The D.I. *** (1957, Jack Webb, Don Dubbins, Jackie Loughery) – Classic Movie Review 11,166

The black and white US Marine drama The D.I. stars Jack Webb and is produced and directed by him in 1957. It is made by Mark VII and released by Warner Bros.

Jack Webb stars as dour US Marine drill instructor Troop Gunnery Sergeant Jim Moore, who licks the raw recruits into shape, including the highly emotional and resisting Private Owens (Don Dubbins), a reluctant Marine who has signed up for his mother’s sake after her other men folk all died in World War Two.

The film has some power. Webb slightly overplays his hand both as actor and director, but he still impresses and the realistic drill sequences are effective. The story is now over-familiar, particularly if you have seen the unofficial TV remake Tribes [The Soldier who Declared Peace] with Jan-Michael Vincent, An Officer and a Gentleman or Full Metal Jacket, but it still packs a punch.

The screenplay is by James Lee Barrett.

Many real-life Marines are extras.

It is shot at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, Parris Island, South Carolina, and Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California.

Also in the cast are Lin McCarthy, Jackie Loughery, Monica Lewis, Virginia Gregg, Jeannie Beacham, Earle Hodgins, Jeanne Baird, Barbara Pepper, Melody Gale, Lou Tobin, John T Ahern, Charles M Golden, Joseph C Holmes, Peter J O’Neill, Paul E Prutzman, Gordon L Seiple, Douglas E Wilson, Richard Kiel, Bert Stevens and Laurence C Windsor Jr.

© Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,166

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com