Tanks a million
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Tanks a million |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1941 |
| length | 50 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Fred Guiol |
| script |
Paul Gerard Smith , Warren Wilson |
| production | Hal Roach |
| music | Edward Ward |
| camera | Robert Pittack |
| cut | Richard C. Currier |
| occupation | |
| |
Tanks a Million is a 1941 American comedy film directed by Fred Guiol . Edward Ward was nominated for an Oscar in 1942 for film music ( Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic Picture ), but the award in the category went to The Devil and Daniel Webster .
action
The know-it-all Dorian "Dodo" Doubleday enters the United States Army . Already at the train station he offended the other recruits, but especially the instructor Sergeant Ames. When he arrives at Camp Carver, Sergeant Ames begins to drill him with Army regulations. The recruit answers correctly. He gets the attention of officers who are so impressed that, to Ames' annoyance, they also promote him to sergeant and entrust him with the training of F Company. Various incidents occur. When the strict Colonel "Spitfire" Barkley visits the camp, Doubleday is assigned to him as an adjudant at the instigation of Ames. Doubleday gets into an argument with the Colonel over a hairbrush as soon as he arrives, and a talc mishap ensues. Doubleday tries to clean the Colonel's uniform jacket and puts it on for the sake of simplicity. His girlfriend Jeannie meets him and is impressed by his rank. Before Doubleday can clear up the misunderstanding, he is picked up for a radio show scheduled for the Colonel. At the camp, the officers and Ames are delighted that Doubleday stole the Colonel's uniform. However, the Colonel received a call from Washington, DC , praising the radio appearance. As a result, Doubleday is therefore not punished, but appointed permanently as an adjutant. The film ends with the remaining recruits burying Dorian Doubleday under their rifles as a rubdown.
background
Tanks a Million was the first "streamliner" from producer Hal Roach . This is how he referred to films that were shorter than the usual feature films, but longer than short films . They should be shown as part of a “double feature”. The film also kicked off a line of military outfits starring William Tracy and Joe Sawyer .
reception
In the New York Times, Bosley Crowther found the representation of life in the US Army in Tanks a Million not very realistic.
Web links
- Tanks a Million in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Richard Lewis Ward, History of the Hal Roach Studios , South Illinois University Press, Carbondale 2005, ISBN 978-0-8093-2727-0 , p. 125.
- ↑ Bosley Crowther, 'Tanks a Million,' a Hal Roach Comedy About Army Life as It Isn't, at Loew's Criterion , The New York Times, October 9, 1941.