Hay Foot

Hay Foot (1942)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Third film in Hal Roach's steamliner Doubleday series has Sgt. Doubleday (William Tracy) once again getting on the nerves of the brutish Sgt. Ames (Joe Sawyer). The adventure here is that a Colonel (James Gleason) thinks that Doubleday is an expert sharp shooter when in fact he's terrified of guns. If you've see any of the other films in the series then you should know what to expect. Whether you enjoy this series or not will depend on how much you can put up with the two leads but I personally find them mildly entertaining. Sure, they're not Abbott and Costello or Laurel and Hardy but they don't have to be. Both Tracy and Sawyer are good in their roles, which they seemed born to play. THe real scene stealer here is James Gleason who delivers a fine performance as the Colonel and the father of a girl who Doubleday and Ames are after. The comedy is hit and mis throughout the film but there are enough small laughs to keep the film moving throughout its 47-minute running time.

SGT Doubleday is smart, and the favorite of his commanding officer. He remembers everything he reads, and has an encyclopedic knowledge of the military. The only trouble is, he is unable to shoot a gun. Meanwhile, the base's two loud-mouths and sharp-shooting experts have it in for Doubleday because they think he's a know-it-all. Somehow the commander becomes convinced that Doubleday is an expert marksman. Will Doubleday be able to learn how to shoot a gun in time to compete in the sharpshooting competition and win the love of the commander's daughter? Don't ask me, the movie ends suddenly with almost no sub-plots getting resolved. No real explanation of the title, "Hay Foot" is offered either. Doing a search on the internet didn't reveal much, except that it may have been a kind of slang for a rookie recruit. Since this was the second film in the SGT Doubleday series, this doesn't make much sense though.

Nevertheless, it was a pretty entertaining film.

This, the third in the series of Roach 'streamliners' -- short comedy features about 50 minutes in length -- about Sgt. Doubleday, the instant non-com with the photographic memory is, like the others, an unremarkable comedy, some good bits placed in a script that often seems to start and stop, but it does have one great positive value in the performance of James Gleason, a funny and highly talented comic performer for thirty years in Hollywood. Usually cast in some role that suited his lower-class New York accent -- check him out as the cab driver in THE BISHOP'S WIFE -- here he plays the regimental colonel: vain, pompous and father of a very pretty daughter who, with the issue of pistol shooting, is the core of the story.

If you feel that he is not enough to make this movie worthwhile, I certainly understand. But for me he made the difference between a dull hour and a pleasant one.

I was very surprised a while back when I watched TANKS A MILLION. I really didn't expect to like this low-budget short comedy about the army, but it was surprisingly fresh and interesting. So much so that I have now seen about 6 or 8 of them. However, I've gotta admit that the quality of these films is quite variable. Some, like the first, are exceptional and some are pretty bad. This one, while not among the worst, sure is a huge disappointment--you'd expect better in a second film in the series.

Part of the reason for not liking it as much is that Sgt. Doubleday is starting to come off, at times, like more of a know-it-all instead of a sweet guy. In the first section of the film, for once, I felt sorry for his perennial foe (Sgt. Ames), as Doubleday completely ruins a demonstration Ames is conducting--even though Ames is an extremely accomplished marksman with a pistol. Doubleday, though knowing the mechanics of the gun, is a complete novice. The scene where he shoots madly (practically killing everyone around him) illustrates this and made ME want to hit Doubleday! Aside from this poor section, the rest of the film is practically all the standard formula, though for once, there is another foe--a sergeant played by Noah Beery, Jr.. Overall, a pleasant time-passer, but the magic is starting to already look a bit thin.

At "Camp Carver", intelligent but gun-shy Sergeant William Tracy (as Dorian "Dodo"' Doubleday) writes a morale-boosting speech for his Colonel James Gleason (as J.A. Barkley). During a firearms lecture, Mr. Tracy shows off his photographic memory in front of teacher Sergeant Joe Sawyer (as William Ames). But Tracy is really afraid of guns. He also likes Mr. Gleason's beautiful daughter Elyse Knox (as Betty), but so does fellow Sergeant Noah Berry Jr. (as Charlie Cobb). Lucky shots during a fishing trip give Tracy a sharp-shooting reputation. Later, a mix-up puts all three Sergeants on a date with Ms. Knox. "Hay Foot" is a likeably done situation comedy, but with material that is far from outstanding.

***** Hay Foot (1/2/42) Fred Guiol ~ William Tracy, Joe Sawyer, James Gleason, Noah Beery Jr.