Advance to the Rear

Movie · Comedy · Western

In the war between the blue and the gray, one soldier is yellow! When a cantankerous Union colonel is labeled a coward after his horse bolts for the rear, the brass puts him in command of a company of the brainless and brawnless and sends them all West. The idea is to keep the misfits out of action. Instead, they ride straight into slapstick encounters with a purty spy, a passel of happy-go-lucky harlots, a shipment of Union gold and a wily band of Johnny Rebs. Destry Rides Again director George Marshall takes the reins of another frontier comedy and brings a dandy cast with him: Glenn Ford, Melvyn Douglas and a rowdy roster of Hollywood character stars that stretches from Jim Backus to Joan Blondell.

1964 · 1h 37m
Starring Glenn Ford, Stella Stevens, Melvyn Douglas
Director George Marshall

Trailers

  • Advance to the Rear
    Comedy

Related

  • Cowboy
  • Three Hours to Kill
  • Nevada Smith
  • The Proud Ones
  • Guns of the Timberland
  • Between Heaven and Hell
  • The Fastest Gun Alive
  • Johnny Reno
  • A Lion Is in the Streets

Cast & Crew

  • Glenn Ford
    Captain Heath
  • Stella Stevens
    Martha Lou Williams
  • Melvyn Douglas
    Colonel Brackenby
  • Joan Blondell
    Jenny
  • Jim Backus
    General Willoughby
  • Andrew Prine
    Private Owen Selous
  • George Marshall
    Director
  • T‌R
    Ted Richmond
    Producer
  • W‌B
    William Bowers
    Writer
  • S‌A
    Samuel A. Peeples
    Writer

About

Advance to the Rear

Comedy

In the war between the blue and the gray, one soldier is yellow! When a cantankerous Union colonel is labeled a coward after his horse bolts for the rear, the brass puts him in command of a company of the brainless and brawnless and sends them all West. The idea is to keep the misfits out of action. Instead, they ride straight into slapstick encounters with a purty spy, a passel of happy-go-lucky harlots, a shipment of Union gold and a wily band of Johnny Rebs. Destry Rides Again director George Marshall takes the reins of another frontier comedy and brings a dandy cast with him: Glenn Ford, Melvyn Douglas and a rowdy roster of Hollywood character stars that stretches from Jim Backus to Joan Blondell.

Information

Studio
MGM
Released
1964
Run Time
1 hr 37 min
Rated
Unrated
Region of Origin
United States
© 1963 Turner Entertainment Co. and Ted Richmond Productions, Inc.

Languages

Original Audio
English
Audio

English (AAC)

Subtitles

English (CC)

Accessibility

Closed captions (CC) refer to subtitles in the available language with the addition of relevant non-dialogue information.
  • Français (Canada)
Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

  • Armenia
  • Azerbaijan
  • Bahrain
  • Botswana
  • Brunei Darussalam
  • Cape Verde
  • Egypt
  • Eswatini
  • Gambia
  • Ghana
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • India
  • Israel
  • Jordan
  • Lebanon
  • Mauritius
  • Mozambique
  • Namibia
  • Niger (English)
  • Oman
  • Qatar
  • Saudi Arabia
  • South Africa
  • Sri Lanka
  • Tajikistan
  • Turkmenistan
  • Uganda
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Zimbabwe

Asia Pacific

  • Australia
  • Cambodia
  • Fiji
  • 香港
  • Indonesia (English)
  • 日本
  • Lao People's Democratic Republic
  • 澳門
  • Malaysia (English)
  • Micronesia, Federated States of
  • Mongolia
  • New Zealand
  • Philippines
  • Singapore
  • 대한민국
  • 台灣
  • Thailand
  • Turkmenistan
  • Vietnam

Europe

  • Armenia
  • Österreich
  • Belarus
  • Belgium
  • Bulgaria
  • Cyprus
  • Czechia
  • Denmark
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • France (Français)
  • Deutschland
  • Greece
  • Hungary
  • Ireland
  • Italia
  • Latvia
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg (English)
  • Malta
  • Moldova, Republic Of
  • Nederland
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Portugal (Português)
  • Россия
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • España
  • Sverige
  • Schweiz
  • Türkiye (English)
  • Ukraine
  • United Kingdom

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Anguilla
  • Antigua and Barbuda
  • Argentina (Español)
  • Bahamas
  • Belize
  • Bermuda
  • Bolivia (Español)
  • Brasil
  • Virgin Islands, British
  • Cayman Islands
  • Chile (Español)
  • Colombia (Español)
  • Costa Rica (Español)
  • Dominica
  • República Dominicana
  • Ecuador (Español)
  • El Salvador (Español)
  • Grenada
  • Guatemala (Español)
  • Honduras (Español)
  • México
  • Nicaragua (Español)
  • Panamá
  • Paraguay (Español)
  • Perú
  • St. Kitts and Nevis
  • Trinidad and Tobago
  • Venezuela (Español)

The United States and Canada

  • Canada (English)
  • Canada (Français)
  • United States
  • Estados Unidos (Español México)

Copyright © 2026 Apple Inc. All rights reserved.

  • Internet Service Terms
  • Apple TV & Privacy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Support
Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

  • Armenia
  • Azerbaijan
  • Bahrain
  • Botswana
  • Brunei Darussalam
  • Cape Verde
  • Egypt
  • Eswatini
  • Gambia
  • Ghana
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • India
  • Israel
  • Jordan
  • Lebanon
  • Mauritius
  • Mozambique
  • Namibia
  • Niger (English)
  • Oman
  • Qatar
  • Saudi Arabia
  • South Africa
  • Sri Lanka
  • Tajikistan
  • Turkmenistan
  • Uganda
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Zimbabwe

Asia Pacific

  • Australia
  • Cambodia
  • Fiji
  • 香港
  • Indonesia (English)
  • 日本
  • Lao People's Democratic Republic
  • 澳門
  • Malaysia (English)
  • Micronesia, Federated States of
  • Mongolia
  • New Zealand
  • Philippines
  • Singapore
  • 대한민국
  • 台灣
  • Thailand
  • Turkmenistan
  • Vietnam

Europe

  • Armenia
  • Österreich
  • Belarus
  • Belgium
  • Bulgaria
  • Cyprus
  • Czechia
  • Denmark
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • France (Français)
  • Deutschland
  • Greece
  • Hungary
  • Ireland
  • Italia
  • Latvia
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg (English)
  • Malta
  • Moldova, Republic Of
  • Nederland
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Portugal (Português)
  • Россия
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • España
  • Sverige
  • Schweiz
  • Türkiye (English)
  • Ukraine
  • United Kingdom

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Anguilla
  • Antigua and Barbuda
  • Argentina (Español)
  • Bahamas
  • Belize
  • Bermuda
  • Bolivia (Español)
  • Brasil
  • Virgin Islands, British
  • Cayman Islands
  • Chile (Español)
  • Colombia (Español)
  • Costa Rica (Español)
  • Dominica
  • República Dominicana
  • Ecuador (Español)
  • El Salvador (Español)
  • Grenada
  • Guatemala (Español)
  • Honduras (Español)
  • México
  • Nicaragua (Español)
  • Panamá
  • Paraguay (Español)
  • Perú
  • St. Kitts and Nevis
  • Trinidad and Tobago
  • Venezuela (Español)

The United States and Canada

  • Canada (English)
  • Canada (Français)
  • United States
  • Estados Unidos (Español México)