The Horizontal Lieutenant (1962) User Reviews (14)

My bit about The Horizontal Lieutenant

[doufus · 7/10 · 27 October 2006]

I thought the movie at the time of its release was a great comedy. I watched it and was completely entertained.

I was always a fan of Jim Hutton and to this day I think Paula Prentiss was one of the sexiest females in Hollywood. This statement comes at a time when Marilyn Monroe ruled that venue. So I was a fan of Hutton and had a crush on Prentiss. You could probably deduce that my consideration of this movie is influenced by those facts and you would probably be right.

But, that is what made the movies like The Horizontal Lieutenant popular. Nice guys who were capable of drawing the audience into his predicaments and a beautiful co-star who usually got him out of his jam. Hutton and Prentiss could have done this forever as far as I am concerned and I would have gone babbling back to the movie. No matter how bad the movie was a 90 minute look at Prentiss was worth the pain.

This movie was not directed by some artist from a European country and it was not considered to be an artistic accomplishment. It was meant to be entertaining for a couple of hours and nothing more. It accomplished its goal hands down and need not hide its head in shame because it did not reach some haughty artitistic level.

I will admit that the fact that I thought that Paula Prentiss was a sexy woman may have something to do with my appreciation of this movie but I truly believe that I would have enjoyed it as much if Mary Wickes had been placed into Paula's role. If Mary Wickes had starred I would have to simply sit back and wait for the next Prentiss film.

Come to think of it Mary Wickes ain't that bad if she would only get a better make-up person. I have seen pictures of Mary Wickes when she was in her early twenties and she was a very attractive woman. If Mary Wickes had just come on the scene during the past 15 years she would have gotten Sarah Jessica Parker's part on Sex in the City.

But I digress...

Dave

thorpe, hutton and prentiss make another one

[ksf-2 · 6/10 · 17 September 2019]

Starts out kind of slow, but from the credits, we see Jim Backus (Thurston Howell !) is in here, so it must get better. Stars Jim Hutton as a WW II soldier Wye, who gets clunked on the head playing baseball. his hospital nurse is Lieutenant Molly (Paula Prentiss), who he knew back in school. Then Wye is shipped out. by now he has hit it off with nursey, so he's trying to track her down. Hutton made five films with Prentiss during the 1960s. and Walk, Don't Run with Cary Grant. Sadly, Hutton died quite young at 45, making for a short career. it's kind of a slow boil, but entertaining enough if you hang in there. Backus is the Commander, blustering and storming about. they should have used him more, or something. Observant viewers will spot Miyoshi Umeki, who was also Mrs. Livingston in "courtship of eddie's father". it's all okay. Directed by Richard Thorpe; started in the silents, and directed right up into the 1960s. Thorpe had just made "honeymoon machine" with Hutton and Prentiss in supporting roles the year before. Original book by Gordon Cotler, who had also written the story on which they based Arabesque! It's pretty good, but wasn't nominated for any awards. Thorpe won a few film festivals, and even got a star on the walk of fame, but also was never nominated.

The intelligence officer

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 12 October 2019]

The Horrizontal Lieutenant has Jim Hutton assigned to the Army Intelligence division who has had one desultory war when toward the end of WW2 he gets an assignment in the Ryukyu Islands near Japan.

Hutton's mission is to find a Japanese soldier who hasn't surrendered and is stealing all kinds of supplies and he's become a folk hero to the natives. Not exactly looking for Mata Hari.

He might accomplish his task, but he's also spending time trying to score with nurse Paula Prentice whom he knew a bit before the war.

Hutton and Prentice are supported by such stalwarts as Charles McGraw, Jim Backus, Miyoshi Umeki, Jack Carter, and a good group of Asian players. The final capture scene with Hutton, Prentice and their quarry is hysterical.

If you like service comedies this is for you.

The Lieutenand, the Nurse and the Thief

[EdgarST · 6/10 · 11 February 2021]

I believe that several persons here (including me) have given «The Horizontal Lieutenant» a rating above the average, because we liked the lead players, Jim Hutton and Paula Prentiss, who had good chemistry in all movies that they made together; and because the story has good potential that cannot be spoiled in its entirety, despite a not very good script.

I don't know what is the tone of the novel by Gordon Cotler that inspires this film, but the central plot can be treated as comedy or drama: during II World War a young G-2 officer (Hutton) is sent to a Japanese island to catch a thief, while he courts an old university girlfriend (Prentiss), whom he meets again working as a nurse. However, George Wells' script is old-fashioned, attached to moral standards that not even the military on the war front in the 1940s should have respected, especially with men and women in the same camp. We can understand the screenwriter was limited by the Production Code, but it was truly agonizing by 1962.

One more film like this and the careers of Prentiss and Hutton would have finished and, indeed, poor Jim Hutton had to endure one more silly comedy (with Connie Francis), in which Prentiss only made a brief appearance and received star status, after the doors were opened to her with Howard Hawks' "Man's Favorite Sport?"

The entire cast (especially Yoshio Yoda as Tada) struggles to get the best out of the story and a script with jokes that, in most cases, have no effect; or loses focus with endless interior sequences, like an interrogation conducted by an alcoholic officer (Jim Backus).

The basic premise could have had a sad or happy ending and the producers opted for comedy, so when «The Horizontal Lieutenant» ends, it leaves us with a smile on our faces, but little else. Richard Thorpe, a veteran with a career in the business since 1921, should have been bored by then, directing the young Metro actors, whose conduct and morals were surely foreign to him.

A bit disappointing

[prcadle · 6/10 · 16 July 2014]

Jim Hutton is a fond favorite actor of mine, and at his best he could be quite funny -- his best comic effort in my opinion is in "Who's Minding the Mint?" He teamed up 4 times with Paula Prentiss, mostly due to the fact he was tall enough at 6'5" to tower over the 5'10" young lady. These four films with Hutton were Prentiss' first 4 films of her career. She was also a talented actress adept at comedy - her best comedy role, again in my opinion, was in "Man's Favorite Sport?", alongside Rock Hudson.

Hutton and Prentiss were an attractive couple - she very sexy and long legged, he somewhat gangly and bean-pole thin, but with a great deal of boyish charm and a winsome self-effacing manner. Hutton was groomed to be a new version of Jimmy Stewart, in fact. he stayed youthful enough to successfully play Ellery Queen in a TV series when he was over 40.

With this nice pairing of leading man and lady, and the always funny Jim Backus added to the mix, this should have been an engaging comedy. The fact that it is no better than so-so is not the fault of the actors.

The film, which is based on a novel, is meant to be similar to a number of World War II military service screwball comedies that were released in the late 50's and early 60's. It tries to capture the spirit of "Teahouse of the August Moon" and "Don't Go Near the Water", both starring Glenn Ford, and "Wake Me When It's Over" starring Dick Shawn. However, it never quite makes the grade. The situations that are supposed to funny just don't quite hit home. There is a bit too much reliance on slapstick pratfalls that you can see coming a mile away, and a couple of scenes with good humor potential are wasted by sub-par dialog.

But, the cast is gamely trying their best and the great chemistry between Prentiss and Hutton comes through in some (but not all) of their scenes together. This movie is a nice time-killer, but it was not nearly as good as I had hoped.

Insipid disaster

[cutter-12 · 3/10 · 2 January 2006]

One of your more banal entries in the early 60's sex comedy genre. B movie material all the way featuring a leading man who was never funny or engaging, and a leading lady whose likability deserved better than to be lost in unintelligible glossy pieces of fluff like this.

Paula Prentiss was not the greatest actress, comedic or otherwise, but her charm and her smile have always made her one of my favorites. It's a shame she was destined to be known as the love interest in Jim Hutton comedies.

Hutton surely had to be one of the most inept comic leading men of any era. He doesn't even have even a single moment in this film that makes you laugh.

The only actor involved who brings anything colorful to this dour mess is Charles McGraw, who growls and snaps and barks as Hutton's commanding officer, but with his tongue firmly in cheek. McGraw was one of the truly great character actors. It's a memorable character turn in a film that has nothing else memorable about it.

Something about an intelligence officer who was knocked out by a baseball once who is sent to pacific island to find some Japanese spy that is actually an acrobat and along the way has a rocky romance with a Navy Nurse. A would-be WW2 romp that is as flat and lifeless as movies get. MGM gave it a sumptuous production but it was films like this, immaculately produced but lacking the kind of script, stars and director of MGM's glory years that were the final nail in the coffin of MGM as a major studio, and of Screwball comedy as an artform.

A film almost completely devoid of creativity and verve. Unless you're a Paula Prentiss or Charles McGraw fan, skip it.

Light fare

[gbill-74877 · 6/10 · 4 May 2022]

Jim Hutton and Paula Prentiss are cute and have good timing in their comedic delivery and all, but mostly this is a film searching for laughs and only rarely finding them. The pair get stationed on an American-occupied island during WWII with the task of looking for a Japanese holdout who has been pilfering supplies. It's light fare to say the least, but helped considerably by their presence. I have to say, it was also nice to see the representations of Japanese and Japanese-Americans with few stereotypes. One serviceman (Yoshio Yoda) is a ladies man, counter to the usual emasculation, and the holdout (Yuki Shimoda) kicks Hutton's ass for awhile upon being discovered. Plus, we get Miyoshi Umeki singing "How About You?" late in the film, which was just lovely. I only wish the story and the humor could have been better, or that the double entendre in the film's title could have led to a little more sizzle. As it is, it's cute, but not terribly exciting.

A little too silly

[HotToastyRag · 5/10 · 29 March 2022]

After the hilarious cartoon-accompanying theme song plays during the opening credits, this movie goes downhill. It's hard to believe, since the song's not that great, but it's true. So unless you really love the pairing of Jim Hutton and Paula Prentiss, you can skip this one.

Jim stars as a soldier who yearns to see action but is stuck behind a desk in Honolulu. When he gets transferred to the South Pacific, he hopes he'll have more of an adventure, but it's not exactly the case. The Japanese have surrendered months earlier, and there are no battles, interrogations, or dangerous missions. The most action he sees is the random run-ins with Paula, a girl he'd like to get to know if she'd stay in one place long enough.

There is one Japanese man on the island who still fights the Americans, though: Yuki Shimoda. Yuki's way of exacting revenge on his conquerors is to steal food from the mess hall, so even when Jim finds out he has an enemy, it's not exactly a dangerous one. With some slapstick, sex jokes, and silly situations, all in the style of 1962, it's easy to see that this movie doesn't really stand the test of time very well.

Yet another WWII comedy from the 1950s-60s

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 5 May 2022]

In the decades following WWII, there came a new sort of war film...one without any fighting and aimed clearly as comedies. Glenn Ford made several (such as "Teahouse of the August Moon" and "The Imitation General") though he was far from the only one in such movies. Robert Walker Jr., Jim Hutton, Tony Curtis and many others made this sort of film as well. What sets "The Horizontal Lieutenant" apart from SOME is that it's much more a sex comedy than a comedy...though it's not like it's unique here. So, instead of focusing on bravery and sacrifice, these films are more about men trying to handle boredom....and sexual urges.

While some of these films ("Operation Petticoat", "Mr. Roberts" and a few others) are well worth seeing, some fall more in the category of 'nice time-passer'...such as "The Horizontal Lieutenant". In other words, it's not bad but is far from a must-see.

Jim Hutton stars as the Lieutenant in the film's title. He's referred to as 'horizontal' because the film begins with him getting knocked out...and because he seems to spend most of his time trying to bed a pretty nurse (Paula Prentiss). The plot also has to do with him trying to capture a minor annoyance on an occupied island in the Pacific...a guy known as Kobayashi.

So is this any good? Well, it's okay...enjoyable but not much more. The actors try, but the focus on sex becomes a bit boring after a while! Yep...a bit boring.

Jim and Paula together again

[shino · 9/10 · 2 July 2004]

This is the final of four consecutive films Jim Hutton and Paula Prentiss made together in the early 60's. It is at times a trifle insensitive towards the Japanese, but that's about the worst thing you can say about this otherwise pleasant film. Trivia: Hutton's diminutive Nisei sidekick Sgt Tada, played by Yoshio Yoda, became "Fuji" in McHale's Navy.

Hutton, as usual plays the conniving but good-hearted Hutton character, and Prentiss--though described as "lanky" and "Miss High-Pockets"--is drop-dead gorgeous, even in G.I. Beige. She's just happy that the war transformed her "from a tall girl into a short commodity." This may be the last film which the producers felt compelled to write in some reference to Prentiss' Amazonian proportions.

Hutton, an intelligence officer, is sent to an occupied Pacific Islands to capture an inconsequential Japanese pilferer, and in due time, Prentiss shows up.

A talented collection of familiar character and comedic actors rounds out the cast.

Prentiss-Hutton Star in a Wonderful Comedy

[AndersonWhitbeck · 9/10 · 8 September 2007]

MGM had several fine players under exclusive contract in the l960's: George Peppard, Richard Chamberlain, Yvette Mimieux and Jim Hutton and Paula Prentiss. This film is one of the 4 Pairings that MGM made with Hutton and Prentiss and is my favorite film of that team and one of my favorite comedies of the l960's. Great movie teams have magic: Loy and Powell, Tracy and Hepburn, Lemmon and Matthau, and for sure Hutton and Prentiss. Hutton conveyed a manly comedic skill set and Prentiss from San Antonio a gorgeous tall Texan with a sexy voice. Richard Thorpe moves the action skillfully and so what most of the movie seems to have been filmed on the MGM back lot, it is a Fun film with all the top notch MGM production values and special effects. This film is so enjoyable one wonders why MGM let them stop filming as a Team after this film. They were announced for a comedy And Now To Bed about a playboy played by Hutton and an interior decorator played by Prentiss but both stars passed on that film. Too bad. One never tires of these two professionals. Fine support from a cast of well known character actors.

I recommend this movie

A fine Movie.

[Bobby-27 · 10/10 · 16 May 1999]

I saw this movie in the early sixties, while serving in the U.S Air Force. It's a little dated now, but back then it was fantastic. We lost Mr. Hutton, in his forties, we will never know what fine work he would have given us. He died too young. Paula Prentiss showed her talent in this fine flick.

A Must for all Jim Hutton Fans!

[ellery99 · 10/10 · 5 June 1999]

Great Movie! And I agree with Mr. Larkin: Jim Hutton was taken from us MUCH too soon. I loved everything he did in TV & movies. And I miss him greatly..Overall, watch this movie--you won't be sorry! :-)

MGM Jim Hutton and Beautiful Paula Prentiss were Outstanding

[adventure-21903 · 9/10 · 12 July 2020]

MGM then the biggest most powerful studio in Hollywood with massive backlots had several talented contract stars George Peppard, Yvette Mimieux, George Hamilton, Luana Patten, and the biggest of them all Richard Chamberlain. Added to this talent pool were two comedic actors that would co star in MGM films. Hutton was in Peppard's "The Subterreans" at MGM Hutton and Prentiss were magic in the smash hit "Where The Boys Are" , and the Bob Hope-Lana Turner "Bachelor in Paradise" and Steve McQueen's "Honeymoon Machine." MGM gave this talented duo pic of their own The "Horizontal Lieutenant" film I loved mainly because I had a huge crush on gorgeous Texan Paula Prentiss. The movie os a service oriented comedy, goofy but fun. Laugh out loud fun.

Howard Strickling MGM PR Maestro built up George Peppard and MGM gave him Spencer Tracy's dressing room! Strickling made Paula Prentiss to be a new Jean Arthur. Jim Hutton was packaged by Strickling as a combination of James Stewart and Jack Lemmon

Things went awry as Hutton after he made "Period of Adjustmen"t at MGM and then went on a year and half suspension to get out of his contract. He came off suspension to do "Looking For Love" with Connie Francis then left MGM. MGM had prepared a big budget comedy "And Now To Bed" for Prentiss and Hutton but since Hutton was on suspension, the film was never made.

Hutton died at age 45. A tough loss, Paula Prenriss is retired having a successful marriage of nearly 60 years to Richard Benjamin.