Snafu
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Jack Moss
Robert Benchley
Vera Vague
Conrad Janis
Nanette Parks
Janis Wilson
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
When Madge and Ben Stevens see their fifteen-year-old runaway son Ronald in a newsreel about soldiers fighting overseas, they immediately contact the War Department to petition for the discharge of their underage son. As Mrs. Stevens anxiously awaits the return of her son, journalism student Laura Jessup comes to the house to request an interview with the boy. Striving to maintain an air of normalcy, Mrs. Stevens dismisses the girl. The next visitor is Mr. Taylor, the school psychologist, who has come to counsel the Stevenses about helping Ronald to re- adjust to civilian life. Next, Ronald's next-door neighbor and girl friend, Kate Hereford, arrives, followed by her overprotective spinster aunt, Emily Andrews, who has promised to look after the girl in her parents' absence. After a contingent of American Legionnaires comes to the house to welcome the returning veteran home, Ronald appears in his sergeant's uniform, wary and resentful, an adult trapped in an adolescent body. Proud of his conquests on the battlefield, Ronald distributes his souvenirs of war to Kate and his family. The next morning, the Stevenses are awakened by the sound of Ronald playing reveille. Later, Danny Baker, a soldier who served with Ronald, comes to the house and regales the horrified Stevenses with stories of their son's escapades. After Ronald invites Danny to stay, Laura comes to the house and mistakes Danny for Ronald. Deciding to continue the deception, Danny asks Laura to join him for a walk. After spending the day with Danny without obtaining an interview, Laura angrily returns to her dormitory. Following her into the girls's dorm, Danny apologizes and is about to reveal his true identity when his presence causes a near riot among the girls and he flees. The next morning, Mr. Stevens discovers that Ronald has taken the family car after a policeman calls to notify him that the boy has been cited for driving without a license. Soon after, Emily comes to the house, brandishing a newspaper article reporting the G.I. intruder in the girls' dorm, and suggests that Ronald was the intruder. Upon returning home, a disgruntled Ronald declares that the situation there is SNAFU, a military term meaning situation normal, all fouled up. Later, Ronald answers a phone call from a detective agency that was hired to find him after he ran away and thinks that his parents have recently hired the detectives to follow him. Soon after, Dean Garrett from the college visits the Stevenses to inform them that Ronald has been identified as the intruder and charges will be filed against him. Appalled by his parents' lack of faith in him, Ronald decides to pack his bags and return to the service. Meanwhile, Laura finds Danny and, still thinking that he is Ronald, confesses that she identified him as the intruder, prompting Danny to promise to straighten out the confusion at the college. Upon learning of Ronald's plan to leave home, Kate insists on joining him. Before they can leave, however, the detective comes to the house and Ronald ties him up and locks him in a closet. When Emily discovers Kate's absence, she threatens to notify the FBI that Ronald has kidnapped Kate, causing the Stevenses to regret their decision to bring their son home. Soon after, Laura comes to the house, and when she admits that she is in love with Ronald, Emily tells her that he has run away with Kate. Complications continue after a woman arrives at the house and introduces herself as Martha, a good friend of Ronald's from Melbourne. When Martha mentions that she is pregnant, the Stevenses think that she is carrying their son's child. As the Stevenes contemplate their problem son, they open the closet door and discover the detective, who takes credit for finally finding Ronald. Meanwhile, Ronald has bought a car, but as he and Kate drive out of town, he decides to return home and confront his problems. Soon after, Colonel West comes to the Stevens house to investigate the readjustment of Ronald into society. When Ronald returns with Kate, Laura, still thinking that Danny is Ronald, insists that he is an impostor. After Martha greets Ronald and explains that she is married to his good friend, the Stevenses are relieved. Just then, Danny enters the room and Laura addresses him as Ronald, causing everyone to realize that she has mistaken Danny for Ronald. After declaring that he has explained everything to the dean, Danny proposes to Laura. When the colonel unveils a Silver Star medal and awards it to Ronald for his bravery on the battlefield, the Stevenses realize that they have misjudged their son and all ends happily.
Director
Jack Moss
Cast
Robert Benchley
Vera Vague
Conrad Janis
Nanette Parks
Janis Wilson
Jimmy Lloyd
Enid Markey
Eva Puig
Ray Mayer
Marcia Mae Jones
C. Winfield Smith
John Souther
Byron Foulger
Kathleen Howard
Doris Houck
John Tyrrell
Billy Newell
Ray Teal
Brian O'hara
Vernon Dent
Alvina Tomin
Robert Williams
William Forrest
Shirley Mills
Peggy Bjorklund
Dorothy Babb
Grace Bjorklund
Shirley Johnson
Mary Bovard
Sybil Merritt
Lorraine Comerford
June Eberling
Eddie Parker
Emmett Vogan
Herbert Haywood
Crew
George Abbott
Dave Allen
Dave Allen
Harold Buchman
Larry Butler
Howard Fogetti
Don Glouner
Stephen Goossón
Gene Havlick
Walter Holscher
Thelma Hoover
Irving M. Klein
Jack Moss
James Nicholson
Frank F. Planer
Paul Sawtell
C. Winfield Smith
Louis Solomon
Aaron Stell
M. W. Stoloff
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Hollywood Reporter news items yield the following information about this production: In January 1945, Mary Pickford was negotiating for the film rights to the Broadway play. If the deal had gone through, Sam Coslow would have produced the project. In May 1945, Joyce MacKenzie tested for a leading role. The college dorm scenes were shot at Occidental College in Los Angeles. This picture marked the film debut of Conrad Janis and returned Enid Markey to the screen following a twenty-two year absence. John Souther also played the role of "Mr. Taylor" on stage.
