Up Front (film)

Up Front is a 1951 American comedy film directed by Alexander Hall and starring Tom Ewell and David Wayne very loosely based on Bill Mauldin's World War II characters Willie and Joe. Mauldin repudiated it and refused his advising fee; he claimed never to have seen it.^[2] It takes place during the Italian Campaign of World War II.

Up Front
Film poster
Directed by	Alexander Hall
Screenplay by	Stanley Roberts
Produced by	Leonard Goldstein
Starring	David Wayne Tom Ewell Marina Berti
Cinematography	Russell Metty
Edited by	Milton Carruth
Music by	Joseph Gershenson
Production company	Universal-International
Distributed by	Universal-International
Release date	March 5, 1951 (1951-03-05)
Running time	92 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$1.95 million (US rentals)[1]

Plot

Based on the famed W.W.II cartoons: Lowbrow G.I.s Willie and Joe, on the Italian front, are good soldiers in combat, but meet the antics of gung-ho Captain Johnson and other military snafus with a barrage of wry comments. On a 3-day pass in Naples, Joe's penchant for wine and women involves the pair with luscious Emi Rosso and her moonshiner father, whose tangled affairs land them in ever deeper trouble.

Pre-Production

Mauldin sold the film rights of Up Front to International Pictures in 1945, receiving assurance from producer William Goetz that he would maintain creative control.^[3] Frustrated with the quality of Hollywood war movies, Mauldin was determined for Up Front to be "the first honest war picture."^[4] Brothers John and Ring Lardner Jr. were hired to write the screenplay.^[5] The film's production was put on hold due to Universal's acquisition of International Pictures and eventually shelved, with executives believing that public interest in war movies had diminished.

Production picked up again in 1949, but Lardner's involvement in the Hollywood Ten made his script politically risky for the studio to work with. It was at this point that the script was rewritten by Stanley Roberts and the promise of Mauldin's creative role rescinded.

Cast

• David Wayne as Joe
• Tom Ewell as Willie
• Marina Berti as Emi Rosso
• Jeffrey Lynn as Capt. Ralph Johnson
• Richard Egan as Capa
• Maurice Cavell as Vuaglio
• Vaughn Taylor as MP Maj. Lester
• Silvio Minciotti as Poppa Rosso
• Paul Harvey as Col. Akeley
• Roger De Koven as Sabatelli
• Grazia Narciso as Signora Carvadossi
• Tito Vuolo as Tarantino
• Mickey Knox as Driver
• Hal Baylor as Smitty
• John Doucette as Walsh
• William Frambes as Rogers
• Henry Rowland as Krausmeyer
• Kenneth Tobey as Cooper
• Arthur Space as Col. Hayes
• James Seay as Lt. Ferguson
• Harlan Warde as Lt. Myers
• Selmer Jackson as General
• Eugene Borden as French Captain
• Vito Scotti as Sergeant Clerk
• John McGuire as Military Police Lieutenant
• James Flavin as Military Policeman
• Peter Graves as Military Policeman
• Ann Tyrrell as Nurse
• Midge Ware as Nurse
• Gino Corrado as Waiter
• Lucille Barkley as Nurse Receptionist
• Pat Carroll as Italian Girl