No Time for Sergeants

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No Time for Sergeants

Released May 29, 1958

1h 59m

Comedy

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60%

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5 Reviews

80%

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1,000+ Ratings

Sergeant King (Myron McCormick) thinks backwoods hillbilly-turned-new recruit Will Stockdale (Andy Griffith) might the dumbest private ever to join the Air Force. When King puts him permanently in charge of the latrines, Stockdale thinks it's a promotion. Somehow, all King's attempts to make Stockdale look foolish backfire, and one of them even finds the sergeant demoted to private by his superiors. Stockdale, meanwhile, squeaks through training, and soon begins wreaking havoc in the skies.

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Harold Whitehead

Montreal Gazette

Mr. Griffith made his name in this role and after watching him for five minutes it is easy to see why.

Mar 23, 2022

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Clyde Gilmour

Maclean's Magazine

The best moments in this service farce are hilarious but it's much too long and the joke wears thin before the finish.

Oct 31, 2019

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Kevin Carr

7M Pictures

Even today, more than 50 years after No Time for Sergeants was made, the film works as a comedy. Bottom line, it made me laugh.

Rated: 3.5/5

Jul 22, 2012

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...a lamentably uneven piece of work that's rarely as compelling as its star's magnetic performance.

Rated: 2/4

Dec 2, 2010

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Mike McGranaghan

Aisle Seat

No Time For Sergeants is ripe for re-discovery by a new generation, and ripe for re-visiting by those who remember it fondly.

Rated: 3/4

May 18, 2010

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Alan P

Oblivious country boy shakes up an absurd civilized world. Can’t imagine else but Andy Griffith in this role. I feel sorry for anyone who can’t laugh with this movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/08/25

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Audience Member

Andy Griffith at his best great movie recommend it James Welch, Henderson, Arkansas September 21, 2023

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/20/23

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Andy M

One of the funniest films I've ever seen.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/10/23

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Ed M

Funny. I loved this as a kid. Forgot that Mr. Drysdale from "Beverly Hillbillies was in it. And klinger from "M*A*S*H".

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

06/03/21

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Audience Member

Very funny! Andy Griffiths first film.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

05/29/21

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robert r

Director Mervyn LeRoy's adaption of the Ira Levin teleplay (which, in turn, was an adaption of a novel by Mac Hyman) "No Time For Sergeants" features yet another endlessly entertaining performance from the cinematically underutilized Andy Griffith, a fun set of circumstances and characters to work with, and a couple fantastic bits layered throughout. What I can't get over, though, is just how unevenly plotted and adapted this film was from whatever version of its source material it tried to embody most. From a neglected, fourth-wall-breaking monologue thread that really goes nowhere beyond one or two scenes of the protagonist talking to us, to the overall narrative itself, which honestly felt more novelistic to a fault than cinematic, I just couldn't shake the feeling that things were a bit too wonky on the narrative end. Other than this glaring issue, though, I found it to be a mostly pleasant watch.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Mervyn LeRoy

Director

Andy Griffith

Pvt. Will Stockdale

Myron McCormick

Sgt. Orville C. King

Nick Adams

Pvt. Ben Whitledge

Murray Hamilton

Irving S. Blanchard

Howard Smith

Maj. Gen. Eugene Bush

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Synopsis

Sergeant King (Myron McCormick) thinks backwoods hillbilly-turned-new recruit Will Stockdale (Andy Griffith) might the dumbest private ever to join the Air Force. When King puts him permanently in charge of the latrines, Stockdale thinks it's a promotion. Somehow, all King's attempts to make Stockdale look foolish backfire, and one of them even finds the sergeant demoted to private by his superiors. Stockdale, meanwhile, squeaks through training, and soon begins wreaking havoc in the skies.

Director: Mervyn LeRoy
Producer: Mervyn LeRoy, Alex Segal
Screenwriter: John Lee Mahin
Production Co: Warner Bros.
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 29, 1958, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): May 4, 2010
Runtime: 1h 59m

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