Imitation General

Sergeant Glenn Ford faces a dilemma when his commanding officer is killed in action. He decides to impersonate him, fearing that morale would decline if news of the general's death got around. Using his new authority, Ford issues various orders and advances the war effort by several months. It's pitched as a wartime service comedy but lacks a sharp enough satirical bite to make the point that it's the uniform that counts, not the jerk inside it. Red Buttons, in one of his earliest movies, is Ford's sceptical buddy, and an interesting piece of casting sees Finnish actress Taina El playing a French girl.