''A Man Called Sarge'' is a 1990 American parody film, written and directed by Stuart Gillard, starring Gary Kroeger, Marc Singer, Gretchen German and introducing a young Natasha Lyonne. The humour is built on

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such a ...

and verbal puns, in the fashion of comedy filmmaking trio Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker, spoofing a variety of classic war films – notably ''

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

'' – and the

stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...

s of the genre. Sarge (Gary Kroeger), the anti-hero protagonist, is a patriot with an over-the-top

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...

persona. The

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist. Etymology The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – ''antagonistēs'', "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, riv ...

, General Von Kraut (Marc Singer), is a derogatory portrayal of a German commander – extremely evil, perverted and a poor decision maker – emphasized by his name, as kraut is often used as a pejorative term for German soldiers. Furthermore, Sarge's group of misfit soldiers include a Native American, a

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Jew, a

hillbilly Hillbilly is a term (often derogatory) for people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas in the United States, primarily in southern Appalachia and the Ozarks. The term was later used to refer to people from other rural and mountainous areas west ...

and a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

officer in the style of

Maurice Chevalier Maurice Auguste Chevalier (; 12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer, actor and entertainer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including " Livin' In The Sunlight", " Valentine", "Louise", " Mimi", and "Thank Hea ...

. A memorable moment in the film is when Miss Sadie (Gretchen German), a naïve mission school teacher, sings a song called " Jesus Was a Black Dude", with a full gospel choir, to the Arab children in her class. The film was shot on location in Israel.

Plot

Set during the World War II North African Western Desert Campaign, the story follows a misadventurous squad of French Foreign Legion deserters, led by their charismatic Sarge. They set out across the

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

desert to strike a blow on the German-occupied city of Tobruk.

Cast

* Gary Kroeger as Sarge Duke Roscoe * Marc Singer as

Generalmajor is the Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and Royal Danish Air Force. As a two-star ...

Klaus Von Kraut * Gretchen German as Miss Sadie Rayburn *

Jennifer Runyon Jennifer Victoria Runyon (born April 1, 1960) is an American actress. She made her feature-film debut in the slasher film ''To All a Goodnight'' (1980), and went on to have supporting roles in the comedies '' Up the Creek'' (1984) and ''Ghostbust ...

as Fifi LaRue * Andy Greenhalgh as

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Leslie Browning * Michael Mears as Commandant Henry Cheval * Bobby Di Cicco as

Pvt. A private is a soldier, usually with the lowest rank in many armies. Soldiers with the rank of Private may be conscripts or they may be professional (career) soldiers. The term derives from the medieval term "private soldiers" (a term still u ...

Frank Anzalone * Travis McKenna as Pvt. Billy Bob * Howard Busgang as Pvt. Irving Steinmetz * Andrew Bumatai as Pvt. Willy Bearpaw * Chris England as Fergus * Jeffry Wickham as Fitzpatrick * Peter Dennis as Montgomery, based on

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

Montgomery * Yehuda Efroni as Father Bruce * Natasha Lyonne as Arab girl * Bruce Jenner as himself * Don LaFontaine as narrator At the time of production, Gary Kroeger was mostly known for his work on the late-night comedy and variety TV show '' Saturday Night Live'', where he was a

regular The term regular can mean normal or in accordance with rules. It may refer to: People * Moses Regular (born 1971), America football player Arts, entertainment, and media Music * "Regular" (Badfinger song) * Regular tunings of stringed instrum ...

from 1982 to 1985. Although Kroeger had starred in a few films prior to and after ''A Man Called Sarge'', this is the only time he played the title role in a feature film. He had previously worked with director Stuart Gillard as the main character in Disney's 1987 television movie '' The Return of the Shaggy Dog''. Marc Singer was a well established TV actor when he enrolled as General Von Kraut, with a career spanning almost 20 years, including the lead role in the series '' V''. As a feature actor, he was best known for the 1982 film '' The Beastmaster''. ''A Man Called Sarge'' marked a return to the big screen and the start of a prolific film career during the 1990s. This was the Singer's second collaboration with producer Gene Corman, the first being '' If You Could See What I Hear'', released in 1982. They worked together again on ''

Watchers II ''Watchers II'' is the 1990 sequel to the 1988 horror film '' Watchers''. Starring Marc Singer and Tracy Scoggins, the film is loosely based on the 1987 novel '' Watchers'' by Dean Koontz. It was released on August 16, 1990. The film's writers ...

'', released in the summer of 1990. Gretchen German had an active television career since the mid-'80s, but ''A Man Called Sarge'' was her first feature film. Natasha Lyonne, who was living in Israel at the time, achieved her first credited feature film role as a young Arab girl who gets punched in the face by General Von Kraut, while trying to defend Miss Sadie, her teacher. She is credited as Natasha Leon.

Production notes

''A Man Called Sarge'' was produced by Gene Corman, brother and production partner of Roger Corman, from a 1988 script by director Stuart Gillard. Serving as executive producers were Yoram Globus and Christopher Pearce, heads of

Cannon Pictures The Cannon Group, Inc. was an American group of companies, including Cannon Films, which produced films from 1967 to 1994. The extensive group also owned, amongst others, a large international cinema chain and a video film company that invested ...

at the time. This film is part of the early 1990s attempt by Globus, an Israeli veteran producer, to save and rebuild Cannon under new administration, after the departure of his cousin and longtime business partner

Menahem Golan Menahem Golan ( he, מנחם גולן; May 31, 1929 – August 8, 2014, originally Menachem Globus) was an Israeli film producer, screenwriter, and director. He was best known for co-owning The Cannon Group with his cousin Yoram Globus. Cannon sp ...

and the financial distress in the late 1980s. Eventually, The Cannon Group filed bankruptcy a few years later. Gene Corman had previously produced '' Tobruk'', a 1967 war action film, set during the failed British attempt to capture Tobruk, in September 1942. Although the city of Tobruk is located in Libya, filming was done in Israel. One of the final scenes, the showdown between Sarge and Von Kraut, was shot in the Khan al-Umdan

caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was a roadside inn where travelers ( caravaners) could rest and recover from the day's journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information and people across the network of trade routes covering ...

, in the historical centre of

Acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...

Release

''A Man Called Sarge'' had a short-running theatrical release on February 2, 1990, earning $92,706 at the domestic

box office A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicke ...

. It was released on VHS later the same year. The film was

re-released In the music industry, a reissue (also re-release, repackage or re-edition) is the release of an album or single which has been released at least once before, sometimes with alterations or additions. Reasons for reissue New audio formats Rec ...

in 2001 as an Amazon.com exclusive. The film received a PG-13 rating from the MPAA, ab 16 from FSK and 15 from the BBFC. On some promotional material, the taglines used were: * ''They have no fear. No shame. No chance. All would be lost except for... A Man Called Sarge'' * ''First there was Airplane. Then there was Police Academy. Now it's time for... A Man Called Sarge'' * ''Wo wir sind, ist die front!'' — German for ''Where we are, is the front!'' �
english translation
by Google Translate Like many other low-budget films, ''A Man Called Sarge'' has a complex history of copyright ownership and distribution rights. Cannon Releasing, part of The Cannon Group, handled the theatrical distribution rights. Worldwide video distribution was in charge of Cannon Video, in association with several

partners Partner, Partners, The Partner, or, The Partners may refer to: Books * ''The Partner'' (Grisham novel), by John Grisham, 1997 * ''The Partner'' (Jenaro Prieto novel), 1928 * ''The Partners'' (book), a 1983 book by James B. Stewart * ''Partner'' (m ...

, including MGM/UA Home Video and Warner Home Video. Currently, the film's rights are owned by MGM, after the acquisition of The Cannon Group catalogue, almost in its entirety, following bankruptcy in 1993. Although British actor Andy Greenhalgh, who played the role of Major Browning, estimates this to be "a long-forgotten American feature film",Andy Greenhalgh's website
it occasionally airs on TV channels around the world, mainly through the MGM Channel and its affiliates. A home video edition was officially released on DVD in November 2011, as part of the ''Limited Edition Collection'' - MGM's On-Demand DVD-R line.

References

External links

''A Man Called Sarge''
at MGM Studios, current owner of the film's rights *
Review on Issue 15
of

Cashiers du Cinemart ''Cashiers du Cinemart'' was an American magazine and an online magazine about independent film, published and edited by Mike White. The print version began in 1994 as a zine and evolved over the late 1990s into a more typical magazine format. Th ...