Jack Lemmon is a comedic gem and also a great leading man. This movie helps prove that. He has a laid back charm that could be comparable to Cary Grant. His ability to play drama and comedy whether as lead, shared lead or as supporting actor proves that as does his longevity in the craft. He has been in so many great movies and one of my favorites has been - How to murder your wife. His friendship with Ernie Kovacs is how I believe I first became aware of Jack Lemmon. The cast in this show are all nicely played and realistic - you actually believe the actors are the characters. The script is full of great easy to enjoy dialogue. The one liners blend well and are well placed in the script which includes sailing phrases. John Lund plays well in his lighter role as I remember him from High Society. The schooner is sleek and I'd have loved to sail on her. "What will they do if they all quit?" as was recited by Chief to Ricky Nelson's character is a smile. Climbing the mast to release the stuck sail a sailor is told to "don't look down". Jack's ability to go from a comedy moment here to a serious moment and back is a joy to watch and much of that takes place even before they leave the dock. I had almost forgotten this movie but it popped up on TV today and I had a wonderful couple of hours. For those who have seen the movie Up Periscope - you'll have an idea of how they altered this script for that movie. The wackiest ship in the army is a movie that should never become lost.

this is a fun, wholesome movie suitable for all ages. Lemmon is captivating, as always and Ricky Nelson does just fine. actually, this is really a tailor made role for nelson. the young handsome, slightly misguided, yet sincere officer who admits past failures and looks forward to proving himself in the eyes of his superior, Lemmon. the move has a touch of romance, a bit of action and plenty of laughs and wholesome fun. check it out. i'll bet you'll be rooting for this bunch of misfits just like i was. and Clayton Trap, i have no opinion on you as a person, though i do have a great sympathy for that stick that's stuck up your....

As military service comedies go, The Wackiest Ship in the Army isn't the best one going, but it is pretty amusing. Jack Lemmon plays a naval lieutenant who in civilian life had sailboat racing experience. Therefore he's just the man to command a sailing craft made up to look like a native trading vessel. The object being to land Australian coast watcher Chips Rafferty in the middle of Japanese held territory. Lemmon has a callow young ensign as his executive officer in Ricky Nelson and a crew of men, none of whom have any kind of experience in a sailing craft. The laughs come as he tries to whip this crew into some kind of shape before the mission.Jack Lemmon had just come off Some Like It Hot and The Apartment so he was hot box office back then. The Wackiest Ship in the Army isn't in the aforementioned league of films, but it's still good and unlike the other classics was turned into a television series, albeit a short lived one, just like that other Lemmon film, Mister Roberts.Ricky Nelson was never the greatest actor going, but he was their for the teenage girl market at the box office. What he was though was a very good singer and he does get to sing Do You Know What It Means to Leave New Orleans which sold a few platters back in the day.Outstanding other performances in the film are from Chips Rafferty, Australia's greatest cinema star, Mike Kellin playing the CPO of the sailing crew and Tom Tully who seems to continue where he took off from in The Caine Mutiny.Even today I think cinema fans will enjoy the comedy of Jack Lemmon in The Wackiest Ship in the Army.

When Lieutenant Rip Crandall is offered his first command he jumps at the chance. However when he arrives at his 'ship' he finds that the Echo is more of a tub than a destroyer – being practically a yacht! With an inexperienced or inept crew and a second officer who has barely ever been on water for any length of time, Crandall is ready to drop out until guilt gets the better of him and he decides not to leave the young Ensign Hanson carrying the bag. After a few days of intensive and quite unsuccessful training, Crandall's ship sets off on its mission.Starting out with a credit sequence and opening 10 minutes that suggests that the film may be as 'wacky' as the title suggests, it gradually settles into humour that is rather basic but passable before going for a more traditional plot that lacks humour and fails to really be that interesting. In some regards the turn away from the 'wacky' first few minutes was a relieve because I really don't like things that knowingly describe themselves as 'wacky' (personal ads with the words 'bubbly' or 'wacky' are generally my idea of hell) and the humour at the start of this just seemed too forced. However once it settles, it settles into humour that isn't very funny but is amiable enough. This continues with the usual 'training' stuff and 'mishaps' that passes for entertainment just about but then in the final 30/40 minutes it tries to actually have a plot – and falls to pieces as a result.By this point I didn't really care about the plot more than a basic description and it was too late in the day to try and suddenly become engaging or exciting. The film also completely drops the humour (for what it was) and creates such a sudden change of tone that its like watching another film – something that damages it even further. Of course, its not awful, its just a film of two halves, neither of which are much cop but neither of which are really bad. The cast doesn't help much either since most of them are fairly average and just play to the level of the humour. Lemmon tries hard but cannot do much other than his usual stuff – which isn't as good when it is built on material like this. Nelson is about as wooden as you could get and only has presence when he is given a musical number – he was a singer after all and never really convinced me as an actor. The support cast are pretty average and you can see their basic characters in almost any other 'useless ensemble crew' movie that you can pick.Overall this is a strange film that doesn't really work. It tries to be wacky and funny but the material is weak and it never really gets going, with the humour tailing off with every passing minute. When it eventually drops off altogether, the plot becomes more of a traditional war story but by then it is too hard to really care what is going on and it more or less fails too. As a total film it is a strange split; neither of the two halves really work but neither of them are bad. The end result is a film that is just about passable but one that will disappoint many who view it regardless of their expectations.