SERVICE COMEDIES
A sampling of films made very popular during and after WW2 where the Military is the background or foreground for antics fun and otherwise
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- DirectorFred GuiolStarsStan LaurelOliver HardyViola RichardThe Merry Maiden's tough captain sets his sights on the love-smitten Willie Brisling's charming fiancée and kidnaps her. Now, she is a prisoner of love. Will the adulterous sea captain get away with cheating?
- DirectorLewis R. FosterStarsStan LaurelOliver HardyJames FinlaysonOn shore leave from the Navy, seamen Stanley and Oliver want to treat two attractive single girls to a glass of soda in the park but only have enough change for three sodas.
- DirectorJohn G. BlystoneStarsStan LaurelOliver HardyPatricia EllisStan, who has remained faithfully at his World War I post for twenty years, finally comes home where his best friend, Ollie, takes him in, thus allowing him to discover the many conveniences of the modern world.
- DirectorEdward SedgwickStarsStan LaurelOliver HardyEdgar KennedyTwo bumblers, failures as businessmen and air raid wardens, stumble across a nest of Nazi saboteurs bent on blowing up the local magnesium plant.
- DirectorPreston SturgesStarsEddie BrackenBetty HuttonDiana LynnAfter an all-night send-off party for the troops, a small-town girl with an awkward boyfriend wakes up to find herself married and pregnant, but with no memory of her husband's identity.
- DirectorPreston SturgesStarsEddie BrackenElla RainesRaymond WalburnWoodrow is discharged from the military for hay fever, but fabricates receiving a heroic honorable discharge before returning home.
- DirectorDavid ButlerStarsBob HopeDorothy LamourLynne OvermanA movie star who can't stand loud noises accidentally joins the Army.
- DirectorBusby BerkeleyStarsJudy GarlandGeorge MurphyGene KellyTwo vaudeville performers fall in love, but find their relationship tested by the arrival of WWI.
- DirectorHal WalkerStarsDean MartinJerry LewisMike KellinAlvin Corwin is low man on the totem pole, and goes from one mishap to another at an army training camp in World War II.
- DirectorArthur LubinStarsBud AbbottLou CostelloLee BowmanTwo sidewalk salesman enlist in the army in order to avoid jail, only to find that their drill instructor is the police officer who tried having them imprisoned.
- DirectorArthur LubinRalph CederStarsBud AbbottLou CostelloMartha RayeWhen a barnstorming stunt pilot joins the Air Corps, his two goofball assistants decide to go with him.
- DirectorEdward H. GriffithStarsFred AstaireJoan LeslieRobert BenchleyFred Atwell sneaks away from his famous squadron's personal appearance tour and goes incognito for several days off.
- DirectorSidney LanfieldStarsFred AstaireRita HayworthRobert BenchleyIn order to cover up his philandering ways, a married Broadway producer sets one of his dancers up on a date with a chorus girl for whom he had bought a gift, but the two dancers fall in love for real.
- DirectorDon TaylorStarsMickey RooneyBuddy HackettJackie CooperTwo sailors sneak a talking duck on board their ship. Complications ensue.
- DirectorJohn FordMervyn LeRoyJoshua LoganStarsHenry FondaJames CagneyWilliam PowellIn the waning days of World War II, the cargo officer of a Navy supply ship chafes at its role far from the action in the Pacific's backwater areas, his frustration rising when its captain denies the crew liberty over petty irritations.
- DirectorMitsuyo SeoThis animated film--Japan's first--was a propaganda piece made to show the Japanese public how the Japanese military had achieved such decisive victories in the South Pacific. It tells the story of young Japanese boys from their school days to their joining the army and fighting against Japan's "enemies" and shows how the animals in the jungle--meant to symbolize the residents of the Asian countries the Japanese conquered--welcomed the Japanese army's "liberating" them from their western masters.
- DirectorJoshua LoganStarsRobert Walker Jr.Burl IvesWalter MatthauLife becomes harried after Ensign Pulver's prank. He and the captain are swept overboard during a storm, ending up on a tropical island with a group of shipwrecked nurses, dancing natives, and one very big case of appendicitis.
- DirectorGeorge MarshallStarsGlenn FordStella StevensMelvyn DouglasWhen A Union Army outfit of misfits and rejects is sent to the Western territory, Southern spies try to figure out what they're doing there.
- DirectorNorman TaurogStarsFrankie AvalonDeborah WalleyCesar RomeroAn astronaut goes into space with a chimpanzee. When they return to Earth after their orbit, it is discovered that the chimp has the brains of the astronaut, and the astronaut has the brains of the chimp. Complications ensue.
- DirectorMarcel VarnelStarsGeorge FormbyPhyllis CalvertGarry MarshShortly after the start of World War II, a ukulele player (George) takes the wrong boat and finds himself in (still uninvaded) Norway. He is mistaken for a fellow British intelligence agent by a woman (Mary), and becomes involved in trying to defeat German agents.
- DirectorDelmer DavesStarsBette DavisJohn GarfieldThe Andrews SistersTwo soldiers on leave spend three nights at a club offering free of charge food, dancing, and entertainment for servicemen on their way overseas. Club founders Bette Davis and John Garfield give talks on the history of the place.
- DirectorFrank BorzageStarsCheryl WalkerWilliam TerryJudith AndersonA young soldier arrives in NYC and, before heading overseas to WWII, visits Stage Door Canteen, where famous actresses and entertainers volunteer to entertain soldiers.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsGeorge MurphyJoan LeslieGeorge TobiasA soldier wounded in the War (WWI) becomes a producer and stages a show for the forces.
- DirectorH. Bruce HumberstoneStarsJane WithersThe Ritz BrothersLynn BariOut of work vaudevillians join the army in WWI and head for France where they encounter an American girl (Withers) whose father (Schildkraut) is a French officer. Lots of slapstick.
- DirectorPhil KarlsonStarsElyse KnoxAnn GillisSally EilersHenny, talent scout for the Margaret Ames Film Agency in Hollywood, mistakes understudies Judy and Marian for Eileen and Betty, the real stars of a Broadway show and signs them up for movies. Margaret, furious with Henny for the blunder, fires him--temporarily. Another agent, Marty Allen, once married to and still in love with Margaret, signs Betty and Eileen. Henny arrives with Judy and Marian, and the nightclub manager asks Henny to emcee the show. Though he is not sure himself what they can do, Henny introduces the girls and they make a hit in a dramatic sketch. (Simmer down, it's just a Monogram movie, and their nightclub attendees can react anyway director Phil Karlstein/Karlson wants them to.) Big-time movie producer R. J. signs them to a film contract. What does this have to do with the title, "A WAVE, a WAC and a Marine"? Judy joins the WAVES, Marian the WACS and Marty the Marines and all have two weeks before induction, and that is more than long enough to shoot a Monogram musical-within-a-Monogram musical and have a few days to spare.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsBing CrosbyDanny KayeRosemary ClooneyA successful song-and-dance team become romantically involved with a sister act and team up to save the failing Vermont inn of their former commanding general.
- DirectorHarold YoungStarsKen MurrayFrances LangfordDon WilsonA DJ on radio station, who's husband is in the Army, gives her job to her twin sister, without letting anybody know about this.
- DirectorJerry HopperStarsCharlton HestonJulie AdamsWilliam DemarestAs a disciplinary measure, the Army transfers a heavy-handed Major to a ROTC academy where he must shape-up cadets and improve the school's overall ratings.
- DirectorBlake EdwardsStarsCary GrantTony CurtisJoan O'BrienDuring World War II, a commander finds himself stuck with a decrepit (and pink) submarine, a con man executive officer, and a group of army nurses.
- DirectorBlake EdwardsStarsTony CurtisJanet LeighKeenan WynnAn Army psychologist oversees her creation: an arctic serviceman sent to Paris with a movie star.
- DirectorDaniel MannStarsMarlon BrandoGlenn FordMachiko KyôIn post-WWII Japan, an American captain is brought in to help build a school, but the locals want a teahouse instead.
- DirectorWilliam A. SeiterStarsKay FrancisCarole LandisMartha RayeReenactments of actual USO experiences of its female stars entertaining troops overseas.
- DirectorGeorge MarshallStarsGlenn FordDonald O'ConnorMiiko TakaU.S. Navy photographic team uses Tokyo geisha house as its home.
- DirectorEdward MontagneStarsErnest BorgnineTim ConwayJoe FlynnThe crazy crew of McHale decide to use their PT boat as an off-track betting parlor and run in to lots of trouble when they owe money to some marines and a horse they bought causes a Japanese sub to run aground.
- DirectorEdward MontagneStarsJoe FlynnTim ConwayBob HastingsThe crew of PT-73 are in trouble again when Ensign Parker poses as an Air Force pilot and sinks the Japanese fleet, without McHale.
- DirectorNorman TaurogStarsElvis PresleyJuliet ProwseRobert IversTulsa, a soldier with dreams of running his own nightclub, places a bet with his friend Dynamite that he can win the heart of an untouchable dancer...but when Dynamite is transferred, Tulsa must replace him in the bet.
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsDonald SutherlandElliott GouldTom SkerrittThe staff of a Korean War field hospital use humor and high jinks to keep their sanity in the face of the horror of war.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsJames CagneyJoan LeslieWalter HustonThe life of the renowned musical composer, playwright, actor, dancer, and singer George M. Cohan.
- DirectorGeorge SidneyJoseph BarberaWilliam HannaStarsFrank SinatraKathryn GraysonGene KellyA pair of sailors on leave try to help a movie extra become a singing star.
- DirectorStanley DonenGene KellyStarsGene KellyFrank SinatraBetty GarrettThree sailors wreak havoc as they search for love during a whirlwind 24-hour leave in New York City.
- DirectorStanley DonenGene KellyStarsGene KellyDan DaileyCyd CharisseThree soldiers meet ten years after their last meeting in New York, and find out that they have little in common now.
- DirectorRalph NelsonStarsSteve McQueenJackie GleasonTuesday WeldThe bond of friendship between a worldly-wise Army Master Sergeant and his naive worshiper.
- DirectorRichard ThorpeStarsSteve McQueenBrigid BazlenJim HuttonA navy lieutenant and his civilian friend use a classified computer to help them break the bank at a Venetian casino.
- DirectorRichard ThorpeStarsJim HuttonPaula PrentissJack CarterA luckless army intelligence lieutenant finds himself stationed on a remote island army outpost during World War II, where all the action is between the sheets.
- DirectorMike NicholsStarsAlan ArkinMartin BalsamRichard BenjaminA man is trying desperately to be certified insane during World War II, so he can stop flying missions.
- 19641h 35mPG8.4 (519K)97MetascoreDirectorStanley KubrickStarsPeter SellersGeorge C. ScottSterling HaydenAn unhinged American general orders a bombing attack on the Soviet Union, triggering a path to nuclear holocaust that a war room full of politicians and generals frantically tries to stop.
- DirectorArthur LubinStarsBud AbbottLou CostelloDick PowellRuss Raymond, America's number one crooner, disappears and joins the Navy under the name Tommy Halstead. Dorothy Roberts, a magazine journalist, is intent on finding out what happened to Russ and she tries everything she can to get a picture of him to prove he's Russ Raymond. Tommy's friends, Pomeroy Watson and Smokey Adams,help him while Pomeroy writes love letters to Patty Andrews. But because Smokey makes Pomeroy lie about himself in the letters, and when Patty comes to the Navy base, she's furious at Pomeroy. When Pomeroy, Smokey, Tommy and the Andrews sisters set sail for Hawaii, Pomeroy discovers there's a tomato in the potato locker, and she's been snapping shots of Tommy the whole trip. Whether Pomeroy's proving that 7 x 13 = 28 - three different ways, having Smokey help him play ship captain for Patty, or falling out of his hammock, it's an Abbott and Costello classic.
- DirectorArthur LubinStarsDonald O'ConnorMartha HyerRichard ErdmanA story following Lieutenant Peter Stirling (Donald O'Connor) and his dream of being in the Navy.
- DirectorArthur LubinStarsDonald O'ConnorPatricia MedinaZasu PittsDuring World War II, a junior American Army officer, Lt. Peter Stirling, gets sent to the psychiatric ward whenever he insists that an Army mule named Francis speaks to him.
- DirectorJonathan LynnStarsSteve MartinDan AykroydPhil HartmanSgt. Bilko is a well-liked conman in charge of the army base's motor pool, developing a hover tank and unofficially of gambling etc. One man hates Bilko and he's coming to inspect the base for possible closure.
- DirectorIvan ReitmanStarsBill MurrayJohn CandyHarold RamisTwo friends who are dissatisfied with their jobs decide to join the army for a bit of fun.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsGinger RogersRay MillandRita JohnsonA frustrated city girl disguises herself as a youngster in order to get a cheaper train ticket home. But little "Sue Sue" finds herself in a whole heap of grown-up trouble when she hides out in a compartment with a handsome Major.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsJean ArthurMarlene DietrichJohn LundIn occupied Berlin, an army captain is torn between an ex-Nazi café singer and the U.S. congresswoman investigating her.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsWilliam HoldenDon TaylorOtto PremingerAfter two Americans are killed while escaping from a German P.O.W. camp in World War II, the barracks black marketeer, J.J. Sefton, is suspected of being an informer.
- DirectorAlbert ZugsmithStarsDavid JanssenPatti PageWalter WinchellSix American GIs stationed in Italy befriend an orphaned boy, but the soldiers remain unaware that the lad has stowed away with them when they return to the U.S.
- DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsCasper Van DienDenise RichardsDina MeyerHumans, in a fascist militaristic future, wage war with giant alien bugs.
- DirectorRichard MurphyStarsJack LemmonRicky NelsonJohn LundDuring WW2, Lt. Rip Crandall, who was a yachtsman before the war, takes command of the USS Echo, a sailing ship, for a secret mission in waters patrolled by Japanese warships.
- DirectorNorman TaurogStarsJerry LewisDina MerrillDiana SpencerDuring the 1950s, a military panel grills Junior Officer John Paul Steckler to find the whereabouts of a Navy destroyer that he temporarily commanded during WWII and is missing.
- DirectorRichard QuineStarsJack LemmonErnie KovacsKathryn GrantIn post-WWII France, U.S. Army hospital Private Hogan and Captain Lock try to outwit each other on issues such as wooing pretty nurses, accounting for missing medical supplies, organizing unauthorized dances, and influencing their C.O.
- DirectorDavid MillerStarsGregory PeckTony CurtisAngie DickinsonIn 1944, an Army doctor is in charge of a neuropsychiatric ward at an Army Air Corps hospital in Arizona, and he must deal with a variety of tough cases.
- DirectorBlake EdwardsStarsJames CoburnDick ShawnSergio FantoniIn World War II, a strategic Italian village agrees to surrender to the Allies only if it's allowed to organize a celebratory festival while giving aerial reconnaissance the false impression of fierce ground fighting.
- DirectorNorman PanamaStarsTony CurtisVirna LisiGeorge C. ScottDuring the Korean War, Italian nurse Virna Lisi falls in love with two American fliers, Tony Curtis and George C. Scott. Lisi marries Curtis after he convinces her that Scott has been killed in a plane crash. She soon discovers Scott is alive, but remains happily married to Curtis until Scott re-enters their lives 14 years later.
- DirectorRichard QuineStarsTony CurtisGloria DeHavenGene NelsonThree sailors on leave (Joe, Al and Davy) head for Paris with one thing on their minds. Joe pursues chanteuse Colette D'Avril who proves to be more than she appears; Davy is pursued by sexy cashier Yvonne; but the blonde Al rescues from a purse snatcher rewards him with kisses, then vanishes without telling him her name. Romantic complications and resolutions follow in true musical comedy fashion.
- DirectorDavid ButlerStarsTab HunterNatalie WoodJessie Royce LandisPrivileged college student Andy Shaeffer is a mama's boy who flunks out of school and is drafted by the army where he becomes a real man, to the astonishment of everyone.
- DirectorRoy RowlandStarsJane PowellTony MartinDebbie ReynoldsThree sailors come ashore and take the city by storm, but can they win the hearts of three women by song?
- DirectorBrian G. HuttonStarsClint EastwoodTelly SavalasDon RicklesA group of U.S. soldiers sneaks across enemy lines in WWII France to get their hands on a secret stash of Nazi treasure.
- DirectorArthur HillerStarsJames GarnerJulie AndrewsMelvyn DouglasAn American Naval Officer's talent for living the good life in wartime is challenged when he falls in love and is sent on a dangerous mission.
- DirectorMark SandrichStarsBing CrosbyBetty HuttonSonny TuftsShow business twin sisters Rosemary and Susie, one serious and the other a scatterbrain, join the WAVES and both fall in love with crooner Johnny Cabot.
- DirectorWesley RugglesStarsRobert WalkerDonna ReedKeenan WynnJournalist Marion Hargrove enters the Army intending to supplement his income by writing about his training experiences. He muddles through basic training at Fort Bragg with the self-serving help of a couple of buddies intent on cutting themselves in on that extra income.
- DirectorElliott NugentStarsRobert WalkerJoan LeslieEdward ArnoldWhen a naval officer's wife breaks her ankle and is laid up, her husband takes over running the household by employing military regimentation and discipline, which leads to a number of amusing situations.
- DirectorStanley DonenStarsCary GrantJayne MansfieldLeif EricksonIn 1944, three Navy pilots stationed in Hawaii and a P.R. officer go on a 4-day leave to San Francisco where they party with a good crowd in the executive suite of a busy hotel.
- DirectorPeter FarrellyStarsZac EfronRussell CroweJake PickingA man's story of leaving New York in 1967 to bring beer to his childhood buddies in the Army while they are fighting in Vietnam.
- DirectorAlbert S. RogellStarsEdmond O'BrienWanda HendrixRudy ValleeEx-WAVE encounters four fun-loving, work-hating men, all of whom want to marry her.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsCary GrantAnn SheridanMarion MarshallAfter marrying an American lieutenant with whom he was assigned to work in post-war Germany, a French captain attempts to find a way to accompany her back to the States under the terms of the War Bride Act.
- DirectorBarry LevinsonStarsRobin WilliamsForest WhitakerTom T. TranIn 1965, an unorthodox and irreverent DJ named Adrian Cronauer begins to shake up things when he is assigned to the U.S. Armed Services radio station in Vietnam.