A meandering comedy about three old-time army tankmen in a non-combatant missile base at war with the southern redneck town in which it is located.
Main problem is that Hy Averback’s direction and the screenplay [from a story by Hal Captain], both of which have their moments, never focus and decide if it is a comedy, serious drama or farce.
Ernest Borgnine is the heavy-handed southern sheriff. Tony Curtis keeps it lighthearted, but nevertheless convincing, as ‘a middle-aged, paunchy garrison soldier who thinks he is Warren Beatty’.
Suzanne Pleshette, a wise-cracking, self-proclaimed ‘beer hustler’, is very real, and her handling of tough snappy dialog makes her appearances some of the best scenes in the film, especially in those with Curtis.
