If you are unaware of what "Sgt. Deadhead" is, it is a 1965 American International Frankie/Annette movie w/out Annette, sending an idiotic pilot into space with a monkey. Other than Eve Arden and a cast full of famous comic faces from TV (including Gale Gordon, who happens to appear in "Rally 'Round the Flag"), it is mostly forgettable. But, with the way "Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys" starts, it seems like this Cinemascope sophisticated comedy about the lives of a classy Long Island couple is going to actually be really good. That it is for 3/4 of the movie, and features a really sexy Paul Newman and a genuinely funny Joan Collins. In the film, Newman is a seemingly happily married man, with a wife (Joanne Woodward) and two children, but his wife is so involved in the community's do-gooder activities, they can't make time to go off on a much needed second honeymoon together. That's where Ms. Collins comes in, as the very glamorous next door neighbor, neglected by her own husband. She sets her sights on Newman, and in a very hysterical sequence, the two of them get rip-roaringly drunk and spend an evening together. Whether or not they get down is never revealed, and can only be assumed. But Newman and Collins seem to be having so much fun in this sequence, and he gets to lighten up a bit after dealing with Elizabeth Taylor's Maggie the Cat in the same year's "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof".
Acting wise, Collins easily steals the film. If Alexis Morrell Carrington Colby Dexter acted this way in 1958, she never got to show it when she came back to Denver on TV's "Dynasty" 23 years later. Collins proves herself to be an outstanding comedian, something most glamour queens of her stature never had the chance to do. Newman and Woodward never had the chance on screen to be a Burton and Taylor, as Woodward, obviously trained for the stage, wasn't as magnetic on screen in romantic parts as she was in sheer drama such as "Three Faces of Eve", "Rachel, Rachel", and "Summer Wishes, Summer Dreams". Newman, one of the most handsome men in films of the 50's and 60's, sometimes seems embarrassed by the comedy he has to do here, but Collins' light-hearted manner in their scenes together helps lighten him up.
There are tons of things to recommend about this film, but the last quarter is not one of them. Its like a delicious cake frosted with a sugarless topping that disappoints overall. Some fun character players have nice bits, but Jack Carson's obnoxious army officer is not one of his better roles. However, as a good-looking film in delicious technicolor, it still is a lot of fun. This would have ranked a lot higher in my book had the ending been less sitcomish and more glamorous.
Acting wise, Collins easily steals the film. If Alexis Morrell Carrington Colby Dexter acted this way in 1958, she never got to show it when she came back to Denver on TV's "Dynasty" 23 years later. Collins proves herself to be an outstanding comedian, something most glamour queens of her stature never had the chance to do. Newman and Woodward never had the chance on screen to be a Burton and Taylor, as Woodward, obviously trained for the stage, wasn't as magnetic on screen in romantic parts as she was in sheer drama such as "Three Faces of Eve", "Rachel, Rachel", and "Summer Wishes, Summer Dreams". Newman, one of the most handsome men in films of the 50's and 60's, sometimes seems embarrassed by the comedy he has to do here, but Collins' light-hearted manner in their scenes together helps lighten him up.
There are tons of things to recommend about this film, but the last quarter is not one of them. Its like a delicious cake frosted with a sugarless topping that disappoints overall. Some fun character players have nice bits, but Jack Carson's obnoxious army officer is not one of his better roles. However, as a good-looking film in delicious technicolor, it still is a lot of fun. This would have ranked a lot higher in my book had the ending been less sitcomish and more glamorous.