''Tanks a Million'' is a 1941 American film directed by

Fred Guiol Fred Guiol (February 17, 1898 – May 23, 1964), pronounced "Gill," was an American film director and screenwriter. Guiol worked at the Hal Roach Studios for many years, first as a property man, later as assistant director and finally writer and ...

. It was the first of

Hal Roach's Streamliners Hal Roach's Streamliners are a series of featurette comedy films created by Hal Roach that are longer than a short subject and shorter than a feature film, not exceeding 50 minutes in length. Twenty of the 29 features that Roach produced for United ...

, short films under an hour designed for the lower half of a double feature. The two leading characters, whiz-kid sergeant Doubleday (played by

William Tracy William Tracy (December 1, 1917 – June 18, 1967) was an American character actor. Early life and career Tracy was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is perhaps best known for the role of Pepi Katona, the delivery boy, in ''The Shop ...

) and his rival Sergeant Ames (

Joe Sawyer Joe Sawyer (born Joseph Sauers, August 29, 1906 – April 21, 1982) was a Canadian film actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1927 and 1962, and was sometimes billed under his birth name. Early life Sawyer was born August 29, 1 ...

), would go on to feature in seven more films, though the series has no overall title. Despite the title and military setting, no

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engi ...

s are seen in the film.

Plot summary

Dorian Doubleday, "Dodo" to his friends, works as a clerk at a railway station but he has the ability of

photographic memory Eidetic memory ( ; more commonly called photographic memory or total recall) is the ability to recall an image from memory with high precision—at least for a brief period of time—after seeing it only onceThe terms ''eidetic memory'' and ''pho ...

. When he is drafted in the Army, he memorizes all the manuals for Army procedure immediately before starting his service. Because of his extensive knowledge of procedure, he is quickly known as a know-it-all at the

basic training Military recruit training, commonly known as basic training or boot camp, refers to the initial instruction of new military personnel. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process, which resocializes its subjects for the unique dema ...

in Camp Carver. His

drill sergeant A drill instructor is a non-commissioned officer in the armed forces, fire department, or police forces with specific duties that vary by country. Foot drill, military step, and marching are typically taught by drill instructors. Australia A ...

, Sergeant Ames, disapproves of him from the start, but the officers above him are quite impressed with the new recruit due to his memorisation and word perfect recital of Army Regulations. On his first day in the Army Dodo is sent to non-commissioned officer school but after a brief time he returns to inform the officers that as he proficiently demonstrated his knowledge of military regulations he was ordered to sew on First Sergeant

chevron Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to: Science and technology * Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines * Chevron (anatomy), a bone * '' Eulithis testata'', a moth * Chevron (geology), a fold in rock ...

s and return to his unit. This infuriates the now outranked Ames as it has taken him twenty years to make buck sergeant. Sgt Ames sees his chance for revenge when he insists Dodo is put in charge of the worst and most chaotic company on the camp: Company F. The soldiers try to make things hard for Dodo, by following his orders to the letter. When Dodo orders his company to report for training in overcoats, rifles and full packs, the men fall out only wearing these items with no other clothing. As soon as Sergeant Ames hears this he reports it to Major Greer, hoping it will shorten Dodo's career as a non-commissioned officer. When the officer threatens the men with 30 days imprisonment, Dodo explains that he is just trying out some new ideas, training with a minimal amount of equipment. He claims his men are of a tough Kentucky breed and can walk without shoes. Unfortunately Greer buys this and has the company march around barefoot all day, but they are neither imprisoned nor fined. Dodo's reputation as a drill-sergeant spreads, and he is swarmed by impressed camp hostesses at a dance that night. When Company F is ordered to perform guard duty, his soldiers relieve each other by riding on different kinds of vehicles, including a mule based on their interpretation of an army regulation for posting guards. When the mule ruins the marching band parade, Captain Rossmead is upset and punishes the men with extra guard duty. Dodo accepts the punishment on behalf of his men, but the Captain decides to not carry out the punishment when his Major informs him that as the Captain as his duties of Officer of the Day didn't specify ''which'' specific method of transportation to use when posting the guards of his command; upsetting Ames in the process. Dodo becomes very popular among his men because of taking the blame. They promise to do their best and be loyal to Dodo from now on. But Ames doesn't give up. He gets Rossmead to assign Dodo to be an

orderly In healthcare, an orderly (also known as a ward assistant, nurse assistant or healthcare assistant) is a hospital attendant whose job consists of assisting medical and nursing staff with various nursing and medical interventions. The highest ro ...

under infamous Colonel Barkley, known as "Spitfire". Ames plan backfires, as Dodo accidentally makes a radio pep speech the Colonel was supposed to make, and it is a huge success. The Colonel has stage-fright and is afraid of microphones, and accepts Dodo's posing as him for a moment while making the speech. While Dodo tries on the Colonel's uniform, his girlfriend arrives to camp and believes he has been promoted to colonel. Dodo lets her believe this while he makes the speech. When he is done, Ames and Rossmead arrest him for his insubordinance, but since the success of the speech has reached all the way to Washington, Dodo is not punished, but returned to duty with Sgt Ames becoming the Colonel's regular orderly.

Cast

as 1st Sgt. Dorian "Dodo" Doubleday *

James Gleason James Austin Gleason (May 23, 1882 – April 12, 1959) was an American actor, playwright and screenwriter born in New York City. Gleason often portrayed "tough-talking, world-weary guys with a secret heart-of-gold." Life and career Gleason w ...

as Col. "Spitfire" Barkley * Noah Beery Jr. as Charlie Cobb *

as Sgt. William Ames *

Elyse Knox Elyse Knox (born Elsie M. Kornbrath, December 14, 1917 – February 16, 2012) was an American actress, model, and fashion designer. Early life Knox was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the daughter of Austrian immigrants Hermine Sophie (née Muc ...

as Jeannie * Douglas Fowley as Capt. Rossmead *

Knox Manning Charles Knox Manning (January 17, 1904 – August 26, 1980) was an American film actor. He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts and died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California. He and Annette North Manning are interred at Ivy Lawn Cemete ...

as Radio Interviewer Cardigan *

Frank Faylen Frank Faylen (born Charles Francis Ruf, December 8, 1905 – August 2, 1985) was an American film and television actor. Largely a bit player and character actor, he occasionally played more fleshed-out supporting roles during his forty-two ...

as Pvt. Skivic *

Dick Wessel Richard Michael Wessel (April 20, 1913 – April 20, 1965) was an American film actor who appeared in more than 270 films between 1935 and 1966. He is best remembered for his only leading role, a chilling portrayal of strangler Harry "Cu ...

as Pvt. Monkman * Frank Melton as Pvt. Cleary * Harold Goodwin as Lt. Caldwell * William Gould as Maj. Greer *

Norman Kerry Norman Kerry (born Norman Hussey Kaiser,"United States World War II Draft Registration Cards,registration for Norman Hussey Kaiser, Los Angeles, California, April 27, 1942 This document lists his full name as Norman Hussey Kaiser, noting the na ...

as Major

Soundtrack

* "

You're in the Army Now ''You're in the Army Now'' is a 1941 comedy film directed by Lewis Seiler and starring Jimmy Durante, Phil Silvers, Jane Wyman, and Regis Toomey. It featured the longest kiss in film (lasting three minutes and five seconds), between Toomey and ...

Tracy and Sawyer series

* '' Hay Foot'', 48 minutes, 2 January 1942 * '' About Face'', 43 minutes, 16 April 1942 * ''

Fall In ''Fall In'' is a 1942 American comedy film directed by Kurt Neumann and written by Eugene Conrad and Edward E. Seabrook. The film stars William Tracy, Joe Sawyer, Robert Barrat, Jean Porter and Arthur Hunnicutt. The film was released on November ...

'', 45 minutes, 5 March 1943 * '' Yanks Ahoy'', 60 minutes, 29 June 1943 * '' Here Comes Trouble'', 55 minutes, 15 March 1948, following the Tracy and Sawyer team into civilian life * '' As You Were'', 57 minutes, 5 October 1951 released by

Lippert Pictures Lippert Pictures was an American film production and distribution company controlled by Robert L. Lippert. History Robert L. Lippert (1909-1976) was a successful exhibitor, owning a chain of movie theaters in California and Oregon. He was frustrate ...

* ''Mr. Walkie Talkie'', 65 minutes, 28 November 1952 released by

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tanks A Million 1941 films 1941 comedy films American black-and-white films Films directed by Fred Guiol Films scored by Edward Ward (composer) Military humor in film American comedy films Hal Roach Studios 1940s English-language films 1940s American films