debuts their first of a series of 14 films where they are the star attraction. In this military picture that spoofs army bureaucracy the two set a tone for their careers in Hollywood as a short-lived team before long lived solo acts.

 

At War with the Army is a musical comedy two friends adjusting to their different trajectories on an Army training base during World War II. Old friends and song and dance team Vic Puccinelli (Martin) and Alvin Korwin (Lewis) find their set of troubles with life at their stateside stationed Army training camp. Vic, a 1^st Sargent with a smooth singing voice, finds his desk job dull ever begging reassignment to overseas while juggling his various romantic interests. Alvin, just a Private First Class with a shrill voice and a knack for being overly clumsy, bumbles his way through duties and drilling, a nuisance when trying to find time for his friend. Much of the picture serve as vehicles to points of comedy, songs, dances, and routines with a loose plot that sees Vic and Alvin become jumbled in each other’s troubles. Vic avoids one old flame, Millie, while wooing another girl Helen, meanwhile Alvin seeks permission to go home to visit his wife who recently gave birth. Mistruths and confusion surround interactions with their superiors leading to antics conclusing with Vic being demoted and the entire unit is to be shipped out, but Alvin is their to still be a good friend.

 

The picture is a simple humorous comedy that serves little more than a vehicle to showcase the rising talents of Martin and Lewis for motion picture audiences as they began their venture into the movie stardom. Established is the style that would make the team so successful. Martin provides the straight character of the team, a smooth-talking lady’s man with charisma that contrasts the goody antics of Jerry Lewis who provides a zany rambunctiousness to the feature with his slapstick physical humor and piercing toned voice that he made into a trademark of many of his acts. The overall plot largely takes a backseat to the two stars and their talents as the picture features songs sung by Martin, a hilarious scene with Lewis dressed in drag, the two together showcasing their dancing skills, and notably a rather good homage to the 1944 Best Picture winner Going My Way with Martin playing Bing Crosby and Lewis performing a wonderful Barry Fitzgerald impersonation.

 

Martin and Lewis came to fame initially for their nightclub act and eventual radio and early television show appearances that began delivering their brad of entertainment to homes across the country. Sought for possible movie deals the team eventually signed with Paramount with an agreement to produce films separately from the studio once a year under their own company banner, York Pictures. First featured in the 1949 comedy My Friend Irma where they provided comedic relief the two began work on At War with the Army as their first starring vehicle under York Pictures. Based on a play of the same name adapted for the screen the script was fleshed out with added scenes to showcase the teams brand of entertainment more as they looked to display more their talents to audiences in movie theaters.

 

Directed by Hal Walker who had experience with comedy duos in Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, this feature as a first for Martin and Lewis is clearly less flashy in production value with its humble $500,000 budget. Generally not flashy, most of the picture takes place within the army offices where Vic’s desk is situated along with other simple sets. Play holdover players Mike Kellin and Kenneth Forbes helped provide the residual energy of the original play as they predicted two supporting Army members Sgt. McVey and 2^nd Lt. Davenport respectfully. A number of female supporting characters line the cast including Jean Ruth as Millie, the old flame Vic attempts to avoid, Polly Bergen as Helen, Vic’s current stunningly beautiful love interest, and Angela Greene as the wife of a Captain that proves to have a better handle of the military than the men do.

 

Shot in late 1949, At War with the Army was held back in release awaiting production and release of My Friend Irma Goes West (1950), the sequel to My Friend Irma which they were first featured in and Paramount hopped to make more money on. At War with the Army premiered New Year’s Eve 1950 to good reviews and generous box office numbers inn 1951 considering the budget for the picture. Under Martin and Lewis’ contract provisos they forgone most of their salary for the picture in exchange for 90% of the profits which would have made them a large amount of money, but the team would soon find themselves in a legal battle over their contracts with Paramount over profits and distribution. Years later would see a change in the team’s contract, keeping future projects under the studio and limiting their profits.

 

Martin and Lewis were now movie stars aside from night club, radio, and television personalities, making them one the biggest acts in the business and thanks to their manager, one of the most profitable, and in control of their product. Despite all the success the team would only be together until 1956 when they split over creative differences and wanting to break away from what they considered a tiring product together, setting the two men for easily much richer careers as solo acts. Martin and Lewis were now on their way to stardom. The two men found their way into nearly every corner of show business and they owed it to each other, and as for the movies it started right hear in a silly military comedy.