Ten Gentlemen from West Point (1942)

The choice is quite simple. The US Army can either have it's annual ration of whisky or it can have an academy at West Point. With the votes pretty evenly split, they decide to give the college a chance for a year, under the command of the highly sceptical "Maj. Carter" (Laird Cregar). He's a no-nonsense officer who has little respect for adacdemia in the military and so is fairly disdainful of his group of cadets when he takes up his post. As if his regime wasn't going to be tough enough, two of the would-be soldiers take an instant dislike to each other. "Shelton" (John Sutton) is affianced to firebrand "Carolyn" (Maureen O'Hara) - a long term advocate of this facility; "Dawson" (George Montgomery) is a more rustic gent from Kentucky who takes rather a shine to her too. With that simmering away in the background, their austere conditions prove disheartening for many of these young men - but can they persevere and prove their commander wrong, or will they capitulate? When the squadron are posted to an active command against some hostile Indians, the major manages to get himself captured and so the troop, along with bombardier "Scully" (Ward Bond), have to come up with a rescue plan else they and their boss might end up toast - literally. Thankfully the romantic elements are kept under control for most of this and so we can enjoy Cregar being all dandified and imperious whilst his charges engage in a very dangerous game of Indian Lacrosse and some early transvestite frolicking amongst the trees. I've no idea if it's even remotely historically accurate, but as a breezy bit of history it's amiable enough and I quite enjoyed it.