No Time for Sergeants
A stubbornly literal hillbilly recruit turns Air Force discipline into an escalating parade of good-natured comic disasters.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Mild
- Complexity
- Simple
- Violence
- None
- witty
- breezy
- warm
- lazy sunday
- classic comedy night
What critics said
Critics generally regard the film as an amiable, accessible service comedy whose appeal rests primarily on Andy Griffith's performance, while finding its formula familiar.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Will Stockdale interprets military orders and situations with crushing naivety and complete literalism, generating the film's central comic mechanism.
Will's hillbilly background and stubborn individuality repeatedly collide with Air Force discipline and procedure.
Will's amazing physical strength complicates training and military routines while remaining framed as farce.
Sergeants, officers, training, and Air Force bureaucracy provide the recurring social structures Will unintentionally unsettles.
Films like No Time for Sergeants, and why
The Private War of Major Benson
broadly accessible military farce built around an earnest, disruptive outsider and escalating institutional chaos
No Time for Comedy
classic service comedy combining naïve protagonists, eccentric authority figures, and warm ensemble humor
The Reluctant Recruit
old-fashioned fish-out-of-water comedy centered on stubborn innocence colliding with rigid social institutions
Movie Details
- Director
- Mervyn LeRoy
- Release Date
- 1958-07-05
- Runtime
- 119 min
- Rating
- 7.3 / 10 (58)
Cast
- Andy Griffith
- Nick Adams
- Myron McCormick
- Murray Hamilton
- Howard Smith
- Will Hutchins
- Sydney Smith
- James Millhollin
- Don Knotts
- Jean Willes
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is No Time for Sergeants about?
- A stubbornly literal hillbilly recruit turns Air Force discipline into an escalating parade of good-natured comic disasters.
- What is No Time for Sergeants like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of No Time for Sergeants as brisk, its intensity as mild and its storytelling as simple.
- Is No Time for Sergeants violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in No Time for Sergeants.
- What did critics think of No Time for Sergeants?
- Critics generally regard the film as an amiable, accessible service comedy whose appeal rests primarily on Andy Griffith's performance, while finding its formula familiar.
- Which films are like No Time for Sergeants?
- Films with a similar feel include The Private War of Major Benson, No Time for Comedy, and The Reluctant Recruit.
- How long is No Time for Sergeants?
- No Time for Sergeants runs 119 minutes.
- Where can I watch No Time for Sergeants?
- In United States, No Time for Sergeants is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
