William Tracy is Dodo, the assistant to Army Officer James Gleason, a lovable old coot who wants to create closer ties between officers and the enlisted men. Sawyer's two rivals (Joe Sawyer and Noah Beery Jr.) try to outwit them in their efforts to get closer to Gleason's daughter (Elyse Knox) who is enamored of Sawyer's innocence. But don't underestimate Tracy. He's got the luck of the angels on his side and in just 45 minutes, continues to outwit his rivals and prove he's more than just a lucky guy who keeps getting a good break through no effort of his own.There's a lot of funny stuff here in one of Hal Roach's extremely long shorts (or extremely short features, depending on how you look at it), enough slapstick to fill one of Roach's earlier Laurel and Hardy gems, leaving little room for the viewer to catch their breath after continuously laughing. A very funny dinner party scene has Tracy keeping Sawyer and Beery in check by utilizing his dog as a gun guard which threatens to sink the two men's revolvers in a conveniently placed well just the day before an army shooting contest. This leads to the two vowing revenge and a very funny conclusion that may bring tears of hysterics to your eyes.

SGT Doubleday is smart, and the favorite of his commanding officer. He remembers everything he reads, and has an encyclopedic knowledge of the military. The only trouble is, he is unable to shoot a gun. Meanwhile, the base's two loud-mouths and sharp-shooting experts have it in for Doubleday because they think he's a know-it-all. Somehow the commander becomes convinced that Doubleday is an expert marksman. Will Doubleday be able to learn how to shoot a gun in time to compete in the sharpshooting competition and win the love of the commander's daughter? Don't ask me, the movie ends suddenly with almost no sub-plots getting resolved. No real explanation of the title, "Hay Foot" is offered either. Doing a search on the internet didn't reveal much, except that it may have been a kind of slang for a rookie recruit. Since this was the second film in the SGT Doubleday series, this doesn't make much sense though.Nevertheless, it was a pretty entertaining film.

At "Camp Carver", intelligent but gun-shy Sergeant William Tracy (as Dorian "Dodo"' Doubleday) writes a morale-boosting speech for his Colonel James Gleason (as J.A. Barkley). During a firearms lecture, Mr. Tracy shows off his photographic memory in front of teacher Sergeant Joe Sawyer (as William Ames). But Tracy is really afraid of guns. He also likes Mr. Gleason's beautiful daughter Elyse Knox (as Betty), but so does fellow Sergeant Noah Berry Jr. (as Charlie Cobb). Lucky shots during a fishing trip give Tracy a sharp-shooting reputation. Later, a mix-up puts all three Sergeants on a date with Ms. Knox. "Hay Foot" is a likeably done situation comedy, but with material that is far from outstanding.***** Hay Foot (1/2/42) Fred Guiol ~ William Tracy, Joe Sawyer, James Gleason, Noah Beery Jr.

This, the third in the series of Roach 'streamliners' -- short comedy features about 50 minutes in length -- about Sgt. Doubleday, the instant non-com with the photographic memory is, like the others, an unremarkable comedy, some good bits placed in a script that often seems to start and stop, but it does have one great positive value in the performance of James Gleason, a funny and highly talented comic performer for thirty years in Hollywood. Usually cast in some role that suited his lower-class New York accent -- check him out as the cab driver in THE BISHOP'S WIFE -- here he plays the regimental colonel: vain, pompous and father of a very pretty daughter who, with the issue of pistol shooting, is the core of the story.If you feel that he is not enough to make this movie worthwhile, I certainly understand. But for me he made the difference between a dull hour and a pleasant one.