The D.I.

Jack Webb is riveting as a Marine Corp drill instructor in the D.I.. Webb play Sgt.Jim Moore, a tough but fair Marine whose job it is to prepare young teens for possible combat. No one could have played this role any better that Jack Webb. As a former Marine,I can assure that this is the most accurate film dealing with basic training in the Corp. Extremely entertaining!

Jack Webb does a big career departure--playing a tough as nails drill instructor in the US Marine Corps. While he does a very credible job in this role, I just marveled because I kept thinking of his as his more familiar character, Joe Friday! Webb is having two difficulties in the film. The most obvious is a cadet named Owens (Don Dubbins--who frequently guest starred on "Dragnet")--who seems emotionally unfit and unlikely to make it out of boot camp. His other problem is struggling with being a human being. His tough as nails approach to life is a serious drawback when it comes to real relationships--and he treats women almost like recruits! Why Annie (his real-life wife, Jackie Loughery) likes him is beyond me--perhaps she likes a fixer-upper--and this sergeant needs a lot of work.

The film apparently is very accurate about boot camp and D.I.s--though I have no direct experience to know if this is or isn't the case. I do know, however, that it IS entertaining. And, the story of Private Owens is compelling--especially when his mother (Virginia Gregg--a VERY familiar actress in Jack Webb's productions) comes to visit--and is probably the best part of the film. Well worth watching.

By the way, if you ever get a chance, there's an interesting biography about Jack Webb. You learn that, in some ways, Webb was a lot like the guy in this film as well as Sgt. Friday from "Dragnet"--a guy who struggled to be able to relate to people and seemed very ill at ease with feelings. Kind of sad...though a terrific actor/producer/director.

THE D.I. (4 outta 5 stars) Wow, I certainly did not expect to be enjoying this movie as much as I did. I had never even heard of it until I saw it sitting in the discount video bin one day. I figured Jack Webb playing an army drill instructor might be good for a chuckle but figured the drama would pale in comparison to such recent movie D.I.s as portrayed in "Full Metal Jacket" or "An Officer and a Gentleman". Boy, was I wrong. This is probably the best work Webb has ever done... far and away better than his one-note "Dragnet" performances. The delivery of his tough guy dialogue is just brilliant... done in his patented deadpan monotone and yet you *know* that the guy means every word of it. The story might seem a little hokey compared to the grittier military movies that have followed but I still found the movie fascinating and compelling. Even a completely unnecessarily musical interlude in an army nightclub had me hooked. Anyone know where I can get a copy of that terrific Ray Coniff song "If'n You Don't, Somebody Else Will"? Webb plays the toughest dang drill instructor ever... and he's under pressure to kick out the deadbeat Private Owen but, by golly, he sees a man buried somewhere in that sissyboy and he's gonna drag him out kicking and screaming! Great stuff!

I was a Marine at Camp Pendleton when the D.I. came out (1st Marine Division, 11th Marine Regiment, 3rd Battalion, I-Battery). I still remember standing in line with a bunch of other Marines to see the movie at the "Star" theater in Oceanside, California.

We did not remotely expect the movie to portray everything we experienced in boot camp but we were all pleasantly surprised at how well done the movie was. The idea of using real Marines in the movie was a great idea (I believe they were all real Drill Instructors too). As good an actor as Jack Webb was, he just couldn't "call cadence" like a real Marine Drill Instructor.

All of us got a laugh when the "problem" recruit's mother came to boot camp to talk to the Captain. Never in a million years would this have happened, but that's Hollywood, and we didn't let that episode keep us from enjoying the movie.

I went through boot camp at MCRD in San Diego during the summer of 1956, and at that time there was virtually no limits as to what the D.I.'s could do to you. The "Ribbon Creek" event at Parris Island had not yet affected boot camp, at least not at MCRD - San Diego.

I agree with what a lot of the other reviewers have commented on concerning Sgt. Moore's "stiffness" around his girl friend. I believe this was just Webb's acting style, and although they could have deleted this part of the movie, it didn't really hurt the production that much.

One minor note, the character (uncredited) of "Pvt. Rodriguez" was played by one of my Drill Instructors, Sgt. Peter J. O'Neill. Sgt. O'Neill used to tell us that some day he wanted to be an actor. We secretly laughed at this, but he surprised us all. He was a great Drill Instructor, and I thought he did well in his bit part. Also, he really did enjoy throwing knives. He often demonstrated his skill to us that summer in boot camp. I have often wondered if he is still alive.

I am a Sergeant in the US Army who has had ten years experience on active duty and six years in the National Guard, I also served in Operation Desert Storm. I think I am in a better position to review this film then many others have done. Jack Webb always wanted realism in his films and television shows. He made The DI between the Dragnet series that he did and it is an excellent film that has not aged at all. It is as tough-hitting and realistic as ever. Maybe Jack isn't as good as Louis Gosset or Lee Ermey was in his portrayal of a Marine drill instructor, but he is damn close I can tell you! Maybe people think that drill sergeants are so mean, but I can tell you from my experience that they HAVE to be that way! You don't train young Marines or soldiers effectively by being kind. You have to get in their face and let them know that its all business. You tear them down and build them up all over again. That is the purpose of military training that they show in this film. The year before this film was made, on April 8, 1956 as a matter of fact, a Marine drill instructor marched his platoon into Ribbon Creek swamp at Parris Island as punishment. There was an unexpected storm and tidal wave and six Marines drowned as a result. This black mark on The Marine Corps resulted in a very negative thing. They have made military training far TOO easy as a result. Did you know that today drill sergeants are not even allowed to swear at privates when they do something dumb! They are not allowed to touch them and its like they have made basic training like a girl scout summer camp! I hated Private Owens because he reminded me of a lot of soldiers I have known in my career that were just babies who had been passed thru training and would have been killed on day 1 in combat!