About Face

This film is not bad, but a washed out version of "BROTHER RAT" (1938) that starred Ronald Reagan, Eddie Alber and Wayne Morris, three "rats" who are enrolled at Virginia Military Institute (VMI), a real place. There are never any freshmen at VMI, they are deemed "rats", and the bond between them usually is a lifelong one. This film is a black and white classic that is fondly screend at VMI, in Lexington, to this day.

It's sad that the classic Broadway and film comedy Brother Rat was turned into such a mediocre musical. With such an assembly of talent this film should have been far better than it was.

I believe the main problem with About Face is the musical score. Absolutely nothing memorable comes from the songs written by Peter DeRose and Charles Tobias. Maybe with a better score the film might have been better.

Gordon MacRae, Dick Wesson, and Eddie Bracken play the roles that Ronald Reagan, Wayne Morris, and Eddie Albert did in the film version of Brother Rat. The plot is essentially the same about three roommates at a military academy renamed inexplicably State Military Institute. Brother Rat on stage and screen is set at the real Virginia Military Institute. The three cadets get into all kinds of situations, but the main plot line involves Bracken who secretly married and the other two conspire to keep it a secret because the code of the academy says a cadet will be expelled for marrying. That's going to be hard since he married the commandant's daughter without her telling him her real name and relation to Commandant Larry Keating. And Virginia Gibson has something else arriving at the same time that the cadets graduate in June.

Two things struck me while watching About Face. First the whole subject of marriage would be dealt with far more severely in a serious vein in the John Ford classic The Long Grey Line a couple of years later. When young Robert Francis marries in that film, he resigns because of the West Point honor code. Apparently they don't have that at SMI, maybe that's the reason the real VMI was changed to the fictional SMI.

Secondly these cadets act like the police rookies in police academy. I swear the things that the cadets do to some of the authority figures were like what Steve Guttenberg was doing in the Police Academy films. I doubt their hijinks would go over at a real military school.

One bright thing about it was the debut of Joel Grey on the big screen playing the hapless freshman that the three upper classmen delight in tormenting. Just part of the hazing in these places. And lucky for Grey he had one musical number where he got to display his singing, dancing and mimicking talents. He does a really great impression of Jerry Lewis. Grey plays the role previously done by Ezra Stone on stage and William Tracy on screen and he's really great in the part.

About Face could have and should have been better with the talent that went into this film.

Gordon MacRae , Eddie Bracken, and Dick Wesson are Tony, Biff, and Dave at a military school. There's a big game coming up, and the guys are looking forward to meeting the ladies. And the girls are scheming on the train on the way in. One of the girls is the daughter of the new C. O. so therunning gag is that the daughter Betty Long is calling herself Betty Short, so they don't realize she's related to the CO. And of course, her man is caught in the middle, when she and the CO have a fight. Joel Gray is in here as Bender. And Mrs. Carter is played by Mabel Albertson... from What's up Doc and That Girl. And Boff is married, which is against the rules. So many problems. And so many songs....every couple minutes, they break out in song. It's okay. Gets silly and goofy. Bracken was king of the doubletakes. Directed by Roy DelRuth; started in the silents, moved into talkies, and had his last film released in 1960!

I love this movie. It has everything a musical/comedy needs. After all these years I can still hear the songs and see the cast singing and playing the instruments. Joel Gray looks like a young boy in this movie. It might even have been his first role in a movie. As a child I watched this movie over and over again on the Million Dollar Movie in New York. They would play the movie all day long over and over again for a full week. I never got tired of it!

"About Face" is not really a bad movie - it's just not as good as it could be. It is a remake of a movie made in the 30's called "Brother Rat", which was based on a Broadway play. "Brother Rat" is a better movie than 'About Face" as it had a better cast and a more subtle approach to the comedy angle; "About Face" is somewhat heavy-handed in this regard.

In my opinion, what really sinks "About Face" is the forgettable musical score. For some reason it was decided to remake it as a musical, but the songs are very ordinary. The songs are trifling and unmemorable, except for Joel Grey's number. And a reviewer above is right about the closing tap dancing number. It was a show-stopper, but the show was over.

I saw "About Face" when it first came out. I was 11 and I loved it, and saw it several times. Funny how time and age can provide a different perspective. It is harmless fare and entertaining to a point, but sometimes a substantial time lapse can lead to disappointment.