''No Time for Sergeants'' is a 1958 American

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

based on a play by

Ira Levin Ira Marvin Levin (August 27, 1929 – November 12, 2007) was an American novelist, playwright, and songwriter. His works include the novels '' A Kiss Before Dying'' (1953), '' Rosemary's Baby'' (1967), '' The Stepford Wives'' (1972), '' This Perf ...

, which was inspired by the original novel. Directed by

Mervyn LeRoy Mervyn LeRoy (; October 15, 1900 – September 13, 1987) was an American film director and producer. During the 1930s, he was one of the two great practitioners of economical and effective film directing at Warner Bros., Warner Brothers studios, ...

, it stars

Andy Griffith Andy Samuel Griffith (June 1, 1926 – July 3, 2012) was an American actor, comedian, television producer, singer, and writer whose career spanned seven decades in music and television. Known for his Southern drawl, his characters with a folksy ...

and features

Myron McCormick Myron McCormick (February 8, 1908 – July 30, 1962) was an American actor of stage, radio, and film. Early life and education Born Walter Myron McCormick in Albany, Indiana, in 1908, he was the middle child of Walter P. and Bessie M. McCo ...

Don Knotts Jesse Donald Knotts (July 21, 1924February 24, 2006) was an American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his role as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife on the 1960s sitcom ''The Andy Griffith Show'', for which he earned five Emmy Awards. He als ...

and most of the original

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

cast, joined by

Murray Hamilton Murray Hamilton (March 24, 1923 – September 1, 1986) was an American stage, screen and television character actor who appeared in such acclaimed films as '' The Spirit of St. Louis'', ''Anatomy of a Murder'', '' The Hustler'', ''The Gradu ...

and

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

contract player Nick Adams.

Plot

Will Stockdale is a backwoods rube from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

with super strength and a weak mind who is drafted into the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

. Other draftees being transported to basic training include dim Ben Whitledge and obnoxious bully Irving S. Blanchard. The unhappy Whitledge wants to be assigned to the infantry where his six brothers had served. At boot camp, Stockdale, merely by being himself, proceeds to make life miserable for the man in charge,

Master Sergeant A master sergeant is the military rank for a senior non-commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries. Israel Defense Forces The (abbreviated "", master sergeant) is a non-commissioned officer () rank in the Israel Defense Force ...

Orville C. King, a career hack who likes his barracks to be routine, quiet and calm. In exasperation, the sergeant places Stockdale on full-time

latrine A latrine is a toilet or an even simpler facility that is used as a toilet within a sanitation system. For example, it can be a communal trench in the earth in a camp to be used as emergency sanitation, a hole in the ground ( pit latrine), or ...

duty. Stockdale believes his new position of "P.L.O." (Permanent Latrine Orderly) is a promotion. A company inspection takes a surprising turn when Stockdale's immaculately clean latrine impresses King's company commander. King gets into hot water, however, when Stockdale reveals that the sergeant kept him on permanent bathroom duty while neglecting to have the recruit complete all of the required military exams. The company commander orders King to help Stockdale through his training in one week, or else he will be demoted and made "P. L. O." himself. Rushing him through testing, King bribes Stockdale by promising to give him his wristwatch if he can pass. Stockdale takes a manual dexterity test, a psychiatric test and an eye exam, managing to pass all despite driving all of the examiners crazy. He receives the wristwatch as a reward. Blanchard convinces King to get Stockdale drunk so that he will fail the next day's inspection. Stockdale, with a tolerance to strong homemade

moonshine Moonshine is alcohol proof, high-proof liquor, traditionally made or distributed alcohol law, illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of distilling the alcohol (drug), alcohol at night to avoid detection. In the first decades of the ...

, stays sober while King and Blanchard become drunk. They begin a barroom brawl with equally drunk infantrymen, but Stockdale leaves and returns to the base, avoiding the M.P.s. Blanchard is brutally beaten and arrested by the M.P.s. Meanwhile King goes missing when the colonel and captain inspect the latrine and barracks the next day. Stockdale has mechanically rigged all of the toilet seats to open simultaneously in a "salute". A filthy and disheveled King is found after he sneaks into the latrine and triggers the toilet lids. He is summarily reduced to the rank of private and sent to gunnery school with Stockdale and Whitledge. As King goes back to his office dejected, he admits to Stockdale that he has grown to like him. Stockdale gives the watch back to King. At gunnery school, Stockdale is at the bottom of the class and Whitledge is next to the bottom. King graduates as the top man and is assigned to the staff of General Eugene Bush at his former rank. On their first flight, Stockdale and Whitledge fly to

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

in an obsolete

B-25 The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Brigadier General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served ...

bomber. Stockdale's assignment is tail gunner. After putting the plane on autopilot, the pilots fall asleep, and the airplane becomes lost at night over the atomic bomb test site at

Yucca Flats Yucca Flat is a closed desert drainage basin, one of four major nuclear test regions within the Nevada Test Site (NTS), and is divided into nine test sections: Areas 1 through 4 and 6 through 10. Yucca Flat is located at the eastern edge of NTS, ...

, Nevada. The radio operator was left behind at the base, so Stockdale and Whitledge must radio to obtain their position. Military radiomen on the ground, confused by Stockdale's folksy, clownish speech, have the commander of the atomic bomb test rouse General Bush to confirm that Stockdale is not a prankster. Bush reassures Stockdale that he is not a foreign agent, as King tells Bush to remind Stockdale of the watch. Following detonation of an atom bomb, a fire breaks out in the aft of the plane. Stockdale and Whitledge bail out and travel for days to get back to the base. They are declared dead by King, but the others on the plane survive and are to be decorated. During the air medal ceremony, Stockdale and Whitledge reappear, so the Air Force has to cover up the story to avoid an international

public humiliation Public humiliation or public shaming is a form of punishment whose main feature is dishonoring or disgracing a person, usually an offender or a prisoner, especially in a public place. It was regularly used as a form of judicially sanctioned puni ...

. Stockdale suggests that both he and Whitledge be transferred to the infantry. General Bush heartily approves and has King transferred with them with a promotion to

first sergeant First sergeant is typically a senior non-commissioned officer rank, used in many countries. Singapore First sergeant is a Specialist (Singapore), specialist in the Singapore Armed Forces. First sergeants are the most senior of the junior spe ...

Cast

as Pvt. Will Stockdale *

as M/Sgt. Orville C. King * Nick Adams as Pvt. Benjamin B. Whitledge *

as Irving S. Blanchard * Howard Smith as Maj. Gen. Eugene Bush, U.S. Air Force *

Will Hutchins Marshall Lowell Hutchason (May 5, 1930 – April 21, 2025), known professionally as Will Hutchins, was an American actor most noted for playing the lead role of the young lawyer Tom Brewster, in the Western television series '' Sugarfoot'', ...

as Lt. George Bridges (B-25 pilot) * Sydney Smith as Maj. Gen. Vernon Pollard, U.S. Army *

James Millhollin Arthur James Millhollin (August 23, 1915 – May 23, 1993) was an American character actor. Early years Millhollin was born in Peoria, Illinois. He grew up in Council Bluffs, Iowa, performing in many school plays, graduated from Thomas Jeffers ...

as Maj. Royal B. Demming (psychiatrist) *

as Cpl. John C. Brown (dexterity tester) *

Jean Willes Jean Donahue (born Jean Willes; April 15, 1923 – January 3, 1989) was an American film and television actress. She appeared in approximately 65 films in her 38-year career. Early years Born Jean Willesin Los Angeles to William Simmons Willes ...

as WAF Captain * Bartlett Robinson as Captain * Henry McCann as Lt. Cover *

Dub Taylor Walter Clarence "Dub" Taylor Jr. (February 26, 1907 – October 3, 1994)Dub Taylor, 87, Actor in Westerns, The New York Times, October 5, 1994, Section B, Page 12 was an American character actor who from the 1940s into the 1990s worked extensiv ...

as McKinney (draft board man) *

William Fawcett William or Bill Fawcett or ''variation'', may refer to: People * William Fawcett (actor) (1894–1974), American actor who was awarded the ''Légion d'honneur'' * William Fawcett (author) (1902–1941), English journalist and writer on horses, hun ...

as Pa Stockdale *

Raymond Bailey Raymond Thomas Bailey (May 6, 1904 – April 15, 1980) was an American actor on the Broadway stage, films, and television. He is best known for his role as greedy banker Milburn Drysdale in the television series ''The Beverly Hillbillies''. Ear ...

as Base Colonel *

Jamie Farr Jamie Farr (born Jameel Joseph Farah; July 1, 1934) is an American comedian and actor. He is best known for playing Corporal Maxwell Klinger, a soldier who tried getting discharged from the army by cross-dressing, on the CBS sitcom '' M*A*S*H'' ...

as Lt. Gardella B-25 (co-pilot)

Comic book adaptation

* Dell Four Color #914 (July 1958)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:No Time For Sergeants 1958 films 1958 comedy films American comedy films American aviation films American black-and-white films Films based on American novels American films based on plays Films based on works by Ira Levin Films directed by Mervyn LeRoy Military comedy films Films about the United States Air Force Warner Bros. films Films based on adaptations Films adapted into comics 1950s English-language films 1950s American films

Plot

Cast

Comic book adaptation

See also

References

External links