The Private War of Major Benson *** (1955, Charlton Heston, Julie Adams, Tim Hovey, William Demarest, Tim Considine, Sal Mineo, Nana Bryant, David Janssen, Mary Field) – Classic Movie Review 6511

Director Jerry Hopper’s 1955 movie stars an unusually cast Charlton Heston, who proves that he can play comedy with a deft touch in this amusing story of a big-mouthed, big-hearted American soldier, Major Bernard ‘Bernie’ Benson.

He falls out of favour with his superiors and it is either be drummed out of the US Army or take command of the failing Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) programme at Sheridan Roman Catholic boys’ military Academy and its 300 cadets.

At Sheridan he is put in charge of a platoon of nuns under Mother Redempta (Nana Bryant) and Sister Theresa (Mary Field) running the military school. The teen cadet kids (Tim Hovey, Tim Considine and Sal Mineo) and the nun sisters smooth off his rough edges, and doctor Kay Lambert (Julie Adams) who serves him up with the right medicine.

Everyone ends up smiling in a film that isn’t afraid of sweetness and heart-string plucking, but knows when to stop short of being sickly.

Also in the cast are William Demarest, David Janssen, Donald Keeler [Joey D Vieira], Gary Pagett, Mickey Little, Richard H Cutting, Don Haggerty, Yvonne Peattie, Edward Platt, Butch Jones and Milburn Stone.

It is written by William Roberts and Richard Alan Simmons, shot in Technicolor by Harold Lipstein, produced by Howard Pine, and scored by Joseph Gershenson, William Lava, Stanley Wilson and Henry Mancini, with Art Direction by Robert F Boyle and Alexander Golitzen.

Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher, who wrote the story, are best known as the creators of the long-running TV show Leave it to Beaver (1957). They were Oscar nominated for Best Story.

It was filmed on St Catherine’s Military School campus, Anaheim, California, in 1955, with cadets as the actors.

It was remade as Major Payne in 1995 with Damon Wayans.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 6511

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