Always trouble with Sergeant Bilko

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Movie
German title Always trouble with Sergeant Bilko
Original title Sgt. Bilko
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1996
length 90 minutes
Age rating FSK 6
Rod
Director Jonathan Lynn
script Andy Breckman
production Brian Grazer
music Alan Silvestri
camera Peter Sova
cut Tony Lombardo
occupation

Trouble with Sergeant Bilko ( Sgt. Bilko ) is an American film comedy by Jonathan Lynn from the year 1996 . The main role is played by Steve Martin . The plot is based on the American television comedy series The Phil Silvers Show from the 1950s.

action

The Private First Class Wally Holbrook meets its assigned base of the US Army that will be commanded by Colonel John T. Hall. The Colonel assigns him to the vehicle repair shop, which is run by Master Sergeant Ernest G. Bilko. Colonel Hall warns young Holbrook about Bilko and his troops and advises him to hide his money in his hat. In the workshop, Holbrook realizes that military discipline is not far off, but that the entire company indulges in gambling and capitalizes on bets with soldiers from the entire base. Lotteries and dog races are also organized. Everything is organized and covered up by Bilko, who seems to have an unmistakable nose for where to get money. He lets Holbrook know their customs: His first job is to reset the mileage counter on Colonel Hall's vehicle, since Bilko had lent the car for a profit over the weekend. However, Holbrook is still firmly convinced of his military duties and refuses. In the meantime Colonel Hall shows up asking for his car. But Bilko has set up a sophisticated warning system so that his people can get all suspicious aside in no time and restore normal military conditions, and he himself has numerous excuses to distract from the real issue.

The next day, Bilko missed the appointment for the wedding with his fiancée Rita Robbins, who, not for the first time, was waiting in vain for him in church. Again, Bilko has a number of excuses ready. Rita gives Bilko an ultimatum: If he doesn't marry her within the next 30 days, it's over for good.

Meanwhile, rumors are circulating in the Army that smaller bases should be closed for cost reasons. These rumors intensified when Major Colin Thorn visits the base as a stage manager for the Department of Defense . Since a new type of hover tank is being developed at the base , Thorn wants to see the progress. Everything goes wrong during the demonstration: the tank hovers but gets out of control when it fires a shot. Thorn announces that the base will be closed and wants to leave, but changes his mind when he learns of Bilko's presence. Thorn and Bilko share an old enmity: a few years ago a boxing match was held at another army base. Bilko had bribed one of the two opponents. Thorn, who suspected the manipulation, was caught by the military police at the exact moment when he found the bribe in the locker of one of the boxers. So he was arrested by mistake and transferred to a base in Greenland as a punishment . Now he is out for revenge.

Thorn hires two specialists to review Bilko's activities. They find some inconsistencies, but Bilko has a plausible explanation for everything. During the inventory of his unit, the two of Bilko's people are repeatedly duped. Finally, the inspectors report to Thorn that they could not find any incriminating evidence. Thorn persuades Hall to let Bilko and his party take part in a maneuver near Las Vegas . In Bilko's absence, who drove with his people to Las Vegas to the casinos instead of the maneuvers, the specialists crack his computer. Thorn then manipulates the data in such a way that it looks as if Bilko has embezzled the funds for the hover tank project.

Confronted with this fabricated evidence, Colonel Hall is forced to relocate Bilko to Greenland to save him the military tribunal. Bilko uses a trick to persuade Hall to organize another demonstration of the hover tank. He guarantees that everything will work and that the base will avoid being closed. Then he sets a trap for Thorn: he lets him overhear a fictitious conversation about the tactical hover card , which is the module causing the error, but the problems have since been resolved. Thorn then stole the said card from the tank at night. The following day, the responsible general and numerous congressmen take part in the renewed demonstration. The tank fires while hovering at several targets that appear to be hit. In reality, Bilko's people use flamethrowers to send a beam of fire through the barrel and detonate the target remotely. The audience is enthusiastic about the performance, but Thorn is furious. Now he goes on the offensive and accuses Bilko of fraud, but is not heard. Thereupon he gossips and triumphantly shows the plug-in card he stole, without which the tank should not have functioned at all. With that he has convicted himself of sabotage and ends up back in Greenland.

After everything is over, Private Holbrook has also settled in with the group. He's already busy resetting the mileage counter on Colonel Hall's car. Eventually Sergeant Bilko and Rita Robbins get married.

Reviews

James Berardinelli wrote on ReelViews that the film was one of Martin's ridiculous and unoriginal films of recent times. The quality of the comedy varies from “mediocre” to “terrible”. The cast list looks like a meeting of the alumni of the television show Saturday Night Live .

Roger Ebert wrote in the Chicago Sun-Times on March 29, 1996 that he could imagine Jim Carrey or Joe Mantegna in the role of Sgt. Bilko. However, he ended up praising Steve Martin's portrayal.

The lexicon of international film finds “the staging bland and some jokes only moderately original”. Due to the “high-class leading actors” and the “unknown, but talented supporting actors”, the film is nevertheless “an entertaining piece of entertainment that is surprisingly direct in its military criticism”.

background

The film was shot in California . Production costs were estimated at 39 million dollars , the film played in the cinemas of US dollars 30.4 million one. The German Film and Media Evaluation FBW in Wiesbaden awarded the film the title valuable.

Footnotes

  1. ^ Review by James Berardinelli
  2. ^ Review by Roger Ebert
  3. ↑ Always having trouble with Sergeant Bilko. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed April 23, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  4. ^ Business Data for Sgt. Bilko

Web links