Christianity famously teaches followers of Jesus to “turn the other cheek.”  In case you did not know this already, that comes directly from the Bible, Matthew 5:39.  In this context, war is always a failure.  There are those who recognize this ideal and point out the hypocrisy of culture and society to have countenanced armed conflict over the centuries since Christianity began.  There have even been conflicts fought in the name of the King of Peace.  There is no easy way of reconciling this philosophical quandary, nor is it my intent to do so.  For those of you that believe that not striking back is an act of cowardice when someone perpetrates violence against you, I would tell you to try it some time.  Let someone punch you in the face, then stand there and allow yourself to be struck on the other side.  It is hard not to let anger get the better of you and make a tense situation worse.  Jesus is not calling you to cowardice, but perhaps the bravest thing you can ever do.  Then there is Don Bolton (Bob Hope) in Caught in the Draft (1941).

It looks like Don has already been Caught in the Draft in the beginning.  He is about to lead a group of men in an attack, launching them out of a trench.  As they surge forward, he fires his gun.  The sound of it going off startles him and this is when we learn that he is on the set of a movie.  Visiting the sound stage a little later is Colonel Peter Fairbanks (Clarence Kolb) and his daughter, Antoinette “Tony” Fairbanks (Dorothy Lamour).  The colonel has come as a technical consultant, but the only one Don is interested in consulting is Tony.  Don botches everything, though, when he mistakes the officer for an extra, and then shows his cowardice when he hears about the potential new military draft to be instituted by the United States government.  It is the idea of being in the army that has Don most worried.  His friends and assistants, Steve Riggs (Lynne Overman) and Bert Sparks (Eddie Bracken), suggest that the way to avoid service is to get married.  They go through a list of women Don has dated, but the person who he cannot get out of his mind is Tony.  Despite liking her, he wants to be her husband simply to get out of the draft, planning to divorce her as soon as he is able.  Luckily, she is wise to his tricks from the beginning.  The first comes after she is told that he has been calling to her after supposedly breaking his back.  Out of politeness, she comes, but when she sees his x-rays and notices they are of another part of the anatomy, she goes to leave in a huff.  It is only with pleading does she relent and begin to go out with him.  He is on the verge of asking her to be his wife when over the car radio they hear that the government has begun the dreaded draft.  Suddenly, it becomes clear that he is just with her for the potential marriage dispensation.  Once more he has to come up with a scam to again be in her good graces.  This time he convinces another actor to pose as a recruitment sergeant, hoping to catch the real one at lunch and making the switch.  This way, Don can bring Tony down to the office and witness him being rejected by the army.  Unfortunately, the actual sergeant (Edgar Dearing) does not take a break and Don signs actual enlistment papers.  As before, Tony senses deceit and storms away.  Yet, with Bert and Steve joining with him out of sympathy, the three end up at the same base where Colonel Fairbanks is stationed.  While this softens Tony’s feelings somewhat towards Don, the colonel is harder to reach.  It also does not help that Don is a terrible soldier because, you know, comedy.  There are a series of blunders that see Don and his comrades peeling potatoes for a variety of infractions.  Because of Tony’s grudging liking for Don, Colonel Fairbanks “relents” in being hard on Don by letting the new recruit be a driver.  The vehicle Don is put at the controls of is a small tank.  The result is a crazy ride through camp that involves Bert picking up a woman, all of which does not reflect well on Don to either Colonel Fairbanks or Tony.  While Tony is easier to assuage, the officer warns that anymore slip-ups by Don will mean a transfer to some far-flung outpost where Don and Tony will never again see one another.  Don takes this seriously, but then listens to Steve’s tip about staying in his long underwear under his overcoat for during a parade inspection.  Once this is over, Don is randomly selected for guard duty and not allowed to go back to his tent to change.  Of course, Colonel Fairbanks and Tony show up at this post before Bert and Steve can bring the rest of his uniform.  Some hijinks take place that has Tony pitching in to keep her father occupied while Don manages to get into his regulation clothes.  With that avoided, Don thinks he is in the clear until a mock battle comes and he and his comrades are ordered to stay to the side so as to not cause anything to go wrong.  Bert comes up with the great idea of changing the signs directing one of the forces until Tony rides up and tells them that it will lead the soldiers into a live artillery range.  Already thinking that Don is trying to get out of his duty, she tries to gallop to give warning, but is thrown from the saddle by an explosion.  Don and Steve take over, and Don is wounded in the process.  Don is rewarded with a promotion to corporal for his bravery, and is allowed to marry Tony.

If you know your history, particularly of events in 1941 when Caught in the Draft was released, you will notice a few lines in the film geared towards preparing the American public for war.  So much for turning the other cheek as discussed in the introduction.  One of these phrases stood out for this Catholic reviewer.  In trying to cajole Don to bravery, Tony points out that people do not think much of soldiers until they are needed.  This is not intended in a spiritual context, instead speaking to how the United States has traditionally waited until it is absolutely necessary to begin churning out the men and material needed for armed conflict.  All the same, when I heard this my brain gave me the term “Christian soldier.”  It is imagery that has been used by the Church often over the centuries, and not solely applied to those going on crusade.  I have also heard the Jesuit order as a whole referred to as God’s shock troops.  That might seem strange to modern Catholics as the order has had some controversy of late, despite Pope Francis being one of their number. Otherwise, there have been poems and songs relating a variety of ways in which one can serve God.  And that is at the heart of the matter, to be of service.  Another Bible verse, Matthew 20:28, has Jesus preparing His disciples for His passion, telling them that He has not come to be served but to serve.  He lays down His life for them, and for us, and this is where the idea of being a Christian soldier originates.  Those in the military are asked to potentially die for a cause greater than themselves.  The sad part is that this could also involve making somebody else do the same for their country.  I cannot say that this is the place Don reaches by the end of the movie.  He does become a better soldier, but this is mostly done to impress Tony.  We do not need to impress God.  He loves us regardless.  But we should serve Him.

I chose Caught in the Draft because of Hope and Lamour.  They did a number of films together, not just the more famous Road to . . . series.  This one is as light hearted as the rest, and mostly fine to watch for any audience.