Good concept, poorly executed.

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

The start was one of the first early television specials. It was then produced as a successful Broadway play after which it was recycled as a hit movie comedy.Its second try following the Hollywood movie as a television situation comedy hit paydirt as The Andy Griffith show. It has more famous people in front of and behind the set than most and as well more movie buffs yearning to know why so many of media fame made a point of being personally committed to it and why it was so successful in so many media formats. Its still available DVD print has flat, dull visuals, slow, boring audio and a general feeling of being so dated those not hoping to continuously academically research it might be better off ignoring it.

Drafted into the air force, an unworldly and unintelligent young man unintentionally and obliviously causes grief for all his superiors in this lively comedy based on a play by Ira Levin. Clocking in at just under two hours, the film is noticeably on the long side. The material runs out of steam towards the end and the movie is very slow to warm up, but once Myron McCormick (as the easily irate drill sergeant) enters the picture around 20 minutes in, there is nary a boring moment to be had. Andy Griffith is decent in the lead role and Nick Adams offers some spunky support, but it is McCormick who truly makes the film come alive with all the funniest scenes working especially well due to his hilarious reactions. The funniest scene has McCormick showing off the latrines (rendered sparkling clean by Griffith) to his immediate superior, only for the situation to turn pear-shaped as Griffith opens his mouth and nonchalantly starts repeating things he has been told, including insults about the superior officer! The humour occasionally feels mean-spirited with a lot of jokes at the expense of the protagonist's lacking intelligence, but generally speaking, the laughs come from how Griffith unreservedly breaks and defies convention in an outfit (the air force) built so heavily on rules and regulations. It is a welcome reminder that a fresh perspective is sometimes necessary in life.

This is an excellent movie. Andy Griffith in the lead role as easy-going, always well- meaning Will Stockdale is a joy to behold. Having played this part on Broadway, Griffith had a long time to hone his performance. His performance is delightful. Nick Adams, who did not have the benefit of a long Broadway run to develop his performance, is well able to keep pace with Griffith, exhibiting a fine sense of comedic timing that was rarely utilized in his future choice of roles (unfortunately). Myron McCormick, another veteran of the Broadway production, delivers an equally deft comedic performance. In fact, the entire cast, down to the smallest role, delivers high-quality performances that make this film entertaining to watch over and over again. I highly recommend this well-made film as an example of the happy result of the collaboration of talented professionals.

This has to be one of the best military comedies ever, and (even though I seldom hear it mentioned) the inspiration for Gomer Pyle. (Of course, non-fans of Gomer think of it as a POOR version of this story, but I've always liked both.) I've always noticed partly the same thing as "theowinthrop" - that, unlike a lot of stories about naive, innocent characters, it doesn't really try to point to a lesson. In fact, the characters never really "grow." And in fact, it ends up very much the way it starts - all of which is just fine, really. This movie has about all you could ask for in its cast. Along with the main actors, it has people like James Milhollin playing one of his great uptight characters and Howard Smith playing one of his comical authority figures. Griffith, Adams and McCormick were great in their roles, you get to see Griffith and Don Knotts together long before their show, and you get to see Jamie Farr in a military comedy long before MASH. And then there's Murray Hamilton. To me, THIS was that actor's best part (never mind Jaws and The Graduate!). It took me a long while to realize how much of a stock character "Irving" is in army comedies - the overly "cool" member of the group, often a southerner (especially in ' 50s and early ' 60s ones). But Hamilton made the part just right.