Classe 44

This is a good sequel to the first hit "Summer of '42". Going past junior year would be a total drag. Even without Jennifer O'Neill, this movie is alright. Going to fight for the U.S. is a patriotic thing back in the forties. Even though Dorothy's husband was the casualty, Oscy the silly friend of Hermie takes action to join the cause. Benji was the jealous type. He wanted to join the Marines just like Oscy. Unlike Oscy, Benji paid the price for scheming his way to the Marines. He got stuck in a desk job. So Benji tell Hermie that you better off in college. Hermie gets a new girl closer to his age. Julie, who goes to the same college as Hermie. Hermie's new dilemma that he lost his father, and he's just don't know what to do anymore. Well he's got Julie and he needs to move on with his life, for years to come. This movie was more based on the guys two years later, and I bet Dorothy would be glad to see that Hermie is happy. However, this movie was not quite like the first one, and it was a little on the somber side. Still a collectible though for the series. At least it was worth a try. I like the first movie much better! Rating 3 out of 5 stars.

I liked the prequel Summer of 42 a lot more. I did not find this sequel to leave me with any bright spots to remember this movie for any significant value. It almost looked as if they took some excess film from the Summer of 42 and tried to piece together this sequel by adding a few new characters and a new location.

I just found that I was waiting for something (anything) to occur but the movie went no where. Oh sure there was young love, a few fight scenes, boy turns in to man and goes off to serve in the military, but these scenes did not have any flow to them. As I said I thought maybe they just edited from some scenes that were cut from the original Summer of 42.

Look out for a young John Candy who has a single scene in which he has a few lines while climbing the stairwell in a home filled with students after high school graduation ceremonies about 15 minutes in to the movie.

Hermie, Oscy, and Benjie graduate from high school. Dorothy is long gone. The war is calling. Hermie is going to college. Oscy is still girl crazy. Benjie signs up with the marines only to be ridiculed by the other two. After sending him off to the war, Hermie and Oscy go to college together. Hermie is taken with high-strung school reporter Julie. The boys join a frat where they get hazed. Oscy gets kicked out and joins the Army but he's stationed off New York as a typist.

I feel like this is missing the biggest issue of the era, the war. It's always in the background but these characters are not actually in it. Benjie goes off to war and disappears. The football sucks because all the real men are gone. There are constant references to the war. I expected more pressure for the guys to join. It could have done a separation of paths by doing the other half with Benjie at war. This is Animal House but the bigger issue of the war is pushed to the sidelines. That may be the point but it makes the movie less compelling. I do appreciate its semi-autobiographical nature. This is notable for John Candy's theatrical debut as a side character early in the movie.

I am adding one more 4 to the Class of 44. At the time of its release, it was panned unmercifully by most critics; and they were not too far off the truth. Since I had such great regard for Summer of 42, which was twice as good as this film, I tried to keep an open mind about it. The only content I found amusing was the imitation of the Columbia University football team (they lost 70 in a row in the 70s). At least this team was better than Columbia. There did not seem to be any chemistry between Grimes and the actress with the birthmark or black and blue mark under her left eye, which I thought was terribly unattractive. Too many pots left on the stove boiling according to my old film professor. After one of the friends joins the marines, we never hear from him again. After Oscar joins the military, he still remains a putz. And college seems terribly unappealing to Herman Goring. The laughs are too few and far in between, and the contrived relationships are pretty much sowhat. Disappointing at several levels. Don't bother watching this turkey; watch the original Summer of 42 instead.

Anyone who was around in 1971 remembers the sensation that "Summer of '42" caused back then. In a more proper time, the story of a young war bride and an innocent teenager was a smash hit with audiences. So...an inevitable sequel with most of the original cast was released in 1973.

"Class of '44" should have been titled "Hermie and Oscy Go to College" since that's about all the sequel is about. Hermie (Gary Grimes), Oscy (Jerry Hauser), and Benjie (Oliver Conant) graduate from high school, after which Hermie and Oscy attend college while Benjie joins the service. Hermie becomes involved with rich Julie (Deborah Winters) and Oscy is thrown out of school, leading to the nondescript end of the movie in a train station with Julie and Hermie confirming their love.

"Class of '44" isn't a bad movie, it just can't possibly compete with "Summer of '42" on any level. There's no real momentum to this film, we don't care much about the characters, and the basic plot simply meanders all over the place. Christopher Norris and Jennifer O'Neill are sadly missing from this movie, and their absence really makes a difference. John Candy has a brief role after the high school graduation sequence but it's not much.

Grimes disappeared from movies after a couple of years, Winters had a very short acting career, and Houser and O'Neill went on to establish themselves as solid actors in movies and on television. "Class of '44" isn't nearly as profound or entertaining as the original film, but it's certainly acceptable for an undemanding evening if you can locate the DVD.