Yankees à Vista

This B-movie was one of a long series of war comedies starring William Tracy as the bright and lovable Sergeant Doubleday. While I loved the very first film, TANKS A MILLION, the series was pretty uneven--with some being very good and a few (like this one) being pretty poor excuses for movies. My score of three might be as low as it is because I knew that these Hal Roach produced films COULD be enjoyable and original--this one was not. In fact, in some ways it was like a dull film with bits of 3 Stooges thrown in for good measure.

In this film, Doubleday and his annoying friend Ames were shipping out overseas to action. As usual, Ames is Doubleday's foil and I think this is a major weakness of these films. After a couple films, Ames becomes very tiresome and his character just grates on you. He's ALWAYS selfish, stupid and trying to hurt his friend Doubleday--and after a while you start to think "what's funny about that?". In TANKS A MILLION, it worked well--here it's just bad. Plus again and again, second-rate gags are used that just don't provide laughs. Unfortunately, the film also does not end well--the Japanese sub segment is just lame.

Oh, and while I am ranting about Ames, I thought I'd throw in a few words about continuity. From film to film, continuity is a major problem. Ames is a master sergeant in his first film, but stripes keep disappearing in subsequent films--even though time and again his superior officers praise him and he is rewarded for brains and courage. Also, the sweet Ames goes from girl to girl in the films--making him seem pretty fickle since he is engaged to a couple of them! Unfortunately, the only real constant in the films is Ames. Why, oh why Ames?! If you are a fan of the series and MUST see them all, then by all means watch this one. If not, then see TANKS A MILLION and leave it at that. The film is one of the best war comedies of the 40s--perhaps THE best and a lot funnier and timeless than the very popular BUCK PRIVATES.

Oh, and the other reviewer is right--the helmets were worn backwards throughout the film!