Sergeant Murphy Savage impersonates a dead general in order to inspire the demoralized troops in fighting their way out of Nazi encirclement.Sergeant Murphy Savage impersonates a dead general in order to inspire the demoralized troops in fighting their way out of Nazi encirclement.Sergeant Murphy Savage impersonates a dead general in order to inspire the demoralized troops in fighting their way out of Nazi encirclement.
- Awards
- 1 nomination
William Barker
- German #1
- (uncredited)
Paul Busch
- German Tank Commander
- (uncredited)
Barry Cahill
- Jeep Driver
- (uncredited)
Bob Dennis
- Soldier
- (uncredited)
Joe Di Reda
- Soldier #2
- (uncredited)
Frank Francesco
- Straggler #2
- (uncredited)
Harry Harvey Jr.
- Soldier #4
- (uncredited)
Robert 'Buzz' Henry
- Tank Commander #1
- (uncredited)
Lester Hoyle
- German Machine Gunner
- (uncredited)
Morgan Jones
- Medic
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe American tanks in this film are M47 Patton tanks. They were produced post war.
- GoofsThe last German soldier from the observation post who fires on "General Savage". Is firing an M-1 Garand rifle. German soldiers carried the Karabiner 98k, a bolt action rifle. It's highly unlikely that a German soldier would pick up an American rifle; ammunition would be hard to come by.
- Quotes
Cpl. Chan Derby: Funny time to take a bath - don't she know there's a war going on?
MSgt. Murphy Savage: That girl is French - they're great believers that life must go on.
- ConnectionsReferenced in L'imitation du cinéma (1960)
Featured review
When You Need A Temporary General
Glenn Ford and Red Buttons take a mighty big chance trying to impersonate a general. It's a court martial offense if they're caught.
Although the film goes overboard in silliness at times, Imitation General is a pretty good comedy from the talented director/actor team of George Marshall and Glenn Ford who also did the riotously funny The Sheepman that same year.
Sergeant Ford and Corpoal Buttons are assigned and driving General Kent Smith in a forward area that gets a bit too forward and cut off from the main allied lines. They're surrounded and Smith is killed.
Deciding that leadership is needed in the area Ford takes off his master sergeant stripes and puts on the late general's stars and pretends to be him. He and Buttons manage to pull it off all the time trying to avoid Private Tige Andrews who has a grudge against Ford.
The action in Imitation General is fast and furious and Ford deadpans his way through another comedy triumph. Though I have to say that it should only have been so easy to take out German tanks as is shown here.
Look for good performances by Dean Jones as a combat fatigue suffering soldier that Ford due to his ersatz rank gets back into shape. Also Kent Smith is very good even though he's killed off in the first twenty minutes. His performance is quite moving and it does explain why he was a beloved figure and why Ford and Buttons are doing the crazy things they are.
Imitation General, a good comedy not to be missed when shown on TCM because it's not out on VHS or DVD.
Although the film goes overboard in silliness at times, Imitation General is a pretty good comedy from the talented director/actor team of George Marshall and Glenn Ford who also did the riotously funny The Sheepman that same year.
Sergeant Ford and Corpoal Buttons are assigned and driving General Kent Smith in a forward area that gets a bit too forward and cut off from the main allied lines. They're surrounded and Smith is killed.
Deciding that leadership is needed in the area Ford takes off his master sergeant stripes and puts on the late general's stars and pretends to be him. He and Buttons manage to pull it off all the time trying to avoid Private Tige Andrews who has a grudge against Ford.
The action in Imitation General is fast and furious and Ford deadpans his way through another comedy triumph. Though I have to say that it should only have been so easy to take out German tanks as is shown here.
Look for good performances by Dean Jones as a combat fatigue suffering soldier that Ford due to his ersatz rank gets back into shape. Also Kent Smith is very good even though he's killed off in the first twenty minutes. His performance is quite moving and it does explain why he was a beloved figure and why Ford and Buttons are doing the crazy things they are.
Imitation General, a good comedy not to be missed when shown on TCM because it's not out on VHS or DVD.
helpful•144
- bkoganbing
- Oct 4, 2007
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Kurnaz Çavuş
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $944,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 28 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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