Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys!

In other of Paul Newman's movie years, this one might have fared better, but alongside the Southern masterpieces Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and The Long Hot Summer, and the flawed but interesting Billy The Kid take The Left-Handed Gun, this sometimes amusing fluff just can't hold up. Good to see him paired with Woodward and taking a stab at screen comedy for the first time, but he never truly excelled at it until later in his career. Still, some nice bits and decent work survive. It's just impossible to see and compare these days, rarely if ever broadcast and unreleased to video to this day.

Leo McCarey, whose credits were certainly nothing to be ashamed of, was a bit past his prime when he directed this minor misfire. 20th Century Fox gave it first-class production values and a cast that could have had a lot more fun had a less cautious approach to the material been allowed to prevail. Leon Shamroy's CinemaScope/DeLuxe Color lensing was, not unexpectedly, a treat for the eyes and a few minor bits (Tuesday Weld squealing with delight as a swain sings "You're My Boojum!" to her; Joan Collins and Paul Newman engaging in an inebriated slapstick sequence that involved swinging from a chandelier, no less) hit the mark. I remember being disappointed that things didn't take off, like the accidentally fired missile in a scene with Woodward and Newman. But anyone who thinks that Joan Collins' only forte is playing a ruthless bitch, as she did on the long-running TV series, "Dynasty," would probably be delighted with her witty romp as Angela Hoffa, for me this film's memorable highpoint.

You've gotta feel sorry for Harry (Paul Newman) in "Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys!". His wife (Joanne Woodward) is ALWAYS busy with committees and projects and never has time for him. No sooner does he convince her to take out some time so they can go off to a romantic hotel than she agrees to head up yet another committee--one to fight a new army base coming to town! This time, she not only agrees to be the head but volunteers Harry for it as well! All Harry wants is to be with his wife....alone! At the same time, a VERY sexy neighbor (Joan Collins) is suffering from the same problem with her husband--a man who is practically never home. However, she deals with it very differently--she decides she wants Harry! And, she'll do ANYTHING to get him--even ruin his marriage. For a 1950s film, "Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys!" is an amazingly sexual film. Think about it--the premise is that Harry is very sexually frustrated through no fault of his own! And, again and again, his libido is unfulfilled.

So is this little comedy worth seeing? Yes. However, just because it has Newman and Woodward does NOT mean it's a great film--which it isn't. The film suffers from two main problems--the unfulfilled libido and the marital problems in Harry's marriage do seem to go on a bit too long. Additionally, I found it difficult to enjoy at times because Woodward's character is really difficult to like. Plus, towards the end it all just degenerates into a bit of a mess. Still, it's a cute film and a decent way to spend 106 minutes of your life provided your expectations are not especially high.

By the way, the pageant about Pocahontas was perhaps even more insanely inaccurate than the Disney film. Imagine--Pocahontas greeting the Pilgrims lead by John Smith at Plymouth!! Firecrackers! Crazy.

I read the reviews before watching it again after many years. Shocked, I was, to see that they weren't good. My plan was to see the movie and mount a spirited defense of it on this very site.

I can't. I like romantic comedies. I like comedies from this era. I even like bad movies if they are sincere. This movie just makes me uncomfortable.

Paul Newman, never one of my favorites, but a pretty decent actor, has no real range or depth in this role. I watched, expecting him to suddenly step forward and take charge of the movie, but he disappointed me...

Joanne Woodward vacillates between stern wife and mother/retarded blonde. I think she was trying to be sexy, but came off as possibly addicted to Valium...

Joan Collins was the one bright spot in this movie. She was sexy and vivacious...even funny from time to time...

Gale Gordon (Mr. Mooney from the old Lucy Show) did okay with what he had.

What they managed to do with some pretty talented actors was to create a movie where not only did I not care about the lives of any of the characters, I don't think I would've cared if any of them had been tortured to death, either.

Leo McCarey's next to last film and last in the comedy genre is Rally Round The Flag Boys. After his previous film My Son John got such bad reviews McCarey was hoping for a comeback of sorts. It was not to be for him.

The man who gave us such comedy gems as Ruggles Of Red Gap, Duck Soup, and The Awful Truth had seen his best days. Why a lot of the gems from Max Shulman's book on which this film is based were left out of the screenplay we'd have to have a séance to ask McCarey.

It's not a bad film, in fact it's pretty funny in spots, but it lacks the consistency of McCarey's previous cited work. And McCarey who was a serious practicing Catholic I don't think was the man to direct a sexpot like Joan Collins in the sexpot character she played here.

The stars are the newly married Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward who wind up on the opposite sides of a local issue in their suburban town of Putnam's Landing. To wit the establishment of a local military base in their town. The army has a public relations problem and that's Newman's field. They even go so far as to have General Gale Gordon call in a favor or two and have Newman's Naval Reserve status activated and special orders cut attaching him to the army. They need his public relations skills badly because half baked blundering oaf Jack Carson is the commander of said base.

The subplot also involves Newman feeling neglected as Woodward wraps herself up in various civic causes, the prevention of the army base being the latest. He's feeling a real itch and neighbor Joan Collins who is also neglected by eternally busy husband Murvyn Vye is quite ready to scratch it.

The physical comedy comes off the best, the highlight of the film in my opinion is the historical pageant that Joanne attempts to put on which ends in disaster. Joanne at this stage of her career is far better at comedy than her husband. Paul would have to wait until Slapshot before he had a real hit in comedy although I've always felt The Secret War Of Harry Frigg is underrated.

Before they became Dobie Gillis and Thalia Menninger on television Dwayne Hickman and Tuesday Weld played opposite each other in this film. Someone must have noticed the chemistry there.

Rally Round The Flag Boys has some good moments, but it is far cry from the pinnacle of Leo McCarey's career in the Thirties.