''The Rookie'' is a 1959 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

George O'Hanlon George O'Hanlon (November 23, 1912 – February 11, 1989) was an American actor and writer. He was best known for his role as Joe McDoakes in the Warner Bros.' live-action ''Joe McDoakes'' short subjects from 1942 to 1956 and as the voice of Georg ...

CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its creation in 1953 by ...

. It was the first film starring the comedy team of

Tommy Noonan Tommy Noonan (born Thomas Noone; April 29, 1921 – April 24, 1968) was a comedy genre film performer, screenwriter and producer. He acted in a number of high-profile films as well as B movies from the 1940s through the 1960s, and he is best ...

and

Peter Marshall Peter Marshall may refer to: Entertainment * Peter Marshall (entertainer) (born 1926), American game show host of ''The Hollywood Squares'', 1966–1981 * Peter Marshall (author, born 1939) (1939–1972), British novelist whose works include ''Th ...

, they also appeared together in the 1962 film ''

Swingin' Along ''Swingin' Along'' is a 1961 American comedy film directed by Charles Barton. The film, which was released by 20th Century Fox, marked the final appearance of the comedy team of Tommy Noonan and Peter Marshall. The film focuses on Noonan as a ...

''.

Plot

Set in 1945, Thomas Patrick Noonan (

) is a

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

page Page most commonly refers to: * Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to: Roles * Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation * Page (servant), traditionally a young m ...

who receives an

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

induction draft notice on the day World War II ends. He insists he should fulfill his military duty, and a mistake at the

Pentagon In geometry, a pentagon (from the Greek πέντε ''pente'' meaning ''five'' and γωνία ''gonia'' meaning ''angle'') is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagon may be simpl ...

results in a decommissioned stateside military facility being kept open to accommodate his basic training. Sgt. Peter Marshall (

), who is in charge of shutting the camp down, is angry he has to remain in the Army, since he was planning to marry his girlfriend, movie starlet Lili Marlene (

Julie Newmar Julie Newmar (born Julia Chalene Newmeyer, August 16, 1933) is an American actress, dancer, and singer, known for a variety of stage, screen, and television roles. She is also a writer, lingerie designer, and real-estate mogul. She won the Tony ...

). Tommy falls in love with Lili, and her press agent devises a publicity stunt for Lili to return the emotion and plan to marry him. The sergeant, who is furious about losing Lili, attempts to sabotage Tommy's basic training, but his scheme backfires and the two men find themselves stationed in Japan. Lili follows them, and through complicated circumstances the trio wind up stranded on a desert island that is soon visited by two Japanese sailors who are unaware the war has ended.

Cast

as Pvt. Thomas Patrick Noonan *

as MSgt. Pete Marshall *

as Lili Marlene *

Joe Besser Joe Besser (August 12, 1907 – March 1, 1988) was an American actor, comedian and musician, known for his impish humor and wimpy characters. He is best known for his brief stint as a member of The Three Stooges in movie short subjects of 1957� ...

as Medical Corpsman *

Jerry Lester Jerry Lester (born Lester J. Goldberg; February 16, 1910 – March 23, 1995) was an American comedian, singer and performer on radio, television and the stage, knows for playing the father of the main characters, Mike Firpo, in the comedy ' ...

as Jerry Mann * Claude Stroud as Col. Taylor *

Norman Leavitt Norman Turner Leavitt (December 1, 1913 – December 11, 2005) was an American film and television actor. Life and career Leavitt was born in Lansing, Michigan. He began his stage career in 1935, appearing as a wedding guest in the Broadway ...

as Maj. Evert *

Vince Barnett Vince Barnett (July 4, 1902 – August 10, 1977) was an American film actor. He appeared on stage originally before appearing in more than 230 films between 1930 and 1975. Early years Barnett was born July 4, 1902, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylva ...

as 1st Janitor * Herb Armstrong as Lt. Pat Sumner * Richard Reeves as Bruce – Military Police Sergeant * Don Corey as Cook * Rodney Bell as 2nd Janitor *

George Eldredge George Edwin Eldredge (September 10, 1898 – March 12, 1977) was an American actor who appeared in over 180 movies during a career that stretched from the 1930s to the early 1960s. He also had a prolific television career during the 1950 ...

as Gen. Bechtel *

Peter Leeds Peter Leeds (May 30, 1917 – November 12, 1996) was an American actor who appeared on television more than 8,000 times and also had many film, Broadway, and radio credits. The majority of his work took place in the 1950s and 1960s. Working ...

as Seville Quare *

Patrick O'Moore Patrick O'Moore (1909–1983) was an Irish actor who appeared in a variety of American films and television shows. Keaney p.445 A character actor, he appeared in a number of Hollywood's British-themed films during the 1940s and 1950s. Selected fi ...

as Ship's Captain Weiss

Production

''The Rookie'' was the first film in which Noonan and Marshall, who had appeared on television and in nightclubs during the late 1940s and 1950s, had starring roles.Marshall, Peter, ''Backstage with the Original Hollywood Square''. University of California Press 2002. , pp. 3-7 Their only previous film work had been a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...

in ''

Starlift ''Starlift'' (a.k.a. ''Operation Starlift'') is a 1951 American musical film released by Warner Bros. in directed by Roy Del Ruth and written by Karl Lamb and John D. Klorer. The film stars Janice Rule, Dick Wesson, Ron Hagerthy and Ruth Roman. ...

'' in 1951. ''The Rookie'' was intended to be the first in a series of films starring the comedy duo, who were being billed as the "new

Abbott and Costello Abbott may refer to: People *Abbott (surname) *Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849–1921), American painter and naturalist * Abbott and Costello, famous American vaudeville act Places Argentina * Abbott, Buenos Aires United States * Abbott, Arkansas ...

" by the studio.''The Rookie'' at Turner Classic Movies
/ref> The two also played the Japanese sailors who encounter the American soldiers on the deserted island. ''The Rookie'' was made by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

on a budget of only $158,000. Peter Marshall would later recall the television program '' Adventures in Paradise'' was the only other production being filmed at Fox during that time, and he felt the lack of activity made the studio feel like a "ghost town." It was made by API, the unit of Robert L. Lippert who was enthusiastic about ''The Rookie''. "Do you realise this is the first time in movie history that we've been without a male comedy team?" said Lippert. Lippert said Julie Newmar was in the film for "oomph". Filming took place in August 1959 under the title ''The Last Rookie''.

Reception

Lippert said he spent $250,000 to sell the film. ''The Rookie'' scored a strong box office performance, encouraging 20th Century Fox to rehire Noonan and Marshall for a second feature, originally titled ''Double Trouble'' but renamed ''

'' prior to its 1962 release. It was not successful and Noonan and Marshall broke up to pursue solo careers.

References

External links