The Last Time I Saw Archie

Plot

In flying school, lazy Private Archie Hall (Robert Mitchum) somehow dominates everyone around him, fellow trainees, sergeants and officers alike, and manages to avoid doing any work. Bill Bowers (Jack Webb), a Hollywood screenwriter in civilian life, becomes his sidekick. An initially hostile, suspicious trio of privates, Sam Beacham (Louis Nye), Russell Drexler (Joe Flynn) and Frank Ostrow (Del Moore), are penalized for opposing him and eventually smarten up and become his pals as well. Archie exudes so much self-confidence that Master Sergeant Stanley Erlenheim (Robert Strauss) becomes convinced that he is an undercover G-2 (counterintelligence) general. Erlenheim and his underling, Sergeant Malcolm Greenbriar (Harvey Lembeck), arrange it so that Archie and his buddies are given permanent passes and a personal jeep, so they can leave the training base whenever they please. Archie sees Cindy Hamilton (France Nuyen) every night, while Bill pairs off with Peggy Kramer (Martha Hyer). Archie also arranges for the three other privates to acquire gorgeous girlfriends as well.

As time goes by, Bill comes to suspect that Cindy is a Japanese spy, but he cannot get Archie to take it seriously (even though Cindy keeps giving him money in outsized old bills). It turns out that Cindy actually is a spy, but for American counterintelligence, despite the opposition of her guardian, Colonel Edwin Martin, the base commander. Sergeants Erlenheim and Greenbriar get into trouble when they break down the door of her apartment, thinking they will catch her in the act of reporting to the enemy, only to find her presenting her findings to Martin.

As the war winds down, requirements change and the trainees are given the choice of retraining to become either gunners or glider pilots. Archie and Bill opt for the latter, despite the supposedly high casualty rate, so the other three do the same, only to discover that Archie and Bill have gotten themselves safe jobs at the base. However, the war ends before any of them see combat.

Archie invites himself to spend a week with Bill in Hollywood. Bill is shown hard at work in his tiny office at a film studio; Archie has somehow become his boss, and has just been promoted to head of the studio. Bill jokes about seeing him in the White House. A later newspaper headline states that Governor Hall has decided to run for president.

Production

The main character in The Last Time I Saw Archie, played by Robert Mitchum was based on Arch Hall Sr., whom screenwriter William Bowers knew in the war. However, the film was made without the permission of Hall, who successfully sued the producers and won a settlement. The film also features the debuts of baseball pitcher Don Drysdale and football quarterback Billy Kilmer in cameos. Portions of the film were shot at Fort MacArthur.

Reception

The film review in The New York Times summarized The Last Time I Saw Archie as part of the "too many cooks syndrome", "... especially military chefs—spoiling the broth appears to be painfully true of 'The Last Time I Saw Archie'."