The Girl He Left Behind

The title role of The Girl He Left Behind is none other than Natalie Wood. But it is Tab Hunter who is doing the leaving because he's gotten a greetings letter from President Eisenhower inviting him to join the US Army. Those draft notices can ruin the plans of many a young man.

In this case the young man Hunter is playing is quite rich and really acts to the manor born. If he's got the right stuff it will take all the people above him in his training company from captain David Janssen to First Sergeant Jim Backus to platoon sergeant Murray Hamilton to bring it out of him.

Fifteen years after this film was made I was doing basic training at a lovely garden spot of the earth called Fort Polk, Louisiana. It would never have occurred to me to mouth off the way Tab Hunter was doing to those above him. I've also never seen a basic training film that didn't have one trainee doing a single pushup. Hunter should have been down in a prone position on all fours pushing the good earth of Fort Ord away from him.

The Girl He Left Behind was filmed at Ford Ord and that certainly made it look authentic if it wasn't quite. In the cast as Hunter's fellow trainees are Alan King, Henry Jones and James Garner in what was his second film appearance.

Both Hunter's memoirs and a recent biography of Natalie Wood mention that at this time the two of them were linked romantically in a series of studio arranged dates. We know now just how far from the truth that was, but at least from Hunter's point of view, Natalie Wood was a good scout about it all. One of the lines I remember best from his autobiography was that he (Tab) could have qualified for veteran's benefits with all the military movies he was cast in. He certainly did have that all American military look about him.

The Girl He Left Behind is one of the most unrealistic of army films I've ever seen, still it has a great cast and I'm a fan of a whole lot of the people in this film.

Referred to by both its leading players as The Girl With The Left Behind this is by no means a great movie but one certainly better than its sullied reputation would lead you to believe.

A large part of that bad rep comes via its two stars, Tab Hunter and Natalie Wood. A large portion of their distaste for this and several of their other co-starring pictures is surely attributable to the fact that they were contract players at the time and handed one indifferent script after another until Natalie graduated to A level stardom and Tab left the studio.

The film itself is an innocuous trifle about a selfish spoiled young man who has a problem with authority and the pains he and the officers over him suffer when he's drafted. Hardly a new plot or revolutionarily enacted this is stuffed with excellent character actors all contributing fun performances. A few standouts are Jessie Royce Landis as Tab's addled mother, Murray Hamilton as his exasperated direct superior and Henry Jones as an amiable cohort. Natalie's disregard for the film is understandable though since she's handed one of the nothing girl parts she had to endure while toiling her way to the top.

An unremarkable studio product this is still an enjoyable picture.

First saw this movie in 1965 the night before marksmanship qualification at Parris Island, I suspect that the reason they showed it to us is so that we could react to the slogan on the sign at the 11th Infantry's Headquarters. Yes, it was "Semper Fidelis"! The whole theater erupted each time that was shown. We also enjoyed the Sergeant's "Your behinds are grass, and I'm the lawnmower" because it was one of our DI's favorites; although with more colorful mode of expression.

The movie itself was hilarious in its badness (except for Natalie Wood). We could not fathom anyone getting away with the crap that Tab Hunter's "Andy" was dishing; not even in the Army! The less said about Andy's 'heroics', the better.

As for the romantic aspects, it was clear to all of us that Hunter's interest was not in Wood. No one (especially an actor as bad as Tab Hunter) could be within a mile of Natalie Wood and pretend such indifference. Even a great actor could not be indifferent.

A nice piece of big studio fluff that is too bad to get made today.

Tab Hunter plays a disgruntled college football star with bad grades who reluctantly joins the Peace Time Army, immediately getting on the wrong side of the other G.I.s with his surly attitude. I doubt, even in 1956, that Army officers would have put up with as many of Hunter's time-wasting shenanigans as they do here: he nods off and snores during a speech, he gets sarcastic and throws a few punches, his mother and former girlfriend both come for visits during Basic Training. The Fort Ord locations in California are well-captured, but this script seems conjured up by Hollywood persons unfamiliar with the milieu. For his part, Tab Hunter does almost nothing naturally as an actor. When he focuses on another performer, Hunter's intense stare makes him look furious--and when he's joshing or sweet-talking his mama, the smile is forced and nervous. Hunter isn't a bad actor, necessarily; there are one or two scenes where he seems in the moment. Still, both he and Natalie Wood are slumming here, giving about fifty-percent of what they've got. Supporting players Henry Jones, Jim Backus, Murray Hamilton, James Garner (in a small role), David Janssen, and even Alan King (as the proverbial barracks clown) do much better work than the stars. ** from ****

This movie can't seem to decide if it is a comedy or drama. Tab Hunter's role though well acted is strange. It seems Hunter can join the Army & tell the Army what he wants. At least the script is consistent here as his mother comes to visit him & does the same thing.

Natalie Wood is 18 years old when she does this movie & looks great even in the frumpy dresses she gets to wear in some sequences. You can not hide a hot 18 year old babe unless you keep her off camera. The rest of the script is a veritable who's who of character actors.

James Garner has a small role in his 3rd career film. David Jansen has a small before Fugitive role as an officer. Norman Fell (Stanley Roper) though I can't find him credited is in quite a few sequences. Raymond Bailey (Milburn Drysdale on Beverly Hillbillies) is here as well as Jim Bakus (Thurston Howell on Gilligan's Island) is here too. The interesting thing here more than the plot is seeing all this talent on screen trying to bring off a weak script.

At times, the script tries to be funny & at times like when kids almost get blasted when they wander on to the artillery range, the film gets a little dramatic. I think if the film had headed more for comedy, especially with this support cast, it would have been better.