1941

Wuchak

**_Spielberg’s wild comedy about the West Coast’s response to Pearl Harbor_** This is basically a melding of "The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!" with the over-the-top zaniness of "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World," both of which were made by the same production team. Like those flicks, it features an all-star cast with the likes of Robert Stack, Treat Williams, Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Christopher Lee, Tim Matheson, Warren Oates, Slim Pickens and more. Blondes Nancy Allen and Diane Kay shine on the feminine front. I think it’s all-around more entertaining than those two prior movies. If you’re in the mood for a fun, dynamic flick, you can’t go wrong. Speaking of dynamic, there’s a great Jitterbug sequence. People forget how crazy that dance was back in the day. Contrary to what some believe, “1941” was a moderate hit at the box office, just not a massive hit. Not to mention it has gone on to develop a deserved cult following. It runs 1h 58m and was shot Oct-May 1978-1979 in the greater Los Angeles area with the opening sequence done on the Oregon coast at Cannon Beach and Gold Beach, the latter of which is a six hours’ drive south of the former. GRADE: B