Freaktana
A Major Disappointment
Kamila Bell
This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.
Francene Odetta
It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.
inspectors71
I remember watching Blake Edward's (always beware of this word) zany service comedy on NBC 35 years ago and laughing out loud for two thirds of the film.Then, everything changed. I recollect the basic story--and the army officer losing his mind in the catacombs underneath an Italian town--but all of a sudden, the film got serious and brutal. The whole thing came to a screeching halt when, I think, the Germans arrive to spoil the on-screen party. What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? was such a disappointment. It wasn't until I got quite a bit older that I realized that Edwards was trying to make a statement of some sort with this thing, and his delivery was so heavy-handed, the movie just collapsed.Skip it.
nursewratchet_romanorn
I like this movie for several reasons. One, is that it was made the year I was born-1966. Most movies from that year are very odd or strange- that was the height of the mod generation. One other good movie from 1966 is Fahrenheit 451. Anyway, My great Uncle is also in the movie. He plays the mayor of the town-Mayor Romano. It is ironic because although his stage name was Jay Novello, in real life his name was Michael Romano! Also Dick Shawn is hilarious and James Coburn is great as well-This was the same time period that he made his James bond spoof movies-in like Flint etc.... Definitely worth seeing again. Not quite on par with Kelly's Hero's-the best war comedy ever, but still close to that.
broosr
The Sixties produced a slew of funny war comedies demonstrating that WWII was basically good fun for all concerned, rather than being peopled with the kind of angst-filled, hand-wringing adolescents you see nowadays in movies like Memphis Belle and Saving Private Ryan. Edwards would go on to fantastic success with the Pink Panther series and writer Blatty is notable for his later work, The Exorcist. Edwards draws on a solid cast, including veterans Carroll O'Connor, Harry Morgan and Aldo Ray, without whom no war movie is complete. Italian star Fantoni turns in a meatball performance as Oppo but Dick Shawn steals the show with the best role of his career. Although a little slow in spots, Blake Edwards nonetheless gets where he's going and the result is a fine, though underrated, entry in the genre. The interactions between Shawn and Fantoni are worth the price of admission alone.
gridoon
The first half is promising: Blake Edwards ridicules the foolishness of militarism and sets up an unusual situation full of comic possibilities. But in the second half the film changes tone and the action is so poorly staged that it all becomes a loud and chaotic mess. It's still better than "The Great Race", though..... (**)
