In the psychiatric unit of a California Veterans Hospital, delusional (and possibly schizophrenic) young ex-soldier fresh from Vietnam wins over a pretty and fearless nurse with his unconventional charm, perplexing genius, and adorable smile. An odd project to come from very-conventional director Arthur Hiller (to say nothing of executive producer Hugh Hefner!). However, the film does have a formula agenda at heart, and the streak of sentimentality is detectable right down the line. The man's hideaway world off the hospital grounds is a terrific addition, yet the unpointed satirical asides with the Water & Power and Telephone Companies trying to figure out who is stealing their services is curiously lax. Hiller doesn't get preachy, yet he's a stalwart purveyor of Tastefulness--and his unruffled movie is so staid, it's in constant danger of turning into the cinematic equivalent of cottage cheese. Leads Timothy Bottoms (easily working his winsome boyishness) and Barbara Seagull/Hershey (easily working her youthful luminousness) are very nice to watch, but the script could've stood some additional layers. "Julius Vrooder" is likable enough, but piffle doesn't stay fresh for very long. ** from ****
13 Reviews
typical fare for the post Vietnam era....
rf92612 September 2006
i just happened to catch this today (09/06) and found it mildly amusing, typical fare for the post Vietnam era..,not to mention it was produced by playboy productions aka Hugh hef. the best part is the conversation with the doc and the word association bit, other than that i knew i recognized Barbara seagull aka Barbara Hershey but couldn't think of her name (boy she was a hottie back then) anyway i digress,, so if your bored and have nothing better to do and remember the 60's and 70's fondly like i do (and had friends who had hair down to their butts both guys and girls and wore American flags as capes) you just might enjoy it rick f
playing at movies
SnoopyStyle18 July 2020
Troubled Vietnam vet Julius Vrooder (Timothy Bottoms) plays pranks on his VA hospital doctor Passki. Passki's girlfriend nurse Zanni (Barbara Hershey) is taken with Vrooder and follows him into the woods. First, she falls into his trap and then joins him in his bunker.
Playboy made movies? I guess that makes sense but they're not using their main assets in this. It's trying to be a character study. It's interesting that this came out a year before One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975). It's nowhere near as compelling. Vrooder is not in enough danger for this to be compelling. In essence, this movie struggles to find stakes. If the cops find him, he wouldn't be in that much trouble. He's perfectly content where he is and in the worst case scenario, he stays there. The romance is cute but it's done after the first fifteen minutes. Passki is a dud and the love triangle has no juice. These are interesting characters but they don't do much. It's nice enough but it's not quite enough.
Playboy made movies? I guess that makes sense but they're not using their main assets in this. It's trying to be a character study. It's interesting that this came out a year before One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975). It's nowhere near as compelling. Vrooder is not in enough danger for this to be compelling. In essence, this movie struggles to find stakes. If the cops find him, he wouldn't be in that much trouble. He's perfectly content where he is and in the worst case scenario, he stays there. The romance is cute but it's done after the first fifteen minutes. Passki is a dud and the love triangle has no juice. These are interesting characters but they don't do much. It's nice enough but it's not quite enough.
Rather Empty Film That Scores High on the Charm Level
rwint8 July 2003
Modern day whimsical tale about a offbeat Vietnam vet who resides at the local V.A. Hospital. He escapes and builds a underground fortress in a wooded area next to the highway. The place looks cleaner and better furnished than most people's apartments. He concocts a scheme that allows him to steal both electrical and phone service. This is a major consternation to the heads of the local phone and electrical company. They go on a mission to find out who he is and how he is doing it. They even go through a list of mug shots consisting of 'dangerous' looking people known to have stolen service. This actually proves to be the films funniest moment (though the tired, elderly vets who have to do a perpetual ten gun salute isn't bad either). He also creates a romantic bond with his doctors fiancee (Hershey).
The film does try to have it's serious moments, but they tend to be clumsy and draggy. However on the charm scale this thing scores very close to the bullseye. There is even a touching performance by 83 year old veteran director Marshall. Though the material is just not enough for feature film length, 1 in 20 people will probably fall in love with it. It can probably best be described as a poor man's version of A THOUSAND CLOWNS, but without the satire or sharp dialogue.
Produced by, of all people, Hugh Hefner.
The film does try to have it's serious moments, but they tend to be clumsy and draggy. However on the charm scale this thing scores very close to the bullseye. There is even a touching performance by 83 year old veteran director Marshall. Though the material is just not enough for feature film length, 1 in 20 people will probably fall in love with it. It can probably best be described as a poor man's version of A THOUSAND CLOWNS, but without the satire or sharp dialogue.
Produced by, of all people, Hugh Hefner.
Boring and not believable
billsoccer3 August 2020
Too many loose ends in this for me to enjoy, but at bottom - it was just boring. Who's going to believe a well-adjusted doctor is going to get involved with a guy with as many mental challenges as the lead actor? Then, all the contrived scenes such as his radio-cpnotrolled start of the tape machine... just couldn't pass the sniff test
One movie I've Always Remembered...
Doc-14020 March 1999
I first saw this movie in 1976 while serving in the U.S. Navy. I have never forgotten the title or how much I enjoyed it. I literally fell in love with the character "Zanni" played by Barbara Hershey (at that time her screen name was Barbara Seagull). In my eyes, it has always been a great romantic comedy. In the past 20+ years since I have seen it, much has happened in my life which has often brought my thoughts back to that movie including working at a V.A. hospital. I have recommended many times that if people ever have the opportunity to see it, they would not be disappointed.
thoroughly enjoyed it
kdkullmann9 February 2006
You either loved it or hated it, I loved it. I have angered a number of friends with the car lighter bit. It was quite fun and I have been looking for a copy for years. The idea of having a Viet Nam style hooch on an on ramp to the freeway was wild. The experience of dealing with parents and siblings that didn't have a clue what you had just gone through hit close to home. I came back and went to visit my best friend, he took one look at me and asked "how many babies did you kill?" So the movie takes a sometimes dark look at what the experience was like, gives it a twist of warped humor. And besides, back then Barbara Hershey was real easy to look at!
The good feeling has lasted 25 years
standley_john12 July 2001
I saw this movie while in the U.S. Navy in the 70's. I only saw it one time. I loved it. My memory (now 25 years old) is seeing Vrooder sliding on the floor under the beds as he visits his friends in the VA ward. And also the elaborate underground home he built for himself. The love story was very touching and I recall he had to make a hard decision in the end.
For many years after seeing this movie I fondly remembered the movie and wondered when I would see it again. There was a period of about 15 years that I couldn't remember the title. In the past couple of years I have recalled the title and happy to find the movie listed in many movie databases. Unfortunately, I have not seen that this movie was ever marketed on video or reappeared in theatres.
I still wonder today if I will ever have the opportunity to see this movie again.
For many years after seeing this movie I fondly remembered the movie and wondered when I would see it again. There was a period of about 15 years that I couldn't remember the title. In the past couple of years I have recalled the title and happy to find the movie listed in many movie databases. Unfortunately, I have not seen that this movie was ever marketed on video or reappeared in theatres.
I still wonder today if I will ever have the opportunity to see this movie again.
Charming!
slicing_bulldogs18 March 2005
I saw this on a late night television show and I fell deep, deep in love with it. Julius Vrooder is one of the most wonderful characters I've seen this far. He is witty, young, vulnerable and in love. The fact that the makers succeeded in making him both fun and sad is remarkable. Often the characters only have one side; they're funny, bored, stupid and so on, so on. But Julius Vrooder really shows the depth of a regular human being. That they also made a 100 minutes movie about a guy in a V.A mental hospital and his love for the nurse during a few days without making it a romantic comedy in the same genre as Pretty Woman and You've got mail is stunning. It's one of the first romantic comedies/dramas I've ever seen which contains love without making it sugar sweet with extra pink in it and I love it! The man (I forgot his name) who plays Julius is does also make a wonderful character of the paper. He is living in Vrooders small world with a depth that takes me away. I couldn't give this film a vote less than a ten!
Julius ROCKS ... the Vietnam War will never be the same
dennisg-615 February 2010
This is a very unusual comedy (and, black comedy). Julius comes back from Vietnam "broken" emotionally. His straight-laced family doesn't know how to relate to him. So, he lives in the psych ward of the local VA hospital. He brightens up the day for many of the patients (even ones with missing limbs and traumatic memories of the war). Julius is the anti-establishment hero to the patients.
He spends a lot of time with a soldier (Albert Salmi), who digs graves for unlucky soldiers, and participates in MANY funerals (a running theme in the movie).
The head shrink has a beautiful girlfriend (Barbara Seagull), who also catches Julius' eyes. She becomes fascinated with the weirdness of Julius.
This is a simple plot. I enjoy it tremendously. I've passed a copy around to about 10 friends over the years; about half liked it, a couple LOVED it, the rest truly disliked it (not much gray area here).
It pops up on premium cable every month or 2.
He spends a lot of time with a soldier (Albert Salmi), who digs graves for unlucky soldiers, and participates in MANY funerals (a running theme in the movie).
The head shrink has a beautiful girlfriend (Barbara Seagull), who also catches Julius' eyes. She becomes fascinated with the weirdness of Julius.
This is a simple plot. I enjoy it tremendously. I've passed a copy around to about 10 friends over the years; about half liked it, a couple LOVED it, the rest truly disliked it (not much gray area here).
It pops up on premium cable every month or 2.
Cheering for Julius Vrooder
holmswede5 February 2007
I was probably a senior in high school, some 30-plus years ago, when I saw this, and cannot remember more than a few scenes. I recall laughing harder than I ever had at a movie before and wished that I could have seen it again.
As others have described it since, I suppose some of the situations might have been far-fetched or unlikely, but they surely were funny. The title character was able to outwit the VA bureaucratic workers, from professionals like doctors and administrators through the ranks down to the orderlies who unsympathetically tried to get him in line. The tag line was very much true: Julius seemed to get away with anything and made it lots of fun for the audience, too. I felt very sympathetic toward him and was cheering him on the whole way.
It would be a pleasure to see the film marketed as a DVD, as I believe audiences nowadays might find it much more entertaining than those theater audiences who were much more uptight about the military on the heels of the end of the Vietnam War. I wonder if there is any way to convince the owners to try to produce it on DVD. Since "Good Morning, Vietnam!" we have learned how to take some of that era tongue -in-cheek, at least.
As others have described it since, I suppose some of the situations might have been far-fetched or unlikely, but they surely were funny. The title character was able to outwit the VA bureaucratic workers, from professionals like doctors and administrators through the ranks down to the orderlies who unsympathetically tried to get him in line. The tag line was very much true: Julius seemed to get away with anything and made it lots of fun for the audience, too. I felt very sympathetic toward him and was cheering him on the whole way.
It would be a pleasure to see the film marketed as a DVD, as I believe audiences nowadays might find it much more entertaining than those theater audiences who were much more uptight about the military on the heels of the end of the Vietnam War. I wonder if there is any way to convince the owners to try to produce it on DVD. Since "Good Morning, Vietnam!" we have learned how to take some of that era tongue -in-cheek, at least.
Visited the VA during this time
gsbell118 July 2020
My father, a WWII era vet, was going to the west LA VA hospital during the time of this movie. My brother and I recognized the location immediately and we had already explored the area next to the freeway. On subsequent visits we found many of the locations of the hideaway, without actually finding the underground area. It was a cool and special connection to the movie.
Of Its Time Stylistically - Blasting Barriers Socially, with PTSD
ElaineOBCapogeannis26 November 2020
Timothy Bottoms reminds me of what acting is all about in this one.... Real, grounded, free, earthy, wild. Emotional.
The movie (music, pacing) is of its time - so be prepared for 1974 cinematography. All the actors hit their characters on point.
Even with its period nature, the storyline itself is also earthy, grounded, and free... It blasts expected barriers and keeps you guessing as it delves into and twists around the main character's mentality, his fellow patients' PTSD, the doctors and people of his time ... and love.
The movie (music, pacing) is of its time - so be prepared for 1974 cinematography. All the actors hit their characters on point.
Even with its period nature, the storyline itself is also earthy, grounded, and free... It blasts expected barriers and keeps you guessing as it delves into and twists around the main character's mentality, his fellow patients' PTSD, the doctors and people of his time ... and love.
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