mark.waltz Every military archetype is present in this pre-Pearl Harbor training drama that prepared the future "boys over there" just in case. Of course, just in case was can obvious foregone conclusion, so it was just a matter of time and circumstances. Reminding me of the later Pine-Thomas programmers that covered every part of military life without giving away military secrets. These war pictures were important for the parents of the young men going off to an unknown future, not just propaganda but important morale boosters as well.The four young men going into the parachute battalion are as different as different can be. Cocky Robert Preston is the pompous joker of the bunch, while Edmund O'Brien is a commanders son who is a recovering alcoholic. Sweet faced Richard Carlson is a secret coward whose inner tension builds up to being revealed in the film's key scene. Future Jed Clampett Buddy Ebsen is playing a younger version of his hillbilly character, making him the comic relief. Aboard the train to training camp, they meet pretty Nancy Kelly and her gruff father (an excellent Harry Carey), unaware of O'Brien's struggles, but preferring him over the obnoxious Preston who takes an instant dislike to him as well. Is it any real surprise that Carey ends up being their trainer? Mixing the description of parachute battalion training (through stock footage, training films and newly photographed sequences) and romantic complications, this is not bad, but oh so familiar. Of the four young men, O'Brien and Cromwell play the more well defined characters, while Preston and Ebsen are simply "types" and not really given story. Preston does lead a drill much like he would years later lead the boys band in "The Music Man", and Ebsen shows off his rubber legged dancing in one brief sequence as well. It all culminates in a faked battle sequence for training where Ebsen confronts the other soldier he has been searching for ever since the film began for seemingly ridiculous reasons. Absolutely worth catching, but definitely leaves the viewer wanting something a little more substantial once it is all over.

bkoganbing RKO gave the movie going public of the fall of 1941 Parachute Batallion about this new creation of the US Army the paratrooper. This film follows the training and rivalry of three paratrooper trainees Robert Preston, Edmond O'Brien and Buddy Ebsen.Buddy Ebsen plays a hillbilly type around for comic relief. But O'Brien and Preston are in serious heat over Nancy Kelly, daughter of Harry Carey a legend in the ranks of those who were pioneering the art of jumping out an airplane. Preston is a former All American with notches on his belt over the various women he's conquered. O'Brien unbeknownst to all is the son of the base commander Robert Barrat and on a drunken dare enlists to see if he has the right stuff.If you think you've seen this before you have. Strip away the musical numbers of the Andrews Sisters and the comedy of Abbott&Costello you've got Buck Privates. Parachute Batallion comes down to pretty much the same thing, the only question is who will get Nancy Kelly.Richard Cromwell has an interesting part, something not in Buck Privates, a wise guy who looses his nerve. He and Edmond O'Brien have a great scene when he calms down Cromwell in an airplane.Nicely done, but dated wartime flag waver.

Robert J. Maxwell Buddy Ebson joins "the parachute service" as a comic hick who isn't used to wearing shoes. A fellow recruit is Edmond O'Brien, the son of the commanding officer of Fort Benning, Georgia, and he's tormented by fear of failure. Robert Preston is the brash football hero of Harvard, from a wealthy family. Stop me if you've heard this before.This was released a few months before Pearl Harbor, by which point it was increasingly likely that we would be drawn into the war. (Kids, that's a reference to World War II. That's the one that came after World War I.) It serves as a kind of inoculation into a war mind-set. See? Things aren't so bad in the Army. Except for Robert Arlen, who goes crazy, it's a lot of fun. The guys indulge in a lot of grabass with the sergeants and with each other. They have dances in the barracks. They sleep in pajamas. It's true, they weren't served breakfast in bed by pretty blond Swedish maids, as I was in boot camp, but it's one big festival.They even get to court Master Sergeant Harry Carey's daughter because they have plenty of time on leave. The formula requires that there be a love triangle and here it is. Both O'Brien and Preston plan to marry Carey's daughter. They miss the big war exercise because they're busy having a fist fight. Instead of being railroaded into the clink for such an infraction, as I was in boot camp, a special chartered plane takes them up to make the prescribed drop, and the exercise is a great success.It's not really necessary to get deeper into the plot. The most outstanding features have to do with make parachute drops. There is some interstitial footage of "the first parachute drop ever made." And a good deal of time is spent on parachute rigging. It's all rather interesting in a way the horseplay isn't.It's routine, but mindless fun.

SimonJack Although it gives a rather light-hearted treatment to the rigor of paratrooper training, this film has considerable value and interest especially for military and airborne history and development. The light- heartedness may be accounted for because of the newness of the paratroops in 1941, efforts to educate the public and military about airborne training, and intentional efforts not to scare recruits away. Its major flaw is in not showing the rigors of training. As a former paratrooper (from the Cold War years of early 1960s in Germany), I thought the easy-go-lucky atmosphere in this film was quite exaggerated. Indeed, reading accounts of the first test platoon and parachute units (some good online sources), informs that the training from the earliest was most rigorous and with considerable discipline.The biggest difference noted in the training from then until now, is that enlistees were then going right into training to be paratroopers -- so, boot camp and infantry specialty and jump school were all rolled into one. This film is important to point out that bit of history in the time just before and during the war. But, since WWII, paratroopers have first had to complete 8 weeks of regular basic training (boot camp), then go to their specialty school for 8 weeks or more (infantry, artillery, communications, medical, etc.), and finally spend 3 to 6 weeks in jump school at Ft. Benning, GA. The latter depends on passing the very rigorous physical abilities test. One has three tries (weeks) to make it. If on the first try, jump school then is three weeks. One other note: the Army Airborne school also trains men and women who go into some other specialty fields and from other branches of the service (Special Forces; Long Range Recon Patrol -- it may be called something different now; Navy Seals; Air Force forward observers -- if they're still used, etc.).Some scenes that other viewers may find strange or questionable are important to have been included because they show things that really happened – in my airborne training and service, and that of two brothers and older and younger paratroopers I've met over the years. Two examples in this film were of men "freezing" in the door and not being able to jump; and of a jumpmaster giving a jumper a boost or shove out the door. The gun scene was overboard – I doubt it has ever happened; but, where the film was quite light otherwise, it may have served to show in earnest the early fear and reticence (anyone in his or her right mind at least has butterflies the first few times up) about going out the door. And, the "yahoo" reaction shown by two or three of the troopers after they have "hit the silk" is a true portrayal of the feeling of elation and somewhat wonderment of hanging suspended in the air and slowly floating to the ground.Some of the training from the earliest days (packing of one's own chutes, and individual jumps), as well as equipment, had changed by the late 1950s and early 1960s, to say nothing of the aircraft used for jumping (from C-47s, to C-119 Flying Boxcars during most of WWII, to C- 130s, to C-124 Globe Trotters, to the Jet transports of later years). Also, the jump chute design and parachute landing falls were soon changed from what was shown in the film -- to a roll, to prevent broken legs from stiff-legged landings. The 250-foot towers as well as shorter jump training towers with cables are in use today. All in all, though, this was a very good film. Most likely, veterans and others interested in military history would not be bored by the repeated jumping scenes. And, I think the considerable cast of known actors for the time, with a fairly decent, if somewhat predictable story line, made it an altogether enjoyable film. I'm sure it brings a smile to any veteran's face – of any branch of service – to think that a recruit in boot camp or initial training would get a pass, or be able to go on a date with or visit a training NCO or officer's daughter. But that's part of Hollywood's license for fiction, supposedly to boost the entertainment value and/or box office take. For the historical and educational value, with a cast of good acting and lots of jumping, I score this fairly high – 9 stars.