Doughboys (Forward March) (1930)
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29% of users liked it
(115 ratings)
Buster Keaton's second starring talkie finds him cast as wealthy, pampered Elmer, who heads down to the local employment office to hire a new chauffeur. Elmer isn't aware that the office has been converted into a World War I recruiting center, and before he knows it, he's in an… More Buster Keaton's second starring talkie finds him cast as wealthy, pampered Elmer, who heads down to the local employment office to hire a new chauffeur. Elmer isn't aware that the office has been converted into a World War I recruiting center, and before he knows it, he's in an ill-fitting uniform, enduring the verbal cannonades of sergeant Ed Brophy. The film's plot is based in part on Keaton's own wartime experiences, notably the bit in which he marches the wrong way and is trammeled by his fellow soldiers. Though Buster Keaton considered Doughboys the best of his MGM talkies, the film seems today to be one of his worst efforts, helped not at all by the excruciating performance of Ed Brophy. The best sequence is the camp show, with Buster cavorting in drag and performing a ukulele duet with Cliff Edwards. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Edward Sedgwick
- Written By
- Al Boasberg, E. Richard Schayer, Sidney Lazarus
- Genres
- Classics, Comedy
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Aug 30, 1930 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Sean Axmaker, Turner Classic Movies Online
... (Keaton) brings his brand of comic chaos to the front lines of France and manages to turn bad luck into a happy ending in the trench warfare of World War I.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Buster Keaton's second talkie for MGM is a stinker.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Buster Keaton
as Elmer Stuyvesant
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Sally Eilers
as Mary Rogers
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Cliff Edwards
as Cliff Nescopeck
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Edward S. Brophy
as Sgt. Brophy
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Victor Potel
as Svendenburg
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Arnold Korff
as Gustave
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Frank Mayo
as Capt. Scott
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Pitzy Katz
as Abie Cohn
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William Steele
as Lt. Randolph
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Ann Sothern
as Wac
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Edward Sedgwick
as Guggleheimer Camp Cook
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John Carroll
as Soldier-Singer
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Sidney Bracey
as Recruiter
