Up Front is a 1951 American comedy film directed by Alexander Hall and starring Tom Ewell and David Wayne very loosely based on Bill Mauldin's World War II characters Willie and Joe. Mauldin repudiated it and refused his advising fee; he claimed never to have seen it.[2] It takes place during the Italian Campaign of World War II.

Up Front
Film poster
Directed byAlexander Hall
Screenplay byStanley Roberts
Produced byLeonard Goldstein
StarringDavid Wayne
Tom Ewell
Marina Berti
CinematographyRussell Metty
Edited byMilton Carruth
Music byJoseph Gershenson
Production
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Distributed byUniversal-International
Release date
  • March 5, 1951 (1951-03-05)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1.95 million (US rentals)[1]

Plot

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Based on the famed W.W.II cartoons: Lowbrow G.I.s Willie and Joe, on the Italian front, are good soldiers in combat, but meet the antics of gung-ho Captain Johnson and other military snafus with a barrage of wry comments. On a 3-day pass in Naples, Joe's penchant for wine and women involves the pair with luscious Emi Rosso and her moonshiner father, whose tangled affairs land them in ever deeper trouble.

Cast

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References

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  1. ^ 'The Top Box Office Hits of 1951', Variety, January 2, 1952
  2. ^ DePastino, Todd (2008). Bill Mauldin: A Life Up Front. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company. p. 247. ISBN 978-0-393-33488-3.
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