Mr. Winkle Goes to War

In the early 1940s, Hollywood made a lot of positive propaganda films in order to encourage Americans to get behind the war effort. Many of them were far from realistic (such as this film) but were also very entertaining and did a lot to boost spirits (again, like this film). Provided you view the film in this context, it's a dandy little picture and an interesting curio.

Edward G. Robinson plays the title character--a decent but decidedly mild-mannered man who works at a bank. One day, out of the blue, he quits his job to open a "fix-it" shop--much to the surprise of his wife and boss! However, despite these grand plans of being his own boss, shortly after this he receives his draft notice. Considering that Robinson was a dumpy middle-aged man, everyone assumed this was just a mistake. However, despite the complete improbability of it all, he does pass the physical and is taken into the army! Now of course, you MUST suspend disbelief here--as Robinson has "4-F" written all over him (in other words, he is unfit for active duty). Despite the impossibility of it all, Robinson works his butt off and actually succeeds in becoming a soldier--even though his sergeant tries to get him a desk job. Robinson wants no part of a desk job (that was why he quit his job at the bank after all).

What exactly happens next, you'll have to see for yourself. However, this is a rather silly film that still manages to be quite entertaining. Now if you think the idea of Robinson in the military, it could be a lot more ridiculous. In GREAT GUNS, Laurel and Hardy join the army! Even though they were about the same age as Robinson (in their early 50s), Ollie weighs in at about 350 pounds and Stan looks very old and worn. In MR. WINKLE, Robinson is supposed to be 43 and he is able to carry that off reasonably well.

This picked on banker goes and get's drafted. He is always taking pills for some ailment, but once he goes into training with the Army, he's a changed man. The movie moves along very nicely. You see the change in him....slowly but at the right moments he emerges a stronger person and a hero. I'm sorry to say that this movie has been hidden and should be brought back. Very inspirational to say the least. Mr. Winkle is an excellent movie and should be viewed by all. His wife played by Ruth Warick, who recently passed away, plays a sympathetic wife and very loving. She feels her husband's pain while at the bank. She is extremely proud when he returns victorious and a changed man. Must see!

You really didn't see Edward G Robinson in too many touchy-feely films in the 30s and 40s. But in this Hollywood fantasy, he plays a middle-aged man of 44 who is drafted in the Army. Eddie G is a henpecked, timid, gentle soul, who likes to work with his hands, but is stuck working in a bank, instead.

He quits the bank one day after getting his draft notice. This is where the film veers off a bit.

You really don't get to go to AIT - (Advanced Infantry Training) or any other school, until you finish basic training. The Hollywood producers of this film decided to dispense with that reality and had Edward go directly to AIT. Not happening. And the idea you would be shipped out before being able to go home on a short leave of a week or two is ridiculous; the Army always gave some time before they shipped you out. The producers dispensed with that reality as well.

The war scenes were ok, but the hero scenario was a bit over the top. An interesting role and story, and watchable.

I'll watch any movie Edward G. Robinson did and i think he's a better actor than James Cagney. This one casts him as a guy who is always being told what to do and in the first scene of the movie he walks up to the manager of the bank and tells him he wants to quit, to everyone's surprise. His wife hates this idea and Robinson wants to run a business just fixing things. He then gets a letter telling him that he is drafted. He doesn't think he will be because he's 44 years old and out of shape. To his surprise and everyone else's, he is drafted. During basic training, they pull him out to have a desk job. Robinson doesn't like it and wants to be put back and be able to work as mechanic. He is sent overseas and is very close to the fighting. I've never really heard much about this movie and i didn't even see Robert Mitchum in this movie.

An earnest attempt to boost morale during the Second World War, this 1944 trifle stars Edward G. Robinson as a modest banker who dreams of owning a fix-it shop. When the aging dreamer (Robinson playing 44 but looking every bit of his 51 years) is unexpectedly drafted, he sticks by his guns so to speak, and becomes a war hero. His sergeant, played by Richard Lane, is named Czeidrowski. Never does the film mention that he is Polish, but he turns out to be a tough but compassionate character, an all-American whom the boys in his unit call Sergeant Alphabet because his name is "pert near longer than the whole alphabet." Of course it isn't, and the spelling is odd even for Polish. Nevertheless, his character is a small nod to the fact that some 900,000 Poles were in the Armed Forces in World War II. Favorite moment: When Robinson, Lane, and two pals sing "Sweet Genevieve" a cappella.