peacedovey2003
I described this movie to two older gentlemen I worked with, and when I told them the names of all the actors that were in it they were amazed and wondering why they hadn't ever seen it. You have James Hampton (F-Troop, The Longest Yard, Condorman, and many other shows), Christopher Connelly (Peyton Place), Slim Pickens (1941 + other various shows), Denver Pyle (The Waltons, Escape to Witch Mountain), Gene Conforti (Three's Company + other various shows), Jack Elam (Cannon Ball Run + other various shows - including a villain on F-Troop), and Herb Vigran - who you've seen in many shows as a very familiar face with an unknown name. This is a fantastic line-up of actors all doing a good job, with subtle and not-so-subtle humor abounding. (There is even a scene with Benji, Tiffany, and Frank Inn (Benji's trainer) in the bar fight.)Denver Pyle as Col. Seymour Hawkins: "What was that!?" James Hampton as Howard Clemmons: "That was a camel, sir!" Col. Hawkins: "No, the one with the - table cloth - on his head!? Howard Clemmons: "Oh, that was Hi-jolly, sir!"Fitzgerald (at the end of the movie): "Everyday I walk a mile for these camels" (A humorous play on words taken from an old advertising slogan for Camel cigarettes.)If you really want to just relax and have good laugh, you need to watch this - my son's (30 & 27) both like this one and it is so much fun!I own a decent copy on VHS that I bought through Avon years ago.
milliesdad
I love this movie. I know that it's not the greatest film ever made, but it's just so much fun. My older brother took me to see this when it came out in 1976. Ever since then, I've thought of this as "F Troop: The Movie." It even stars James Hampton, who was the bugler, Cpl. Dobbs, on "F Troop." It's a shame that Forrest Tucker, Larry Storch, and Ken Berry aren't in this film, but Christopher Connelly, Slim Pickens, Jack Elam, and Denver Pyle are always great...And when that band starts playing in the saloon, I laugh every time. This is of those movies like "The Apple Dumpling Gang" and (the original) "That Darn Cat" that entire families can watch together and get a good laugh.
Joseph Richter Jr
I really enjoyed the movie as a kid, and was really looking forward to seeing this again. But why do they not bother to take the time to make decent transfers I'll never know. What a shame to ruin a perfectly good, fun movie. WARNING, POSSIBLE SPOILER!!! As a kid, I was fascinated to learn that they really DID have an experiment (upon which this film is VERY loosely based). They brought in camels with the idea that they would perform better than horses. What ever happened to these animals (once the experiment was concluded) ? Never found that one out. As was mentioned earlier, this film won't ever bee remembered as one of the "greats" of movie-making, but it was made in a time when clean wholesome films were the 'thing'. Something you could feel comfortable taking the whole family to. I was really excited to see it out (finally -after all the shovel-ware they make disks out of) on DVD -until the movie began. I really wish they would make decent transfers.
therealcorsican
Cute movie. I remember it from those days, when I was 11 and growing up in the US. Good family movie, safe for kids, and even has a bit of history in it to justify watching it, as this situation really happened in the US Cavalry (if not the actual people and events portrayed).Now for the bad news: As others have already noted, the picture and sound are worse than terrible. Looks like they got an old 16mm copy, a school projector, and a portable screen, and used a digital camcorder to record it while it played. Then they slapped it on a DVD and called it digital.Although the entire image is out of focus, the left side of the screen is even more so than the right. There is also some black banding that stutters down from the top of the frame periodically.And, judging from the sound quality, it appears that the sound was also recorded directly from the same projector, perhaps using a cheap electret condenser mic. Mounted on a piece of plywood. Or maybe stuck in a drawer.A company with this lousy of a work ethic should not be supported. Do not buy or rent this movie unless and until it gets a completely new version re-issued from the negatives. If we stop supporting these hacks, they will not be able to stay in business without increasing the quality of their titles. If you must see it, most larger metro US libraries will probably have it. The important thing is DON'T SPEND ANY MONEY ON THIS VERSION! Don't get me wrong; the movie itself is fine, and gets a 7 from me on its own. It's the terrible quality of the transfer that knocks it down to a 2.