A naive and wealthy young man seeks to impress a girl and then unwittingly signs up for army service.A naive and wealthy young man seeks to impress a girl and then unwittingly signs up for army service.A naive and wealthy young man seeks to impress a girl and then unwittingly signs up for army service.
Ann Dvorak
- Chorine
- (scenes deleted)
Ann Sothern
- Chorine
- (scenes deleted)
Bobby Barber
- Doughboy
- (uncredited)
Sidney Bracey
- Recruiter
- (uncredited)
John Carroll
- Doughboy in Elmer's Squad
- (uncredited)
Jack Cheatham
- Guard House Sentry
- (uncredited)
Jimmie Dundee
- Riveter
- (uncredited)
Joseph W. Girard
- General Hull
- (uncredited)
Pat Harmon
- Induction Non-Com
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn 1941, after President Franklin Roosevelt and Congress passed the first peacetime draft in U.S. history, Buster Keaton approached MGM to see if they would be interested in making a sequel to "Doughboys." He had found that all the principal actors in "Doughboys" were still alive and living in the L.A. area, and he intended to use them in the sequel as they had naturally aged. MGM's executives turned him down because they didn't think a comedy about the peacetime draft would draw audiences. Then Universal released Abbott and Costello's "Buck Privates," a comedy about the peacetime draft, and it became the most successful film of 1941.
- GoofsThe story takes place in 1917-1918, but all of the women's clothes, hats, and hairstyles are strictly 1930.
- Quotes
Elmer J. Stuyvesant Jr.: I'll run into you - some other war, sometime.
- ConnectionsAlternate-language version of De frente, marchen (1930)
- SoundtracksSing
(1930) (uncredited)
Music by Joseph Meyer
Lyrics by Howard Johnson
Performed by Cliff Edwards (vocals and ukelele), Sally Eilers (dance) and chorus
Featured review
Keaton goes off to war in this comedy romance and gritty WW I portrayal
Buster Keaton stars in this very early sound picture of MGM, and shows all of the pratfalls, trips, stumbles, bumps, falls, and other physical mishaps for which he was known. I rate "Dough Boys" seven stars for two reasons. First is that characteristic for which Keaton became famous as one of the three top male comedians of the silent film era. Second is because of the considerable screenplay in which the MGM lot must have dedicated a great deal of workers and time to build the sets and staff this picture. The portrayals of Army training and then the drudgery of Army service in World War I is quite realistic and impressive. I can't think of any other film about the First World War that showed the conditions of the weather and trench warfare any better.
Of course, this is a comedy, but it's also a romance and a war picture. This was no doubt MGM's experimenting with Keaton to see if he would continue to go over in sound pictures. What most of Hollywood didn't realize at the time - which movie fans of later times knew in hindsight, was that antics with lots of pratfalls and other physical miscues wouldn't have the same weight once sound came to the picture. Screenplays then needed some dialog to go with antics to build the comedy. I think MGM learned quickly, because the very next year, Keaton starred in "Parlor, Bedroom and Bath" which has a rip-snorting hilarious screenplay. And the usual Keaton falls were fewer but other physical antics were used for great effect. That screenplay overall was very good, with a very good cast.
Also aiding in this film are Edward Brophy as Sergeant Brophy, and Cliff Edwards as Nescopeck. Keaton plays Elmer J. Stuyvesant Jr., a wealthy bachelor who tries to get a date with a showgirl, Mary. She rebuffs him until she encounters him again after he has mistakenly enlisted in the Army. A number of comedians made comedies about service during the early years of World War II. Probably the best known of those would be "Buck Privates" of 1941 that starred Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. That is a very good film with some top musical performances as well in the Andrews Sisters and others.
But, for what Abbott and Costello went through in training and otherwise had to do for the comedy, that movie is a picnic compared to what Keaton and others did in this film The trudging through rain and ankle-deep mud goes on and on, and the physical settings here could just as realistically have been taken right out of the front lines in France in 1917.
Keaton fans especially, should enjoy this film. After a couple more feature films with MGM, Keaton made many shorts that went with features to theaters, and he had minor parts in some other films and later, on television.
Of course, this is a comedy, but it's also a romance and a war picture. This was no doubt MGM's experimenting with Keaton to see if he would continue to go over in sound pictures. What most of Hollywood didn't realize at the time - which movie fans of later times knew in hindsight, was that antics with lots of pratfalls and other physical miscues wouldn't have the same weight once sound came to the picture. Screenplays then needed some dialog to go with antics to build the comedy. I think MGM learned quickly, because the very next year, Keaton starred in "Parlor, Bedroom and Bath" which has a rip-snorting hilarious screenplay. And the usual Keaton falls were fewer but other physical antics were used for great effect. That screenplay overall was very good, with a very good cast.
Also aiding in this film are Edward Brophy as Sergeant Brophy, and Cliff Edwards as Nescopeck. Keaton plays Elmer J. Stuyvesant Jr., a wealthy bachelor who tries to get a date with a showgirl, Mary. She rebuffs him until she encounters him again after he has mistakenly enlisted in the Army. A number of comedians made comedies about service during the early years of World War II. Probably the best known of those would be "Buck Privates" of 1941 that starred Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. That is a very good film with some top musical performances as well in the Andrews Sisters and others.
But, for what Abbott and Costello went through in training and otherwise had to do for the comedy, that movie is a picnic compared to what Keaton and others did in this film The trudging through rain and ankle-deep mud goes on and on, and the physical settings here could just as realistically have been taken right out of the front lines in France in 1917.
Keaton fans especially, should enjoy this film. After a couple more feature films with MGM, Keaton made many shorts that went with features to theaters, and he had minor parts in some other films and later, on television.
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- SimonJack
- Mar 15, 2023
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Forward March
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 19 minutes
- Color
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