The Rookie (1959 film)

The Rookie

Promotional poster
Directed by George O'Hanlon
Produced by Tommy Noonan
Written by George O'Hanlon
Tommy Noonan
Starring Tommy Noonan
Peter Marshall
Julie Newmar
Music by Paul Dunlap
Cinematography Floyd Crosby
Edited by Harry W. Gerstad
Production
company
Associated Productions, Inc.
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release date
 December 1, 1959
Running time
 84 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $158,000

The Rookie is a 1959 American comedy film directed by George O'Hanlon in CinemaScope. It was the first film starring the comedy team of Tommy Noonan and Peter Marshall, they also appeared together in the 1962 film Swingin' Along.

Plot

Set in 1945, Thomas Patrick Noonan (Tommy Noonan) is a radio station page who receives an Army induction draft notice on the day World War II ends. He insists he should fulfill his military duty, and a mistake at the Pentagon results in a decommissioned stateside military facility being kept open to accommodate his basic training.

Sgt. Peter Marshall (Peter Marshall), who is in charge of shutting the camp down, is angry he has to remain in the Army, since he was planning to marry his girlfriend, movie starlet Lili Marlene (Julie Newmar). Tommy falls in love with Lili, and her press agent devises a publicity stunt for Lili to return the emotion and plan to marry him. The sergeant, who is furious about losing Lili, attempts to sabotage Tommy’s basic training, but his scheme backfires and the two men find themselves stationed in Japan. Lili follows them, and through complicated circumstances the trio wind up stranded on a desert island that is soon visited by two Japanese sailors who are unaware the war has ended.

Cast

Production

The Rookie was the first film in which Noonan and Marshall, who had appeared on television and in nightclubs during the late 1940s and 1950s, had starring roles.[1] Their only previous film work had been a cameo appearance in Starlift in 1951.[2] The Rookie was intended to be the first in a series of films starring the comedy duo, who were being billed as the "new Abbott and Costello" by the studio.[3] The two also played the Japanese sailors who encounter the American soldiers on the deserted island.[3]

The Rookie was made by 20th Century Fox on a budget of only $158,000.[1] Peter Marshall would later recall the television program Adventures in Paradise was the only other production being filmed at Fox during that time, and he felt the lack of activity made the studio feel like a "ghost town."[1]

The Rookie scored a strong box office performance, encouraging 20th Century Fox to rehire Noonan and Marshall for a second feature, originally titled Double Trouble but renamed Swingin' Along prior to its 1962 release. It was not successful and Noonan and Marshall broke up to pursue solo careers.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Marshall, Peter, Backstage with the Original Hollywood Square. University of California Press 2002. ISBN 1-55853-980-8, pp. 3-7
  2. ↑ Maltin, Leonard, Movie Comedy Teams Signet 1970, pp. 338-39
  3. 1 2 The Rookie at Turner Classic Movies
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