Humor in uniform – on film

Bill Knight column for Thursday, Friday or Saturday, Oct. 19, 20 or 21

Ninety-six years ago this month the late Bill Mauldin was born, a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist who created infantrymen “Willie & Joe” during World War II, when soldiers and their families needed a laugh.

In 1951 it was made into the movie “Up Front,” starring Tom Ewell and David Wayne, continuing the military-comedy tradition dating to World War I. Other military humor is familiar, mostly in comic strips such as the long-running “Beetle Bailey and the current online strip “Delta Bravo Sierra,” but movies have been the most fun and familiar outlet.

The story: Someone who doesn’t belong in the military is there nevertheless. Superiors – whether drill instructors or top brass – are blustery dictators or buffoons who know less than the rank and file. The bureaucracy is a joke and demands on individuals ridiculous, but “little guys” (or gals) eventually prevail against the Big Shots.

Most classic comedians had at least one military comedy: Charlie Chaplin’s “Shoulder Arms,” Buster Keaton’s “The Dough Boys,” Laurel and Hardy’s “Blockheads,” Joe E. Brown’s “Sons of Guns,” the Marx Brothers’ “Duck Soup,” Phil Silvers’ “You're in the Army Now,” Martin and Lewis’s “Jumping Jacks” and Lewis alone in “Sad Sack,” and Abbott and Costello’s “Buck Privates.”

But military comedies aren't all from decades ago. More recent efforts include “1941,” “Biloxi Blues” and eight from the ’90s: “Down Periscope,” “Hot Shots!”, “Major Payne,” “McHale's Navy,” “Operation Dumbo Drop,” “Renaissance Man,” “Sgt. Bilko” and “Three Kings.”

            For now – when a lot of folks are in the military or have loved ones serving – here are 10 gems to screen online or video:

“Caught in The Draft” (1941). Bob Hope is a cowardly actor who tries to avoid the draft by marrying the daughter of a colonel. Predictably, he soon finds himself in basic training. Dorothy Lamour co-stars.

“Good Morning, Vietnam” (1987). Filmmaker Barry Levinson directed the late Robin Williams in this light drama with many hilarious scenes, based on the misadventures of airman/disc jockey Adrian Cronauer, who helped inject life into the snooze (and censored) military radio broadcasting in the mid-’60s. Its supporting case includes Forest Whitaker and Bruno Kirby. Williams’ performance was nominated for an Oscar.

“M*A*S*H” (1970). Director Robert Altman’s dark comedy showcases the everyday insanity of an Army medical unit during the Korean War, starring Elliot Gould and Donald Sutherland plus Sally Kellerman, Robert Duvall, Bud Cort and (yes, TV fans) Gary Burghoff. It won an Academy Award for Ring Lardner Jr.’s adaptation of Richard Hooker’s novel.

“Men Who Stare at Goats” (2009). The Pentagon’s secret New Earth Army, a group using paranormal powers in missions, is exposed. Jeff Bridges, George Clooney, Ewan McGregor and Kevin Spacey star. 

“Mister Roberts” (1955). Henry Fonda has the title role in the screen version of the hit Broadway play about a Navy supply ship far from World War II’s battle zones coping with the dehumanizing aspects of military life. Jimmy Cagney is a tyrannical commanding offcer, William Powell as the ship’s doctor, and Oscar-winning Jack Lemmon is an Everyman Ensign.

“Operation Petticoat” (1959). Cary Grant and Tony Curtis star in the tale of a dilapidated World War II sub that rescues a group of Navy nurses and endures the romantic entanglements that ensue.

“Private Benjamin” (1980). Goldie Hawn is a stereotypical “Jewish American princess” who’s widowed not long after getting married. Seeking escape, she enlists in the “new” Army after a recruiter’s doubletalk and has to deal with drill instructor Eileen Brennan.

“Stripes” (1982). Bill Murray stars as a guy who loses his job, car and girl the same day, and joins the Army with buddy Harold Ramis. Murray is side-splitting as the nutty enlistee who enlivens boot camp. But the picture is really two films in one (and the second half isn’t as good). Still, with a cast including Warren Oates, John Candy and John Laroquette, it’s funny.

“Tropic Thunder” (2008). More a behind-the-scenes glimpse of Hollywood, this riotous romp is set in a big-budget war movie where actors must become soldiers. It stars Ben Stiller, Jack Black, the wonderful Robert Downey Jr., and, in smaller roles, Nick Nolte, Matthew McConaughey, and Tom Cruise in a fun bit.

“The Wackiest Ship In The Army” (1960). Navy officer Jack Lemmon skippers a rattletrap ship assigned to escort an Australian operative through treacherous waters threatened by the Japanese Navy. Ricky Nelson co-stars.