Main Cast: Louis Nye, Robert Mitchum, Jack Webb, Martha Hyer, France Nuyen, Joe Flynn, Don Knotts
Release Year: 1961
Country: US
Run Time: 98 minutes
Plot
The title character in this standard comedy about the foibles of military life is Archie Hall (Robert Mitchum), a puffed-up dandy whose strutting personality makes the other privates in a Civilian Pilot Training program absolutely certain he is a spy. They figure him for a multiple-star general, out to entrap a Japanese spy by the unlikely name of Cindy (France Nuyen). A series of enlisted men and officers contribute to the misadventures due to the misunderstanding, including comics like Don Knotts as Captain Little and Louis Nye as Private Sam Beecham. Jack Webb directs, and plays the role of Archie's sidekick. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
Review
When one hears that The Last Time I Saw Archie is a comedy directed by Jack Webb, one assumes the worst. When one hears that a mature Robert Mitchum has been cast as a military private who's also a con man, one assumes Archie can't be saved. Yet it turns out that Archie, while not a classic, is actually a pretty amusing little film. It's odd, yes, to see Mitchum as a classic con man, but it turns out that this con is a laidback con, and that fits Mitchum's low-key approach. And he may be a private, but he's not playing fifteen years younger than he should: the character is supposed to have some mileage eon him. And while Webb won't ever be confused with Billy Wilder or Woody Allen, he manages to direct with a decent eye for comedy. He's not quite as effective as a performer, with his deadpan delivery effecting the timing negatively in some scenes, but Mitchum helps to make up for that, as does the wonderful supporting cast of great character actors. The screenplay is a bit loose, just a series of incidents really, but the central character is interesting enough to make viewers stay tuned in. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Field M. Gray - Art Director, Sabine Manela - Costume Designer, Jack Webb - Director, Robert M. Leeds - Editor, Stanley Campbell - Makeup, Joe MacDonald - Cinematographer, Jack Webb - Producer, John Sturtevant - Set Designer, Paul Pollard - Special Effects, William Bowers - Screenwriter
The film was based on Arch Hall Sr. whom Bowers knew in the war. However the film was made without Hall's permission who successfully sued the producers and won a settlement.[1]
Notes
^ p.193 Weaver, Tom Eye on Science Fiction 2003 McFarland
