Steven Spielberg, the maestro behind some of Tinseltown’s greatest spectacles, embraced the pandemonium in his 1979 war comedy odyssey, 1941. This film is often cited as Spielberg’s out-of-control gamble, but what many don’t realize is the unique space it occupies in the director’s illustrious career.
Following the colossal success of Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Spielberg went where few dared, proving that even legends can afford a playful detour. Having said that, critics & audiences were initially mixed, and the actor John Wayne himself bristled at its irreverence toward the film’s plot circling “World War II”.
But Spielberg never harbored “embarrassment” for this quirky war comedy. In fact, statistics show that 1941 was not the flop it’s reputed to be; it earned more than its production costs at the box office.
1941: Revisiting the War Comedy That Holds a Special Place in Steven Spielberg’s Heart
When Steven Spielberg set out to helm 1941, he was riding high on the success of Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It seemed like he might’ve put the cat among the pigeons with 1941.
While not a total flop, the film received mixed reviews and did not perform as well at the box office as Spielberg’s previous hits. It earned around over $94 million against a $35 million budget (The Numbers). Talking about the movie, it is loosely based on true events and follows a group of characters in a California community on high alert following the attack on Pearl Harbor.
While it boasts an incredible cast, including Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, and John Belushi, the film is often criticized for being loud and over-the-top with “endless fistfights” (via Chicago Tribune). Even, according to the director himself, the movie had too many subplots that detracted from the main plot and would have been better off with $10 million less than the actual budget. He declared (via Empire):
We would have been better off with $10 million less, because we went from one plot to seven sub-plots. But, at the time, I wanted it — the bigness, the power, hundreds of people at my beck and call, millions of dollars at my disposal, and everybody saying Yes… yes… yes!
Contradictory, Spielberg shared that he was not “embarrassed” by the film and that the production was actually very much in control, despite what some may believe. He told Entertainment Weekly:
Some people think that was an out-of-control production, but it wasn’t. What happened on the screen was pretty out of control, but the production was pretty much in control. I don’t dislike the movie at all. I’m not embarrassed by it — I just think that it wasn’t funny enough.
Well, he simply felt that the film wasn’t as “funny” as he had hoped it would be.
John Wayne’s Behind-the-Scenes Battle with Steven Spielberg Over 1941
One interesting tidbit about the making of 1941 was how John Wayne tried to stop Steven Spielberg from helming the film. The director, 77, had originally wanted Wayne to play the role of Major General Joseph W. Stilwell, but the actor urged Spielberg not to “waste his time on it”.
Despite being “curious”, the Oscar-winning actor likely felt uneasy about playing a caricatured version of a real-life war hero. Ultimately, he turned down the role, and Robert Stack ended up taking on the part. In the same interview with EW, Spielberg shared:
I thought he would be great to play General Stilwell. He was really curious, and so I sent him the script. He called me the next day and said he felt it was a very un-American movie, and I shouldn’t waste my time making it. He said, ‘You know, that was an important war, and you’re making fun of a war that cost thousands of lives at Pearl Harbor. Don’t joke about World War II.’
Despite the box office performance, 1941 remains a somewhat misunderstood entry in Spielberg’s filmography. While it may not be considered one of his best works, it still offers a unique and entertaining look at a different side of the acclaimed director’s work.
1941 can be rented on Apple TV.
