Adventure · Comedy
American
1927 · Directed by Lewis Milestone · 92 min
Two American soldiers, a loud sergeant and a smooth private who cannot stand each other, find themselves cut off from their lines in the First World War. What follows is a chase across borders, part war farce and part desert adventure, with a woman who complicates their rivalry.
Why it matters in cinema history
A defining example of the late-silent service comedy, in which rival comrades stood in for ordinary Americans in uniform. It also shows how Hollywood treated the Great War as farce before sound and pacifism darkened the subject.
Watch with intention
Watch it as a comedy of two personalities: nearly every gag comes from the friction between a brute and a charmer forced to cooperate.
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