When one views a Martin and Lewis film, one wasn't expect much I guess. You have Lewis's patented clowning around, and Martin's singing straight man. At War with the Army is the first movie I've seen of theirs as a team (I've seen other films with them as stars separately). It's somewhat interesting to watch them as a team. They play off each other quite well, even though the material here is quite treacly and quite hammy. You can probably predict that they're Army soldiers going into one hi-jinx after another in the barracks. This is taken from a stage play, not too sure if Martin and Lewis starred in the actual play, ( my guess is that they did). Not exactly Tony material.
One thing that did surprise me though, is what a showman Jerry Lewis is. His singing and dancing along with his comic timing is quite impeccable here, a sure sign of things to come.
One thing that did surprise me though, is what a showman Jerry Lewis is. His singing and dancing along with his comic timing is quite impeccable here, a sure sign of things to come.