La guerra privata del maggiore Benson

A wonderfully charming little comedy written by Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher (Leave It To Beaver). During the filming of THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, Cecil B. DeMille had a mild heart attack and the production shut down. Charlton Heston decided this comedy would be perfect for him to do in the meantime and tried hard to get the part, even though it was a Universal movie and COMMANDMENTS was being made at Paramount. Heston wanted the film so badly that he agreed to work quickly and for no salary and settle for a share of the profits (which turned out very well for him, as MAJOR BENSON became somewhat of a success).

Heston is a tough as nails army major who treats his soldiers roughly and pulls no punches when saying what's on his mind. When he causes the Army embarrassment, his general decides to assign him to ROTC duty for one last chance to get his act together. He is sent to a Catholic Military Academy for boys, where he has a difficult job adjusting to them and dropping his rough exterior when leading them through their training. Heston proves he is able to play comedy and is quite good in the film. Also in the cast is Sal Mineo as one of the older cadets in the school, and Julie Adams (right after she made CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON) as a doctor who finds it hard to resist Major Benson. A real scene stealer is 6 year old Tim Hovey, the "Private". *** out of ****

Cutesy little comedy that tries hard but trips over its own obviousness. Hard-nosed army Major Charlton Heston is unwillingly dispatched to a lax military school to shape up the boys' failing ROTC program. There's an immediate clash of backgrounds that provides some comedic potential, but I suspect this is a film Heston would just as soon forget. The trouble is he's miscast-- Moses just doesn't do pratfalls well. And here, unfortunately, he does a lot of them. The comedy is clumsily done, with a real lack of timing , and is not helped by the many blaring close-ups of the precious little Tim Hovey, who I'm sure many find adorable-- which he may be, but in very small doses. After about the 20th close-up of "how cute I am", my dinner began to rebel. I kept wishing a really digestible kid like Alfalfa or Spanky had been available . With a more jaundiced eye, better direction, and appropriate casting, this might have made a humorous little 90 minutes. As it stands, the only interest is to aficionados of early Sal Mineo.

This is a very unusual film for Charlton Heston, as he plays a hard as nails major that is forced to be the commandant of a boys military school. Seeing his gruff and perfectionistic ways meet the reality that these are only children makes this a cute film and HIGHLY reminiscent of Clifton Webb's MR. SCOUTMASTER--another great family film about a grumpy old guy who is eventually tamed by the boys. Sure, this makes the film awfully predictable, but sometimes I am just a sucker for a little bit of sentimentality--provided it is paired with some comedy to keep it from being too schmaltzy--as in the case of this film. Also, like MR. SCOUTMASTER, the real star of the film is a very small and very endearing little boy--played in this film by an adorable Tim Hovey. The bottom line is for all this to work, the film had to be well-written and the writers DID earn an Oscar nomination for Best Original Story. So see this film--and MR. SCOUTMASTER--two excellent family films that are lots of fun regardless of your age.

FYI--This film was later remade as MAJOR PAYNE.

The first of Heston's two comedies (The Pigeon That Took Rome followed in 1962) and the best of the pair.

Understanding his gift perfectly, Heston chased a comedy role that didn't actually require him to be funny. The pay-off is this little film that has no room for self-indulgence or ego.

The success of Benson led to Heston doing The Pigeon That Took Rome. That one isn't bad (and way ahead of some of the "comedies" that get greenlit today), but this one doesn't hit an off-key note.

Far, FAR superior to the truly dire remake (Major Payne) with Damon Wayans.

Before Charlton Heston became a Biblical era plaything, before Milburn Stone tended to the sick as Doc Adams in Gunsmoke, before Tim Considine became a fixture in the productions of Walter Elias Disney, and most of all, before Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher told us to Leave it to Beaver and later meet The Munsters, they all participated in this unforgettable gem of a movie set at a Catholic military school. Oh yes, let us not forget some other significant players, William Demarest, who later played Uncle Charlie on My Three Sons, David Janssen, who later played Richard Diamond and then The Fugitive, and that unforgettable teen idol, Sal Mineo, who starred in Rebel Without a Cause.

Have I mentioned all of the springboard players?

Moving right along, one will never really know the star potential of child performer Tim Hovey. I understand that Mr. Hovey took his own life in later years.

Anyway, The Private War of Major Benson is a charming vehicle that should never be forgotten nearly 50 years after its initial release.