Mr. Winkle Goes to War

If you're looking for a typical Edward G. Robinson movie, you need to rent Mr. Winkle Goes to War. Yes, he got his start as a gangster, but he quickly mellowed into a likable guy always trying to improve himself, and some way or other, life spoils his plans. He just tugs at your heart, and in almost every one of his movies, I find myself opening my arms and wanting to give the television a hug.

Eddie starts the movie as a lowly banker, henpecked by his boss and his wife, who takes a bravery pill and quits his job. Following his true passion, he decides to open up a fix-it shop in his garage with Ted Donaldson, a little orphan boy he's bonded with. His wife, Ruth Warrick is livid, but Ted encourages him to follow his dreams. Then, when he gets drafted, all his dreams are put on hold.

Edward G. Robinson gives a wonderful performance, as usual, in this charming comedy-drama. One of my favorite scenes is when he goes through his physical examination. He thinks he'll be excused from the draft board, so he doesn't really take it seriously, then when he's selected, his face shows how serious the situation really is. This isn't your typical war movie, so if you're looking for one of those, you have hundreds of others to choose from. If you're just looking to "Awww!" your way through an Edward G. Robinson movie, look no further than Mr. Winkle Goes to War.

This picked on banker goes and get's drafted. He is always taking pills for some ailment, but once he goes into training with the Army, he's a changed man. The movie moves along very nicely. You see the change in him....slowly but at the right moments he emerges a stronger person and a hero. I'm sorry to say that this movie has been hidden and should be brought back. Very inspirational to say the least. Mr. Winkle is an excellent movie and should be viewed by all. His wife played by Ruth Warick, who recently passed away, plays a sympathetic wife and very loving. She feels her husband's pain while at the bank. She is extremely proud when he returns victorious and a changed man. Must see!

I'll watch any movie Edward G. Robinson did and i think he's a better actor than James Cagney. This one casts him as a guy who is always being told what to do and in the first scene of the movie he walks up to the manager of the bank and tells him he wants to quit, to everyone's surprise. His wife hates this idea and Robinson wants to run a business just fixing things. He then gets a letter telling him that he is drafted. He doesn't think he will be because he's 44 years old and out of shape. To his surprise and everyone else's, he is drafted. During basic training, they pull him out to have a desk job. Robinson doesn't like it and wants to be put back and be able to work as mechanic. He is sent overseas and is very close to the fighting. I've never really heard much about this movie and i didn't even see Robert Mitchum in this movie.

In the early 1940s, Hollywood made a lot of positive propaganda films in order to encourage Americans to get behind the war effort. Many of them were far from realistic (such as this film) but were also very entertaining and did a lot to boost spirits (again, like this film). Provided you view the film in this context, it's a dandy little picture and an interesting curio.

Edward G. Robinson plays the title character--a decent but decidedly mild-mannered man who works at a bank. One day, out of the blue, he quits his job to open a "fix-it" shop--much to the surprise of his wife and boss! However, despite these grand plans of being his own boss, shortly after this he receives his draft notice. Considering that Robinson was a dumpy middle-aged man, everyone assumed this was just a mistake. However, despite the complete improbability of it all, he does pass the physical and is taken into the army! Now of course, you MUST suspend disbelief here--as Robinson has "4-F" written all over him (in other words, he is unfit for active duty). Despite the impossibility of it all, Robinson works his butt off and actually succeeds in becoming a soldier--even though his sergeant tries to get him a desk job. Robinson wants no part of a desk job (that was why he quit his job at the bank after all).

What exactly happens next, you'll have to see for yourself. However, this is a rather silly film that still manages to be quite entertaining. Now if you think the idea of Robinson in the military, it could be a lot more ridiculous. In GREAT GUNS, Laurel and Hardy join the army! Even though they were about the same age as Robinson (in their early 50s), Ollie weighs in at about 350 pounds and Stan looks very old and worn. In MR. WINKLE, Robinson is supposed to be 43 and he is able to carry that off reasonably well.

No one could play both snarling gangster and mild-mannered, henpecked husband as adeptly as Edward .G Robinson, and in this likeable war movie he's the latter. He's a bank clerk who gets the chance to realise his dream of working with his hands when he's inducted into the army during WWII, and becomes a war hero in the process. The material is slight, but Robinson carries it off with style.