La guerre en dentelles

This is the final of four consecutive films Jim Hutton and Paula Prentiss made together in the early 60's. It is at times a trifle insensitive towards the Japanese, but that's about the worst thing you can say about this otherwise pleasant film. Trivia: Hutton's diminutive Nisei sidekick Sgt Tada, played by Yoshio Yoda, became "Fuji" in McHale's Navy.

Hutton, as usual plays the conniving but good-hearted Hutton character, and Prentiss--though described as "lanky" and "Miss High-Pockets"--is drop-dead gorgeous, even in G.I. Beige. She's just happy that the war transformed her "from a tall girl into a short commodity." This may be the last film which the producers felt compelled to write in some reference to Prentiss' Amazonian proportions.

Hutton, an intelligence officer, is sent to an occupied Pacific Islands to capture an inconsequential Japanese pilferer, and in due time, Prentiss shows up.

A talented collection of familiar character and comedic actors rounds out the cast.

I believe that several persons here (including me) have given «The Horizontal Lieutenant» a rating above the average, because we liked the lead players, Jim Hutton and Paula Prentiss, who had good chemistry in all movies that they made together; and because the story has good potential that cannot be spoiled in its entirety, despite a not very good script.

I don't know what is the tone of the novel by Gordon Cotler that inspires this film, but the central plot can be treated as comedy or drama: during II World War a young G-2 officer (Hutton) is sent to a Japanese island to catch a thief, while he courts an old university girlfriend (Prentiss), whom he meets again working as a nurse. However, George Wells' script is old-fashioned, attached to moral standards that not even the military on the war front in the 1940s should have respected, especially with men and women in the same camp. We can understand the screenwriter was limited by the Production Code, but it was truly agonizing by 1962.

One more film like this and the careers of Prentiss and Hutton would have finished and, indeed, poor Jim Hutton had to endure one more silly comedy (with Connie Francis), in which Prentiss only made a brief appearance and received star status, after the doors were opened to her with Howard Hawks' "Man's Favorite Sport?"

The entire cast (especially Yoshio Yoda as Tada) struggles to get the best out of the story and a script with jokes that, in most cases, have no effect; or loses focus with endless interior sequences, like an interrogation conducted by an alcoholic officer (Jim Backus).

The basic premise could have had a sad or happy ending and the producers opted for comedy, so when «The Horizontal Lieutenant» ends, it leaves us with a smile on our faces, but little else. Richard Thorpe, a veteran with a career in the business since 1921, should have been bored by then, directing the young Metro actors, whose conduct and morals were surely foreign to him.

Jim Hutton is a fond favorite actor of mine, and at his best he could be quite funny -- his best comic effort in my opinion is in "Who's Minding the Mint?" He teamed up 4 times with Paula Prentiss, mostly due to the fact he was tall enough at 6'5" to tower over the 5'10" young lady. These four films with Hutton were Prentiss' first 4 films of her career. She was also a talented actress adept at comedy - her best comedy role, again in my opinion, was in "Man's Favorite Sport?", alongside Rock Hudson.

Hutton and Prentiss were an attractive couple - she very sexy and long legged, he somewhat gangly and bean-pole thin, but with a great deal of boyish charm and a winsome self-effacing manner. Hutton was groomed to be a new version of Jimmy Stewart, in fact. he stayed youthful enough to successfully play Ellery Queen in a TV series when he was over 40.

With this nice pairing of leading man and lady, and the always funny Jim Backus added to the mix, this should have been an engaging comedy. The fact that it is no better than so-so is not the fault of the actors.

The film, which is based on a novel, is meant to be similar to a number of World War II military service screwball comedies that were released in the late 50's and early 60's. It tries to capture the spirit of "Teahouse of the August Moon" and "Don't Go Near the Water", both starring Glenn Ford, and "Wake Me When It's Over" starring Dick Shawn. However, it never quite makes the grade. The situations that are supposed to funny just don't quite hit home. There is a bit too much reliance on slapstick pratfalls that you can see coming a mile away, and a couple of scenes with good humor potential are wasted by sub-par dialog.

But, the cast is gamely trying their best and the great chemistry between Prentiss and Hutton comes through in some (but not all) of their scenes together. This movie is a nice time-killer, but it was not nearly as good as I had hoped.

I thought the movie at the time of its release was a great comedy. I watched it and was completely entertained.

I was always a fan of Jim Hutton and to this day I think Paula Prentiss was one of the sexiest females in Hollywood. This statement comes at a time when Marilyn Monroe ruled that venue. So I was a fan of Hutton and had a crush on Prentiss. You could probably deduce that my consideration of this movie is influenced by those facts and you would probably be right.

But, that is what made the movies like The Horizontal Lieutenant popular. Nice guys who were capable of drawing the audience into his predicaments and a beautiful co-star who usually got him out of his jam. Hutton and Prentiss could have done this forever as far as I am concerned and I would have gone babbling back to the movie. No matter how bad the movie was a 90 minute look at Prentiss was worth the pain.

This movie was not directed by some artist from a European country and it was not considered to be an artistic accomplishment. It was meant to be entertaining for a couple of hours and nothing more. It accomplished its goal hands down and need not hide its head in shame because it did not reach some haughty artitistic level.

I will admit that the fact that I thought that Paula Prentiss was a sexy woman may have something to do with my appreciation of this movie but I truly believe that I would have enjoyed it as much if Mary Wickes had been placed into Paula's role. If Mary Wickes had starred I would have to simply sit back and wait for the next Prentiss film.

Come to think of it Mary Wickes ain't that bad if she would only get a better make-up person. I have seen pictures of Mary Wickes when she was in her early twenties and she was a very attractive woman. If Mary Wickes had just come on the scene during the past 15 years she would have gotten Sarah Jessica Parker's part on Sex in the City.

But I digress...

Dave

After the hilarious cartoon-accompanying theme song plays during the opening credits, this movie goes downhill. It's hard to believe, since the song's not that great, but it's true. So unless you really love the pairing of Jim Hutton and Paula Prentiss, you can skip this one.

Jim stars as a soldier who yearns to see action but is stuck behind a desk in Honolulu. When he gets transferred to the South Pacific, he hopes he'll have more of an adventure, but it's not exactly the case. The Japanese have surrendered months earlier, and there are no battles, interrogations, or dangerous missions. The most action he sees is the random run-ins with Paula, a girl he'd like to get to know if she'd stay in one place long enough.

There is one Japanese man on the island who still fights the Americans, though: Yuki Shimoda. Yuki's way of exacting revenge on his conquerors is to steal food from the mess hall, so even when Jim finds out he has an enemy, it's not exactly a dangerous one. With some slapstick, sex jokes, and silly situations, all in the style of 1962, it's easy to see that this movie doesn't really stand the test of time very well.