Wake Me When It's Over

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Ernie Kovacs, Margo Moore, Dick Shawn, and Jack Warden in Wake Me When It's Over (1960)

Gus Brubaker has been drafted... again. Due to a clerical error, Gus finds himself deployed to a little Japanese island where everyone is bored to death. So Gus decided to build a hotel and ... Read allGus Brubaker has been drafted... again. Due to a clerical error, Gus finds himself deployed to a little Japanese island where everyone is bored to death. So Gus decided to build a hotel and hire locals to run the place.Gus Brubaker has been drafted... again. Due to a clerical error, Gus finds himself deployed to a little Japanese island where everyone is bored to death. So Gus decided to build a hotel and hire locals to run the place.

Director
- Mervyn LeRoy
Writers
- Richard L. Breen
- Howard Singer
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.3/10

414

YOUR RATING

Director
- Mervyn LeRoy
Writers
- Richard L. Breen
- Howard Singer
Stars

11User reviews

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
Long time baseball announcer Vin Scully makes an appearance as a radio announcer covering the trial.

Goofs
Gus places 5 beer in the water to keep cool. When the cans explode there are 8 popping noises.

Quotes
Hap Cosgrove: Welcome to Shima.
Gus Brubaker: Oh, thank you.
Hap Cosgrove: How d'ya like it?
Gus Brubaker: Well, I'm not too sure yet.
Hap Cosgrove: I'll save ya the trouble. You heard of hell? Well, when it first got started it was a new idea, so they hadda test it out. This here island is the place they picked.

Connections
Referenced in Inventing the Abbotts (1997)

Soundtracks
Wake Me When It's Over
Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
Music by Jimmy Van Heusen
Sung by Andy Williams

User reviews11

Review

Featured review

5/10

The farce of this film was its making, where the plot fails

"Wake Me When It's Over," as another reviewer commented, is an apt title for this film. Implying, in this case, that this film might be a challenge to stay awake while watching. Well, the idea for the plot surely is okay, but something with various complicated parts that this has needed a great script, excellent direction and a cast to deliver. The cast is so-so and mixed, but the screenplay for this film, and the writing, are poor.

So, what could have been a very good post-war comedy, turns out to be a weak attempt at a farce that just doesn't deliver. Hollywood was making some very good light comedies about military and government service during the 1950s and early 1960s, but this isn't one of them. I didn't read the novel the film is based on, but would guess it must be much better than this film. My five stars are for the efforts of some of the cast.

Not even most veterans or military service and war film buffs are likely to think much of this film.