About Face (1952 film)

About Face is a 1952 American musical comedy film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Gordon MacRae, Eddie Bracken and Virginia Gibson.[2][3] It was future Oscar winner Joel Grey's film debut. It was produced and distributed by Warner Bros. It is an adaptation of the 1936 play Brother Rat by John Monks Jr. and Fred F. Finklehoffe and a remake of the 1938 film of the same title.[4]

About Face
Directed byRoy Del Ruth
Screenplay byPeter Milne
Based onBrother Rat
1936 play
by John Monks Jr.
Fred F. Finklehoffe
Produced byWilliam Jacobs
StarringGordon MacRae
Eddie Bracken
Virginia Gibson
CinematographyBert Glennon
Edited byThomas Reilly
Music byRay Heindorf
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • February 28, 1952 (1952-02-28)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1.6 million (US)[1]

Synopsis

edit

Three friends enlist at a military academy in the American South. While two of them pursue romantic entanglements, the third tries to keep quiet the fact he is secretly married and his wife is expecting a child.

Cast

edit

Reception

edit

The film was a box-office failure. Bracken later said that "the main reason why audiences rejected About Face, I think, is that most of us were too damn old for the roles."[5]

References

edit
  1. ^ 'Top Box-Office Hits of 1952', Variety, January 7, 1953
  2. ^ "About Face (1952) - Roy del Ruth | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  3. ^ Erickson p.385
  4. ^ Goble p.331
  5. ^ McClelland, Doug (1989). Hollywood Talks Turkey - The Screen's Greatest Flops. Starbrite.

Bibliography

edit
  • Erickson, Hal. Military Comedy Films: A Critical Survey and Filmography of Hollywood Releases Since 1918. McFarland, 2012.
  • Goble, Alan. The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Walter de Gruyter, 1999.
edit