Mr. Winkle Goes to War

1944 "Mr. Winkle goes to war... and your heart goes with him!"
6.6| 1h20m| NR| en
Details

Wilbert Winkle, a henpecked, mild-mannered, middle-aged bank clerk and handyman finds himself in the midst of battle in the South Pacific.

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Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.
GurlyIamBeach Instant Favorite.
Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
Michael O'Keefe This is a war drama with some humor. Edward G. Robinson plays Wilbert Winkle, a somewhat nerdy, mild-mannered banker that decides to quit his job and open his own handyman fix-it shop. His overbearing wife Amy (Ruth Warrick) is very displeased and orders him to move into his shop in the garage. Nag, nag, nag and Wilbert is surprised and actually thrilled when he gets notice of being drafted for military duty during WWll; to put on that uniform and fight the Japanese. Who could ever image wimpy Mr. Winkle returning a war hero? Other players: Richard Lane, Ted Donaldson, Robert Armstrong, Bob Haymes, William Forrest, Warren Ashe and Hugh Beaumont.
pageiv I caught this on TMC, had no idea what to expect. I like Robinson, and needless to say, was a great movie. Mr. Winkle was is a poor man whose wife picks on him and works a job he hates. He quits his job to work in his wood/medal shop in his garage. His wife says he needs to get his job back and the next day he's drafted. Being 44 years old he doesn't see himself lasting too long, but he soon finds his niche.Finding someone's niche is what the Army's all about, even though training has changed in 60 years, the feeling to serve the country hasn't for many men.Hard to classify this as a comedy, hard to say it's a drama. It's shorter than most movies, but it zips along. I await Hollywood to remake it.
bkoganbing Reaching back for his character from The Whole Town's Talking, or at least one of them, Edward G. Robinson plays Wilbert Winkle who at 44 wants a change in life. He gets far more than he bargained for when he's drafted during World War II.That actually happened. I had a great uncle who was 44 in 1942 and had served in the first World War. That made no difference, because along with my father who was 23 at the time, my great uncle like Wilbert Winkle found himself drafted, though fortunately he didn't get another trip overseas courtesy of Uncle Sam.Winkle's a meek little clerk in a bank in what has proved to be a dead end job. He's decided to quit and turn a hobby into a business. He likes to work with his hands and opens up a fix it shop. That doesn't sit well with wife Ruth Warrick. In fact the only one who approves is a kid from a nearby group home, Ted Donaldson, who's devoted to Winkle.Of course everything changes when Winkle of all people pulls a Sergeant York act out in the Pacific Theater. It's interesting to see how people treat him then.Mr. Winkle Goes To War is a pleasant and whimsical film with a nice restrained performance by Edward G. Robinson. A far cry from Little Caesar indeed. His scenes with Ted Donaldson are quite poignant.It's a film I'm sure could be remade today and maybe should.
kyle_furr I'll watch any movie Edward G. Robinson did and i think he's a better actor than James Cagney. This one casts him as a guy who is always being told what to do and in the first scene of the movie he walks up to the manager of the bank and tells him he wants to quit, to everyone's surprise. His wife hates this idea and Robinson wants to run a business just fixing things. He then gets a letter telling him that he is drafted. He doesn't think he will be because he's 44 years old and out of shape. To his surprise and everyone else's, he is drafted. During basic training, they pull him out to have a desk job. Robinson doesn't like it and wants to be put back and be able to work as mechanic. He is sent overseas and is very close to the fighting. I've never really heard much about this movie and i didn't even see Robert Mitchum in this movie.