The Girl He Left Behind

I saw this movie the week that I returned home from South Viet Nam. I have attempted to purchase a copy of the move; however, no one seems to have any knowledge of how I can get a copy of the movie. I can not find it in Cerritos, California. I would highly, recommend the movie to any movie buff who wishes to just enjoy a good movie without blood and violence. Tab Hunter is an excellent actor and he plays this role of a young man who does not desire to remain in the army perfectly. His immature love for his girlfriend is excellent for thought provoking material. The military life is portrayed in a realistic manner. This movie will aid any young man who is currently in the military in making the adjustment from civilian to military life.

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.

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.

College student Andy Shaeffer (Tab Hunter) is the all-American football hero. He's avoiding the draft and lives carefree off his mother's money. His girlfriend Susan Daniels (Natalie Wood) is annoyed at his spoiled demeanor and wonders how he would support her if they are to be married. They have a fight and he joins the army. Boot camp is too hard and he refuses to fall in line.

Neither Andy nor Susan are appealing character. I'm watching this for Natalie Wood. I'm not impressed with Tab Hunter. He reminds me of Dolph Lundgren without the charisma. The character is annoying but the actor has no life. Honestly, they're not good as individuals and they're not good together. The mother is annoying although she has a hilarious section on the base. I'm not sure why anyone would be rooting for any of them. He could have been a Rebel without a Cause but he's not anywhere near that neighborhood. Even the big action scene makes little sense. It makes little sense that the men would go hide in the tank. Once there, they are safer inside the tank than running around outside. The change is abrupt and lacking in character growth. One minute, he's one character and another minute, he's the complete opposite. I guess this is a recruitment movie for the military who can straighten up your slacker sons. It's not good one.

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.