Jethro Troll I knew nothing about this movie until I happened to catch it one day on TV years ago. I couldn't believe how good it was, and how I've never heard anything about a movie of this caliber. I truly felt like I stumbled upon a hidden gem.The acting is superb, as many of the lead characters were accomplished Broadway actors. It's refreshing to actually see a movie that relies on a good script with actors capable of performing it at a high level, instead of the crappy movies of today that rely on CGI, explosions and breasts. Hollywood should probably take some notes from this movie.The star of the show is Andy Griffith, who plays Will Stockdale, a simple, naive, unsophisticated rube from the South that gets drafted into the military. He's absolutely brilliant in this role, and you really see just how talented he was as a lead comedic actor. The movie basically revolves around Pvt Stockdale, his new friend and bunk mate, Pvt Whitledge (who dreams of being an infantry soldier), and their barracks sergeant, Sgt King. Stockdale's goofiness and unsophistication continually cause havoc for those around him, especially for Sgt King, a lifer that does everything possible to keep things calm but always finds himself in compromising situations thanks to the antics of Stockdale. There is memorable scene after memorable scene, such as Stockdale being named the P.L.O. (Permanent Latrine Orderly), which he thinks is a promotion, and makes all the commodes salute during inspections. There's the night he out drank everybody at the Enlisted Club and walked away unscathed during a fight that gets everybody else in trouble. How he somehow turned the tables on the Doctor during his psychological exam. The airplane scene where everybody thought him and Whitledge were dead. I can go on and on. This movie is just flat-out hilarious from start to finish.Stockdale being such a likable character only helps this movie, as you genuinely find yourself rooting for him when he gets into trouble, and cheering for him as he always seems to muddle his way through them. The acting is tight, the pace is crisp and there is memorable scene after memorable scene in this riot of a movie. If you like comedies, this is a must see.

calvinnme ... plus it is fun too! This is really worth watching for two reasons. It is obviously a blueprint for the popular spin-off TV show "Gomer Pyle USMC" starring Jim Nabors in the part played here by Andy Griffith, and it is interesting to make comparisons between the two. Secondly, it really is part of a tribute to the great yet unappreciated range Andy Griffith had as an actor. Here he plays the yokel as well-meaning good guy, anxious to serve his country but just too friendly and green to fully comprehend the discipline he is under in training camp. He thinks it is an honor when the sergeant gives him latrine duty, and his version of the 21-gun salute when the latrine is inspected is truly hilarious. Watch this and then watch him play the yokel as bad guy in "A Face in the Crowd".

Robert J. Maxwell I kind of like comedies that truly work. They come around so rarely. I've never read the novel but I've seen the filmed play, which also starred Andy Griffith and there have been only a few changes, mostly not for the better. The play was by Ira Levin. He's gone now but must have been quite a guy, his tongue permanently in his cheek. He had sufficient role distance to make fun of the premise of "The Boys From Brazil," his own work.This was Levin's first produced play and it's extremely amusing. It's about a barefoot hillbilly (Griffith) inducted into the U. S. Air Force, acquiring a friend with low esteem, and tangling with a Master Sergeant in charge of the barracks during basic training.Griffith's character is big, strong, stupidly candid, naively enthusiastic, clumsy, almost impervious to insults, friendly, helpful, kind, cheerful, brave, and reverent, the kind of guy who would help little old ladies across the street. Maybe it was Boy Scout basic training.Nick Adams' role doesn't amount to much. He's there chiefly to explain to the monumentally rustic Griffith (and to the viewer) what's going on. Murray Hamilton as an arrogant recruit is better. But Griffith gets great help from Myron McCormick as the Sergeant. McCormick is one of those mid-level bureaucrats who wants to see everything flow smoothly along -- no waves -- without disturbing the higher echelon, so he can collect his pension after twenty or thirty years of polite penal servitude. Griffith's arrival not only makes waves. It sinks the boat.The comedy builds upon itself, getting more complicated and more funny, although the third act has its weak moments -- a scene built around a rogue airplane that might have come directly out of an Abbott and Costello movie. But, no matter. Not only do the absurdities accumulate logically but the story is sprinkled with one liners that both nail Griffith's naiveté and are funny in themselves. At Lights Out on his first night in the barracks, a bugle sounds taps. Griffith stands at the window, looking out wonderingly, and muses, "Somebody brung his trumpet." It's really amusing.

jbrutland The movie is based on a book of the same name. Both the movie and the book is set in Callville. The author, Mac Hyman, was born and died in Cordele, Georgia. It isn't hard to see that "Callville" is just a play on the name of the author's hometown of "Cordele." Hyman was studying at Duke University when he left to serve his country in World War II in the Army Air Corps. After the war, he completed his studies at Duke and returned to Cordele. That was when Hyman wrote the novel. It was adapted for television first and then for Broadway and then the movie. Andy Griffith played Will Stockdale in all 3 versions. It was Griffith's second movie after "A Face in the Crowd."