In this golden age of home viewing, the Criterion Collection still provides some of the best editions of the best movies ever released, usually with a rich selection of extras and often including audio commentaries (a feature they pioneered, and perhaps the greatest gift ever to film students and cinephiles alike). This column features one Criterion release per week, based entirely on where my interests lead me.
No Time for Sergeants is included in the Criterion box set The Golden Age of Television. For more about that series and the context in which the programs in it were created, see this review.
Many of the programs featured in The Golden Age of Television take on weighty themes, so Andy Griffith’s television debut in the comedy No Time for Sergeants comes as a welcome change of pace. The show has its origins in a comic novel by Mac Hyman, which was adapted by Ira Levin into a popular play of Broadway (and marked Griffith’s stage debut). Levin also wrote the screenplay for the United States Steel Hour version of the play (included in the Criterion release). The same material was also adapted for a 1958 film and for a television series that ran on ABC in the 1964-65 season.
The stage origins of No Time for Sergeants are clear from the restricted locations (mostly military barracks) and the many direct addresses to camera by Griffith’s character, Private Will Stockdale. Speaking against a black background, Stockdale begins and ends the show with direct address and frequently within and between scenes as well. It’s a useful technique that is also seen in, for instance, the 1956 television version of Bang the Drum Slowly. It’s effectively used in both programs and if it seems old-fashioned or overly stage-bound today, bear in mind that in 1955 people were still figuring out the possibilities of television and were often working with a shoestring budget. Plus, of course, these were live productions so everything had to be staged to facilitate continuous recording.
It’s no accident that Griffith was the only actor from the Broadway play was carried over to the Steel Hour version, because his charm and versatility (he also sings and plays the jaw harp) are key to making the show work. Stockdale is a country boy from Georgia drafted into the military and while he doesn’t always understand the world around him, his relentless good humor always sees him through. That same spirit drives Sergeant King (Harry Clark) absolutely bonkers, but of course the wise fool always comes out on top. Other characters include Robert Emhardt as a military psychiatrist who tries and fails hilariously to find a reason to discharge Stockdale and Eddie LeRoy as Private Ben Whitledge, a short, bespectabled outsider who becomes Stockdale’s barracks buddy and bunkmate.
Some of the humor in No Time for Sergeants feels dated today, particularly a bit involving a decidedly unfeminine female officer, but Griffith’s character is always enjoyable and most of the story plays out like a live-action version of a Bugs Bunny cartoon. Tell the truth—did you ever doubt that Bugs would come out on top? It’s the same in this show, but somehow it feels like an affirmation of the virtues of friendship and openheartedness as well as the simple pleasure of seeing an underdog win. | Sarah Boslaugh
Spine #: 495
Technical details: 50 min.; B&W; screen ratio 1.33:1; English.
Edition reviewed: DVD (3 discs)
Extras: Introduction hosted by Roddy McDowall for the 1981 PBS television series The Golden Age of Television (McDowall appeared in the stage production of No Time for Sergeants) featuring an interview with Andy Griffith. The Criterion web site mentions a booklet including an essay by Ron Simon and liner notes for each program but it was missing from the library copy I reviewed.
Fun Fact: Andy Griffith was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance as Private Will Stockdale in the Broadway production of No Time for Sergeants, and also played that role in the 1958 movie directed by Mervyn LeRoy.
Parting Thought: No Time for Sergeants is carried largely by the strength of one actor’s charm, with the other characters reduced to predictable bit roles and the action mostly boilerplate. And yet it was successful enough in its day to exist in five different versions, three of them starring Griffith, and his success in this role launched a long and successful career. Is there any actor working today who could similarly carry a less-than-remarkable production to success? Kristin Chenoweth comes immediately to mind for her work in making Broadway shows like The Apple Tree a success, but perhaps there are others?
