| At War with the Army | |
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1958 theatrical reissue poster |
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| Directed by | Hal Walker |
| Produced by | Fred Finklehoffe |
| Written by | James Allardice (play) Fred Finklehoffe |
| Starring | Dean Martin Jerry Lewis Mike Kellin Jimmy Dundee Polly Bergen |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | December 30, 1950 |
| Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
At War with the Army is a 1950 musical comedy film directed by Hal Walker and starring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis. It was filmed from July through August 1949, and released on December 30, 1950 by Paramount. It was re-released in 1958 by OMAT Pictures.
Although filmed before My Friend Irma Goes West, it was held back until the sequel to Martin and Lewis' smash film debut My Friend Irma was released.
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Vic Puccinelli and Alvin Korwin are former nightclub partners who are now enlisted in the United States Army. Sergeant Puccinelli (Dean Martin) now ranks above his former equal, Private First Class Korwin (Jerry Lewis).
Puccinelli is desperately trying to get transferred from his dull job to active duty overseas. Meanwhile, Korwin desperately wants a pass to see his wife and new baby. In addition, they both have to rehearse for the Army's talent show and avoid the wrath of Sergeant McVey (Mike Kellin).
Along the way they both sing a few songs, and they do an impression of Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald by recreating a scene from Going My Way for the talent show.
When Martin and Lewis signed their film contract with Paramount Pictures, they were allowed to make one film "outside" the studio per year through their own company, York Productions. This film was made under that provision, with the stars taking a small salary in exchange for 90 percent of the film's profits.
However, upon its release, Martin and Lewis ended up in a long, drawn-out legal battle. After several years, they relinquished all financial interest in this film in exchange for not having to make any more of these "outside" ones. The copyright on this film was not renewed in 1977, resulting in it's public domain status.
The film is based on a play by James B. Allardice that ran for 151 performances from 1948-49 with Mike Kellin repeating his role.[1]
This film's copyright was registered to York Pictures Corp. and Screen Associates, Inc. on January 23, 1951 (LP 679), and was renewed on December 7, 1979 (RE43009).[2] However, the film has since lapsed into the public domain.
As this film is in the public domain, there have been at least a dozen DVD releases from a variety of companies over the years.
Hurst, Walter (1989). Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain (1950-1959). Hollywood Film Archive. ISBN 091361629X.
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