Onionhead

Onionhead_720p(480P)

Onionhead

It's springtime in 1941, at an Oklahoma college. Older-looking and ardently amorous student Andy Griffith (as Alvin "Al" Woods) fails to get his kissing partner past first base. Unable to score, he decides to drop out and join the US Coast Guard. After training, Mr. Griffith is stationed at a Boston, MA harbor. He is made assistant cook to gruff, light-haired Walter Matthau (as "Red" Wildoe). They have some very un-funny drunk scenes and both go for pretty Felicia Farr (as Stella). In real life, she will marry actor Jack Lemmon. After the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, Griffith's ship is called into service. "Onionhead" refers to a recurring subplot about Griffith going bald, although he has one of the best heads of hair in the cast. Considering the personnel involved in making this film, it's a disappointment and most interesting for that observation. **** Onionhead (10/1/58) Norman Taurog ~ Andy Griffith, Walter Matthau, Felicia Farr, Ray Danton

Unfortunately for the movie, I read the book first and so was vastly disappointed as so often happens when producers, directors and big time actors get involved. . The book had an influence on me joining in the USCG in 1959 on that exact type of 180' bouy tenders mostly, one home-ported in Charleston SC and another based in Honolulu, Hawaii, that spent most of its time cruising the Western and Southern Pacific. The movie hams up the story and must have had a committee of screen writers trying to put in slapstick humor. Years later I reread the book at least twice and it never failed to entertain. By then I could really appreciate the authenticity of the book's details that coincided with my personal adventures and were lost in the movie. I rented the 1958 movie once to see if my opinion had changed but it is no wonder it was a box office bomb.

I have seen the movie a few times over the years, and usually enjoy it for what it is. Its not a comedy, though it has funny moments, and the characters are interesting even though none of them is really appealing. I suppose it would have to be classified as a drama, though it isn't really dramatic in theme or treatment, and it isn't exactly slice of life, its too scatter-shot to be that. A series of incidents that define the character and development of a man from callow youth through cynical adult to something a bit more compassionate and understanding by the end of the movie. This movie was apparently something of a departure for Andy Griffith, as he rarely returned to this sort of material in his career, seeming to prefer a more slapstick, comedic role, but it does indeed demonstrate his capability of handling material outside that venue.

In 1941, Al "Onionhead" Woods (Andy Griffith) quits college after a fight with his Jo. He's joining the fight against Hitler. A faulty coin toss sends me to sign up with the coast guard instead of the Marines. He is assigned to cook despite not knowing how. Chief cook 'Red' Wildoe (Walter Matthau) is not happy with the new addition and there is corruption within the ranks. Despite his personality, Andy Griffith can't give this character any more likeability. He's more angry than loveable. It tries to be funny but it struggles due to the character. I don't really like him and that's all there is to that. At the end of the day, a comedy needs the audience to care about the character. I couldn't care less about this guy and I can't get a laugh out of this.

Follow-up to Andy Griffith's big hit in "No Time for Sergeants" moves the action to the Coast Guard and WW II. Though more of a serious role this movie is usually advertised as a comedy when it crops up on TV even though there is none of the broad farce from the earlier film. The title concerns Griffith's character's hair falling out and having an onion mixture applied to it to promote hair growth. All around unmemorable.

This was one of the main reasons I joined the United States Coast Guard in 1976 and retired in 2006. I was 10 years old when I saw the movie and have been remembering it every day since. I would like to find out how to purchase this for my home collection. As I remember the story, it is close to Mister Rogers plot, except a Coast Guard version instead. Granted, there are a lot of flaws one could develop of the view of the Coast Guard, it is the unsung hero of the United States Armed Forces. Very few people realize the how small the Coast Guard is, when I retired, there were only 35,000. This does not come out in this movie, which I wished it would have. Nor does the movie depict the dangerous jobs the men and women of the Coast Guard do on a daily basis.

While I agree that "Onionhead" does not rise near the standards of the two films it most resembles, ("Mister Roberts" and Andy Griffith's earlier "No Time for Sergeants"), I do have some fond memories of this film. Andy Griffith makes one wish that he had done more dramatic roles like this and "A Face in the Crowd" and Walter Matthau proves again how valuable he was in lifting even mediocre material above its natural level. The cast is full of interesting actors and at least one sequence was memorable enough when seen on television many years ago to make the phrase, "cinnamon rolls" a sure laugh-getter for my two brothers and I. It's greatest flaw really is it's inability to decide whether it's a standard service comedy or a character drama. The two parts of it's personality jar against each other rather than seeming lifelike. It's true too, that the main character comes across as rather unlikable for a good stretch of the film.