Payne receives an honorable discharge and tries to adjust to civilian life but ends up being arrested. Major Benson Winifred Payne, a battle hardened Marine, returns from a successful drug raid in South America to find out that he has been passed over for promotion. Wayans plays a military officer who, after being discharged, attempts to lead a dysfunctional group of youth cadets to victory in a competition. Major Payne was released in the United States on March 24 and grossed $30 million. It is a loose remake of the 1955 film The Private War of Major Benson, starring Charlton Heston. The film co-stars Karyn Parsons, Steven Martini and Michael Ironside. Major Payne is a 1995 American military comedy film directed by Nick Castle and starring Damon Wayans, who wrote with Dean Lorey and Gary Rosen.
