This is a fairly routine run of the mill war film which features the work of army surgeons in the first world war.It starts with a scene on a ship in a convoy in World War 2 and then goes back to flashback.What is so strange is that Jane Wyatt appears not to have aged in the 25 years since her World War 1 experiences,other than her hairdo has altered.However James Ellison has gone grey.Hollywood always seemed to have strange ideas as to how actors should age in a film.The story also features Jane Wyatt as the love interest fought over by a Surgeon and by an injured flier.Guess which one she chases!All i can say in conclusion is that it passes an hour without too much trouble.However don't make a special effort to see it.
5 Reviews
nothing much
blanche-228 September 2015
Warning: Spoilers
"Army Surgeon" is a B movie about - well, army surgeons, and stars Jane Wyatt, James Ellison, and Kent Taylor. Kent Taylor was Boston Blackie on television.
The film starts on a ship during World War II, when Wyatt, as Elizabeth Ainsley, flashes back to her work in World War I. At that time, two men were interested in her, James Mason, a surgeon and Phil Harvey, an injured soldier. Mason and Harvey, naturally, don't like one another.
At one point, all three are trapped by bomb debris with no air, in a room of injured soldiers who were too ill to move out. The two men work on digging out while Elizabeth sits with the soldiers and tries to keep them calm and comfortable. I thought that whole section was very good.
As another reviewer here mentioned, the aging process between WW I and II was strange to say the least. Wyatt received a white streak in her hair and that's it. James Ellison was all white - hair, eyebrows, you name it. He looked like Father Time. It had been, what, 25 years? It looked like 50 years had passed. Quite funny but nothing we haven't seen before, if one remembers Marie Curie. Dead in her casket at 92, Greer Garson looked 40 years younger than Curie at 67.
It's not too hard to figure out which one Wyatt chooses.
It's a short movie. Television would beckon both Wyatt and Taylor, where they both did well. Ellison ultimately went into real estate. I wouldn't have stayed in movies either.
The film starts on a ship during World War II, when Wyatt, as Elizabeth Ainsley, flashes back to her work in World War I. At that time, two men were interested in her, James Mason, a surgeon and Phil Harvey, an injured soldier. Mason and Harvey, naturally, don't like one another.
At one point, all three are trapped by bomb debris with no air, in a room of injured soldiers who were too ill to move out. The two men work on digging out while Elizabeth sits with the soldiers and tries to keep them calm and comfortable. I thought that whole section was very good.
As another reviewer here mentioned, the aging process between WW I and II was strange to say the least. Wyatt received a white streak in her hair and that's it. James Ellison was all white - hair, eyebrows, you name it. He looked like Father Time. It had been, what, 25 years? It looked like 50 years had passed. Quite funny but nothing we haven't seen before, if one remembers Marie Curie. Dead in her casket at 92, Greer Garson looked 40 years younger than Curie at 67.
It's not too hard to figure out which one Wyatt chooses.
It's a short movie. Television would beckon both Wyatt and Taylor, where they both did well. Ellison ultimately went into real estate. I wouldn't have stayed in movies either.
Where the action was
bkoganbing5 January 2018
Army Surgeon stars Jane Wyatt in the title role. The problem is that during
World War I the army would not send Jane to France where the action was and
her skills needed. Narrating this in flashback is Jane during World War II and
she says in order to get there she had to pretend being a nurse. Some strange
ideas back in the day.
Anyway Wyatt gets two men most interested in her. Medical colleague James Ellison and carefree aviator Kent Taylor. The accent here is mostly on the romantic hijinks until all three are trapped in a cave-in of the hospital trench when the Germans advance.
The film isn't exactly an epic, but it wears a lot better than many B film flagwavers made during the period. There's a nice performance by James Burke as a doughboy from, where else Brooklyn as per his character name as the comic relief.
It gets pretty harrowing inside that trench. If you'll remember in The Fighting 69th many in that cast were also trapped when a trench caved in, a dramatic high point in that better known film from Warner Brothers.
I think you'll like this one and as for who winds up with Wyatt you watch the film for that.
Anyway Wyatt gets two men most interested in her. Medical colleague James Ellison and carefree aviator Kent Taylor. The accent here is mostly on the romantic hijinks until all three are trapped in a cave-in of the hospital trench when the Germans advance.
The film isn't exactly an epic, but it wears a lot better than many B film flagwavers made during the period. There's a nice performance by James Burke as a doughboy from, where else Brooklyn as per his character name as the comic relief.
It gets pretty harrowing inside that trench. If you'll remember in The Fighting 69th many in that cast were also trapped when a trench caved in, a dramatic high point in that better known film from Warner Brothers.
I think you'll like this one and as for who winds up with Wyatt you watch the film for that.
The general assessment is correct.
mark.waltz15 August 2023
Warning: Spoilers
It's hard to find fault with these propaganda intended war films outside of predictable plotlines, by the numbers leading characters and typical endings to fill the heart with patriotism. The plusses here humorous supporting players and top notch battle scenes, set a world war before the one raging when this was made.
Unless you were a mega star contract player, you couldn't avoid ending up in a B film, and war jobs were plenty for contract player actors who passed muster with the front office. For James Ellison, Jane Wyatt and Kent Taylor, a film like this was a routine couple of weeks at the studio, and they get to play characters that audiences during the second world war could cheer on.
A surgical doctor, general practitioner and a pilot involved in a triangle during the first world war, and just as filled with patriotism as the one being fought then. There's comic players Roscoe Karns and George Cleveland, a Christmas behind the lines, lots of bombs going off, and plenty of pathos. I couldn't hate this film if I tried because of the way it made me feel about my country at a time before I was born. Everyone pulls together and brings it home, but as a very short film, there's not enough time to really give the detail it would require to make a major impact. War audiences probably forgot about it by the following weekend when another similar B film came out.
Unless you were a mega star contract player, you couldn't avoid ending up in a B film, and war jobs were plenty for contract player actors who passed muster with the front office. For James Ellison, Jane Wyatt and Kent Taylor, a film like this was a routine couple of weeks at the studio, and they get to play characters that audiences during the second world war could cheer on.
A surgical doctor, general practitioner and a pilot involved in a triangle during the first world war, and just as filled with patriotism as the one being fought then. There's comic players Roscoe Karns and George Cleveland, a Christmas behind the lines, lots of bombs going off, and plenty of pathos. I couldn't hate this film if I tried because of the way it made me feel about my country at a time before I was born. Everyone pulls together and brings it home, but as a very short film, there's not enough time to really give the detail it would require to make a major impact. War audiences probably forgot about it by the following weekend when another similar B film came out.
Jane Wyatt makes most of role in medical corps drama
jarrodmcdonald-11 November 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Technically this is a war film, produced by RKO during the first year that America was fighting abroad in WWII. However, the romantic strands of the main storyline take priority, and the war action is merely background, until something important needs to happen to our principal characters. Then, they are right in the midst of battle.
Interestingly a framing device utilized by the scenarists begins the film in WWII and ends the film in WWII. But the main female character (played by Jane Wyatt) is remembering a time from another war 25 years earlier. We flashback to her as a younger woman, arriving on the European front during WWI. She is there to do her part.
In a way Jane Wyatt is perfect for this type of role, because the actress is always smart and confident in her roles. She's good at portraying a no-nonsense gal, a medical professional who's gone abroad to help save lives. And we know she will succeed, too.
At first we're told she's a nurse, which she has passed herself off as...but a short time later, a male doctor (James Ellison) learns she's actually a licensed physician just like him. His ego takes a bit of a bruising. During the introductory portion of their meet-cute, we assume Ellison is playing the title character, the so-called army surgeon...but that label also applies to Wyatt's character, who's right there in the trenches alongside him, with equal qualifications.
The middle section of picture depicts how they re-situate their mobile hospital closer to where the action and fatalities are occurring. There are some dramatic explosions and a cave-in at one point. But none of what occurs outside can compare to what is happening inside, between Ellison and Wyatt while they tend to their patients.
They are starting to have feelings for each other, and seem to be on track for some sort of personal relationship. But then a downed flyer (Kent Taylor) winds up in their care, and it is learned he's a former beau of Miss Wyatt's, which creates a romantic triangle. Some time goes by, and we see how conflicted she is about both men. But because Ellison has higher billing, we know Wyatt will end up with him and not Taylor.
Still I found it all rather engaging to watch, despite the more formulaic aspects of the production. Jane Wyatt makes the most of a strong role without an overbearing sense of jingoism or feminism. If you're fan of hers like I am, you will want to see her take center stage here.
Interestingly a framing device utilized by the scenarists begins the film in WWII and ends the film in WWII. But the main female character (played by Jane Wyatt) is remembering a time from another war 25 years earlier. We flashback to her as a younger woman, arriving on the European front during WWI. She is there to do her part.
In a way Jane Wyatt is perfect for this type of role, because the actress is always smart and confident in her roles. She's good at portraying a no-nonsense gal, a medical professional who's gone abroad to help save lives. And we know she will succeed, too.
At first we're told she's a nurse, which she has passed herself off as...but a short time later, a male doctor (James Ellison) learns she's actually a licensed physician just like him. His ego takes a bit of a bruising. During the introductory portion of their meet-cute, we assume Ellison is playing the title character, the so-called army surgeon...but that label also applies to Wyatt's character, who's right there in the trenches alongside him, with equal qualifications.
The middle section of picture depicts how they re-situate their mobile hospital closer to where the action and fatalities are occurring. There are some dramatic explosions and a cave-in at one point. But none of what occurs outside can compare to what is happening inside, between Ellison and Wyatt while they tend to their patients.
They are starting to have feelings for each other, and seem to be on track for some sort of personal relationship. But then a downed flyer (Kent Taylor) winds up in their care, and it is learned he's a former beau of Miss Wyatt's, which creates a romantic triangle. Some time goes by, and we see how conflicted she is about both men. But because Ellison has higher billing, we know Wyatt will end up with him and not Taylor.
Still I found it all rather engaging to watch, despite the more formulaic aspects of the production. Jane Wyatt makes the most of a strong role without an overbearing sense of jingoism or feminism. If you're fan of hers like I am, you will want to see her take center stage here.
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