Soldier In The Rain (1963)

A brash if not too bright soldier (Steve McQueen) can't wait to get out of the Army. He attempts to convince his best buddy, a savvy career soldier (Jackie Gleason), to join him but the overweight friend doesn't feel comfortable outside the military life. Based on the novel by William Goldman and directed by Ralph Nelson (LILIES OF THE FIELD). An often awkward mix of comedy and drama, SOLDIER works best when it leaves the broad comedy behind and concentrates on the quieter moments. A couple of the actors in their attempt to be funny, McQueen and Tony Bill, are so over animated that they no longer seem human. By contrast, the great comic Gleason's finespun work is a breath of fresh air. The film's peak is the wonderful interplaying between Gleason and Tuesday Weld as a teen-aged airhead who form an unexpected alliance especially in their first date at a carnival. Ralph Nelson doesn't seem to have the knack that the comedic sequences require and one can't help but wish that Blake Edwards had directed his own script (co-written by Maurice Richlin). Still, the bond of friendship between the scheming McQueen and the acute Gleason tends to overcome the film's multiple flaws. The score is by Henry Mancini. With Tom Poston, Ed Nelson and Chris Noel.