Review: What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?

A WWII comedy in which soldiers Dick Shawn, Aldo Ray, and James Coburn are tasked with capturing a small Italian town. The locals (led by Sergio Fantoni) would normally be happy to surrender, only they’d like to finish with their local festival first. A festival that never seems to end. Carroll O’Connor and Harry Morgan play a General and Major, respectively.

 

There were a lot of big, loud, bombastic war-comedies made during the 60s and 70s. This 1966 film from director Blake Edwards (“Days of Wine and Roses”, “The Pink Panther”, “The Great Race”) and screenwriter William Peter Blatty (writer/author of “The Exorcist”) is most certainly…one of them. A flat, seemingly aimless film that offers up a decent showing for Dick Shawn, Aldo Ray (surprisingly adaptable to comedy), and a scene-stealing Sergio Fantoni, but little else of merit. Casting Shawn as a very silly straight man in a film full of kooks and nutbars is pretty inspired, and Fantoni is genuinely hilarious at times. Nice small turn by Leon Askin of “Hogan’s Heroes” cast as a German Colonel, and Harry Morgan is somewhat amusing as a character similarly named to his later “*M*A*S*H” character, only crazy as a loon.

 

However, the film gets bogged down quite early with a never-ending festival of tedium it never recovers from. The film also wastes the considerable talents and charisma of James Coburn. Coburn is barely given a character to distinguish himself, let alone anything funny to say or do. If you’ve ever watched “Charade”, “The President’s Analyst” or the Derek Flint spoofs, you know Coburn’s at least capable in comedic surrounds. Edwards and Blatty just offer him nothing besides top-billing in a film where Shawn is the real leading man. Casting the charismatic Coburn as the one ‘normal’ person (Shawn’s the ‘straight man’ but hardly a conventional one) opposite oddballs and morons means he’s the least interesting person here. However, no one here is able to make enough of this sluggish, slow, static, slapstick-y misfire to ultimately recommend it. It’s all madcap and shout-y all the time, and that gets played out real quick.

 

Some chuckles here and there, especially from Fantoni and Shawn, but a lot of dry spots. A lot of dry spots in this overlong film. Dreadful title, too. No wonder it’s been largely forgotten, this war-comedy is very, very loud but static. Being a bit better than “Hannibal Brooks” is hardly much of an achievement, though it’ll probably be someone’s idea of good fun. I tend to prefer Edwards’ more dramatic films like “Days of Wine and Roses” to things like this and the godawful dud “The Great Race”.

 

Rating: C