Patty Duke (Concetta Hassan) is a housewife who must go to work after her construction worker husband Chuck (Joe Bologna) suffers a heart attack, and joins the Army, eventually becoming a helicopter pilot.
Duke is funny in her reactions to the Army's discipline, and is given a line `Do you know what it's like to live in fear of a 23 year old who thinks she's John Wayne?', which is interesting in the way the Army considers Concetta at 32 is old.
The teleplay by Lavina Dawson and George Yanok, based on a true story, has other funny lines with Bologna's `You actually want to join the army? You don't even like war movies', and by making Chuck a house-husband, since he is unable to work, pits his boredom against Concetta's ambition. Thankfully, Chuck realises that housework is a viable form of work, and that he has been supporting Concetta in his way by caring for their 3 children, so that Concetta doesn't have to make any sacrifices. The treatment stops once Concetta becomes a pilot, whereas what happens afterward might have yielded more drama. Director Noel Black has enough wit to present the ridiculousness of the Army's training mentality, and also doesn't make Concetta's achievement too unbearably heroic.
Duke is funny in her reactions to the Army's discipline, and is given a line `Do you know what it's like to live in fear of a 23 year old who thinks she's John Wayne?', which is interesting in the way the Army considers Concetta at 32 is old.
The teleplay by Lavina Dawson and George Yanok, based on a true story, has other funny lines with Bologna's `You actually want to join the army? You don't even like war movies', and by making Chuck a house-husband, since he is unable to work, pits his boredom against Concetta's ambition. Thankfully, Chuck realises that housework is a viable form of work, and that he has been supporting Concetta in his way by caring for their 3 children, so that Concetta doesn't have to make any sacrifices. The treatment stops once Concetta becomes a pilot, whereas what happens afterward might have yielded more drama. Director Noel Black has enough wit to present the ridiculousness of the Army's training mentality, and also doesn't make Concetta's achievement too unbearably heroic.