JohnHowardReid Copyright 3 August 1944 by Columbia Pictures Corp. New York opening at Loew's Criterion: 2 August 1944. U.S. release: 3 August 1944. Australian release: 15 February 1945. 7,315 feet. 80 minutes.U.K. release title: ARMS AND THE WOMAN.SYNOPSIS: Wife objects to her husband cutting a gate in his backyard fence so that he can reach his shop on the other side. She insists that he walk around the whole block.NOTES: Robert Mitchum is in this movie as one of Winkle's instructors I believe, but you'll certainly have to be mighty quick to catch him. I've seen the movie at least three times and I've never spotted him.VIEWER'S GUIDE: With a nagging wife constantly browbeating her meek little good-Joe hubby, the kids will think they're right at home with this one. Suitable for all.COMMENT: It's odd to find a luminary like Edward G. Robinson starring in a B-grader - especially in a B-grader like this one. It's the sort of movie that gives old black-and-white films a bad name. Despite its very middling entertainment value, it does have remarkable staying power. It enjoyed a successful theatrical release (in Australia it was in continuous circulation until the mid-1950s, when almost all Columbia's other wartime product had disappeared) and has been frequently broadcast on Oz TV - as recently as April, 2001. Perhaps its homely theme, its little guy rejecting books and making good with his hands, is what appeals to many audiences. Certainly Wilbert Winkle is a character with which many people can identify - and he is portrayed with ease, skill and sympathy by Edward G. Robinson.But everything else about Mr Winkle Goes To War is second-rate. The cornball script not only runs a predictable course, but that course has quite a few unbelievable holes, and the running takes far too long. True, the central idea is promising, but it's resolved in a typically small-budget way with the producer making a virtue out of the necessity of bypassing the expensive "Welcome Home" parade. Yes, the action climax and the training scenes are reasonably lively, but all the trivial domestic guff between Robinson and his insipid partner Ruth Warrick, and all that sentimental tosh with Ted Donaldson's helpful orphan could stand considerable trimming. The dialogue is often slow and tedious and most of the players have a hard time with it, particularly Robert Armstrong, though Lane registers okay as the sergeant.Technically, Mr Winkle is equally undistinguished. Green's direction has occasional spurts of energy, but is mostly slow and mercilessly routine. The music score is strictly Mickey Mouse, aggressively underlining every "comic" and "dramatic" development. Even the photography is so flat and unattractive that for just this once we wouldn't object to "color enhancement". At least that would give the whole movie a much-needed lift from the "B" doldrums.

Michael O'Keefe This is a war drama with some humor. Edward G. Robinson plays Wilbert Winkle, a somewhat nerdy, mild-mannered banker that decides to quit his job and open his own handyman fix-it shop. His overbearing wife Amy (Ruth Warrick) is very displeased and orders him to move into his shop in the garage. Nag, nag, nag and Wilbert is surprised and actually thrilled when he gets notice of being drafted for military duty during WWll; to put on that uniform and fight the Japanese. Who could ever image wimpy Mr. Winkle returning a war hero? Other players: Richard Lane, Ted Donaldson, Robert Armstrong, Bob Haymes, William Forrest, Warren Ashe and Hugh Beaumont.

Michael_Elliott Mr. Winkle Goes to War (1944) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Edward G. Robinson plays Mr. Winkle, an elderly, out of shape man who gets drafted for the war and shocks everyone when he passes everyone's expectations. I really wasn't sure what to expect from this war comedy but it turned out to be a fairly delightful little film. The story is as thin as a sheet of paper but its heart is in the right place and Robinson is great as usual. It was a lot of fun seeing Robinson playing a weak soul and watching him turn into the hero was very believable due to the actor. The supporting cast includes good work from Bob Stanton, Robert Armstrong and Richard Lane. Robert Mitchum has a very small part and I only noticed him during one scene. The war time scenes are rather cheap but look pretty good and the ending is predictable but nice.

bkoganbing Reaching back for his character from The Whole Town's Talking, or at least one of them, Edward G. Robinson plays Wilbert Winkle who at 44 wants a change in life. He gets far more than he bargained for when he's drafted during World War II.That actually happened. I had a great uncle who was 44 in 1942 and had served in the first World War. That made no difference, because along with my father who was 23 at the time, my great uncle like Wilbert Winkle found himself drafted, though fortunately he didn't get another trip overseas courtesy of Uncle Sam.Winkle's a meek little clerk in a bank in what has proved to be a dead end job. He's decided to quit and turn a hobby into a business. He likes to work with his hands and opens up a fix it shop. That doesn't sit well with wife Ruth Warrick. In fact the only one who approves is a kid from a nearby group home, Ted Donaldson, who's devoted to Winkle.Of course everything changes when Winkle of all people pulls a Sergeant York act out in the Pacific Theater. It's interesting to see how people treat him then.Mr. Winkle Goes To War is a pleasant and whimsical film with a nice restrained performance by Edward G. Robinson. A far cry from Little Caesar indeed. His scenes with Ted Donaldson are quite poignant.It's a film I'm sure could be remade today and maybe should.