Alma de roca

I am a Sergeant in the US Army who has had ten years experience on active duty and six years in the National Guard, I also served in Operation Desert Storm. I think I am in a better position to review this film then many others have done. Jack Webb always wanted realism in his films and television shows. He made The DI between the Dragnet series that he did and it is an excellent film that has not aged at all. It is as tough-hitting and realistic as ever. Maybe Jack isn't as good as Louis Gosset or Lee Ermey was in his portrayal of a Marine drill instructor, but he is damn close I can tell you! Maybe people think that drill sergeants are so mean, but I can tell you from my experience that they HAVE to be that way! You don't train young Marines or soldiers effectively by being kind. You have to get in their face and let them know that its all business. You tear them down and build them up all over again. That is the purpose of military training that they show in this film. The year before this film was made, on April 8, 1956 as a matter of fact, a Marine drill instructor marched his platoon into Ribbon Creek swamp at Parris Island as punishment. There was an unexpected storm and tidal wave and six Marines drowned as a result. This black mark on The Marine Corps resulted in a very negative thing. They have made military training far TOO easy as a result. Did you know that today drill sergeants are not even allowed to swear at privates when they do something dumb! They are not allowed to touch them and its like they have made basic training like a girl scout summer camp! I hated Private Owens because he reminded me of a lot of soldiers I have known in my career that were just babies who had been passed thru training and would have been killed on day 1 in combat!

Jack Webb does a big career departure--playing a tough as nails drill instructor in the US Marine Corps. While he does a very credible job in this role, I just marveled because I kept thinking of his as his more familiar character, Joe Friday! Webb is having two difficulties in the film. The most obvious is a cadet named Owens (Don Dubbins--who frequently guest starred on "Dragnet")--who seems emotionally unfit and unlikely to make it out of boot camp. His other problem is struggling with being a human being. His tough as nails approach to life is a serious drawback when it comes to real relationships--and he treats women almost like recruits! Why Annie (his real-life wife, Jackie Loughery) likes him is beyond me--perhaps she likes a fixer-upper--and this sergeant needs a lot of work.

The film apparently is very accurate about boot camp and D.I.s--though I have no direct experience to know if this is or isn't the case. I do know, however, that it IS entertaining. And, the story of Private Owens is compelling--especially when his mother (Virginia Gregg--a VERY familiar actress in Jack Webb's productions) comes to visit--and is probably the best part of the film. Well worth watching.

By the way, if you ever get a chance, there's an interesting biography about Jack Webb. You learn that, in some ways, Webb was a lot like the guy in this film as well as Sgt. Friday from "Dragnet"--a guy who struggled to be able to relate to people and seemed very ill at ease with feelings. Kind of sad...though a terrific actor/producer/director.

Of course I'm a bit prejudiced but for the time it was the most accurate portrayal of Marines ever shown on the big screen.

I was at Camp Pendleton undergoing infantry training when Webb brought his crew down to film some outdoor scenes and our company was asked to participate. It took about two or three days as best I can recall.

Webb and Don Dubbins were serious and businesslike.

During the filming of our short scene--which seemed to take forever to an 18 year old--Webb was very conscientious about getting things (Marine things) right and he did a good job with one exception--that scene where a recruit was wearing sunglasses. Never happen for a host of reasons.

I have a video of the movie and will bore my grandkids anytime I can make them sit still for a few seconds as I show them their Papaw when he was a young stud and part of the world's greatest fighting force (no brag, just fact).

What amazed me then was how well the real Marines carried out their acting roles. That was before I realized that DIs have to have some acting genes to get their job done.

The only film I've seen since that is the equal of the DI is the first half of Full Metal Jacket and that part is superior only because of the foul language. When the DI was made, cursing wasn't allowed on screen.

Despite the lack of profanity, it's still a great movie to rent.

Ooooo-rahhhhhh!!!!!

Semper Fi, Do or Die

Why is it Jack Webb gets no respect as a director? This film puts to death the myth that Webb was a one-trick ("Dragnet") pony. Marines then and now call "The D.I." the most accurate portrayal of boot camp training ever put on celluloid. It's also a marvelous character study, with gripping performances by both Webb and Don Dubbins. What makes it even more amazing is:

1) Only three of the men in this film were professional actors; Webb, Dubbins and Lin McCarthy, and Dubbins had been a Marine. All the others were actual Marines, and Webb elicted memorable performances from most of them.

2) It was shot in a breathtaking 23 days in March of 1957.

3) To make the summer release date requested by Warner Bros., Webb edited as he shot. By the time principal photography wrapped, he had two reels cut and scored.

Yet, Webb is laughed at as an actor, and dismissed as a director? See this film and ask yourself, WHY???

FACTOID: The film was based on a KRAFT TELEVISION THEATER presentation called "Murder of a Sand Flea." Lin McCarthy played the same role in both productions.

Jack Webb is riveting as a Marine Corp drill instructor in the D.I.. Webb play Sgt.Jim Moore, a tough but fair Marine whose job it is to prepare young teens for possible combat. No one could have played this role any better that Jack Webb. As a former Marine,I can assure that this is the most accurate film dealing with basic training in the Corp. Extremely entertaining!