Le Rafiot héroïque

This is one of those overlooked films Lemmon made in the early years of his legendary career. It kind of became lost in the midst of such higher profile films as "Some Like it Hot" and "The Apartment", and never truly found its way out. "The Wackiest Ship in the Army" represents a list of forgotten Lemmon titles that deserve recognition. Such films include, "It Happened to Jane", "Operation Mad Ball", "The Notorious Landlady", and "Alex & the Gypsy".

"Wackiest" is a one of those type of films that is perfect for a lazy afternoon. Often amusing and boasting a quintessential Lemmon performance, it's worth checking out just for pure nostalgia!

*** (out of 5)

Saw it this afternoon at home with the kids. Great fun- with a bit of an edge... brilliant for a wet afternoon. Lemmon acts as though he isn't trying and still steals the show. The love interest is interesting and the beleaguered officer who we all feel for is successful in the end. it's one of those second world war movies, like Stalag 17 or whatever that is light and patriotic at the same time.....

I've just watched this movie again (and taped it), and found it just as amusing as when I first watched it 40 odd years ago (just after it's release in fact). Jack Lemmon never fails to impress, but after all this time I now realise that Ricky Nelson (although a great loss to the music world) wasn't the greatest of actors. However his naivety in this department somehow added charm to this movie.

The WWII storyline based on true events couldn't be simpler. An American naval officer/ex-yachtsman Lt Rip Crandall (Jack Lemmon), and a young Ensign Tommy Hansen (Ricky Nelson), are ordered to sail an old sloop, the "USS Echo", with an unexperienced crew across the Great Barrier Reef to Port Moresby, where (although Crandall doesn't know until later) the boat is to be used to convey an Aussie coast-watcher to his destination, with a different crew. Crandall doesn't like the change-over so steals the mission. End of plot...almost.

The only real down side of this movie was the awful "Austroylian" accent of Irish actress Patricia Driscoll. Almost as bad as Dick van Dyke's Cockney accent in "Mary Poppins". Almost, but not quite. Although lovely to look at, it's a blessing Patricia only had a minor role. However I find it strange that the part couldn't have been given to a genuine Aussie.

All in all, I always found this movie very entertaining, and strangely enough, for a war film, and rather like "Mr Roberts", no violence worth worrying about. Which rather pleases me now, for my grandkids love it.

As military service comedies go, The Wackiest Ship in the Army isn't the best one going, but it is pretty amusing.

Jack Lemmon plays a naval lieutenant who in civilian life had sailboat racing experience. Therefore he's just the man to command a sailing craft made up to look like a native trading vessel. The object being to land Australian coast watcher Chips Rafferty in the middle of Japanese held territory.

Lemmon has a callow young ensign as his executive officer in Ricky Nelson and a crew of men, none of whom have any kind of experience in a sailing craft. The laughs come as he tries to whip this crew into some kind of shape before the mission.

Jack Lemmon had just come off Some Like It Hot and The Apartment so he was hot box office back then. The Wackiest Ship in the Army isn't in the aforementioned league of films, but it's still good and unlike the other classics was turned into a television series, albeit a short lived one, just like that other Lemmon film, Mister Roberts.

Ricky Nelson was never the greatest actor going, but he was their for the teenage girl market at the box office. What he was though was a very good singer and he does get to sing Do You Know What It Means to Leave New Orleans which sold a few platters back in the day.

Outstanding other performances in the film are from Chips Rafferty, Australia's greatest cinema star, Mike Kellin playing the CPO of the sailing crew and Tom Tully who seems to continue where he took off from in The Caine Mutiny.

Even today I think cinema fans will enjoy the comedy of Jack Lemmon in The Wackiest Ship in the Army.

It's too bad Hollywood stopped making war flicks like this one. They were much more enjoyable than the kind of hand-wringing performances you see nowadays. Lemmon took a break from chewing the scenery in the classics "Some Like It Hot" and "The Great Race" and returned to a more straight-man character of the kind he played in Mister Roberts. Although Lemmon is, as usual, great, the movie suffers somewhat from a bland supporting cast and the insufferable Ricky Nelson, whose acting is as wooden as it was in "Rio Bravo." Although slow to get going, the movie eventually takes off and maintains a robust pace to the conclusion. Note that TV showings tend to trim this one heavily, so if you see it sitting in the bargain bin, be sure to pick it up!

For fans of Lemmon or the genre only!