The Wild Geese

A little bit of a spin on the wild west gunslinger, today's discussion centers around the mercenary, the hired gun who will take just about any job as long as the money is good. And if movies have taught us anything, mercenaries had lots of work throughout Africa in the 1960s and since with movies like Dark of the Sun, The Dogs of War and most recently Tears of the Sun. What about the best of the bunch? It's a movie many American viewers may not have heard of because it didn't get much of a release in the states. That movie? One of my favorites, 1978's The Wild Geese.

 A brutally efficient mercenary with years of experience under his belt, Allan Faulkner (Richard Burton) has agreed to take on a dangerous mission in Africa courtesy of the equally brutal, efficient and greedy merchant banker, Sir Edward Matherson (Stewart Granger). With lucrative copper mining rights on the line, Matherson needs Faulker to rescue a deposed African leader, Julius Limbani (Winston Ntshona), a leader of the people and a good man, to retake the government and settle things down. Taking a hefty payday, Faulker assembles an experienced, effective unit of 50 mercenaries, including fellow officers Lt. Shawn Fynn (Roger Moore), Capt. Rafer Janders (Richard Harris) and Lt. Pieter Coetzee (Hardy Kruger), and goes about putting together an effective plan, a smash and grab job. Faulker has the men assembled to pull off the job with a minimum of danger, but no matter how well thought out the mission is, even these mercenaries can't know what awaits them when they drop into Africa.

This review comes just a day after my Von Ryan's Express review, one of the great entertaining war movies ever made. More than that, just a great action movie. Well, surprise surprise, but I put this 1979 mercenary-centric action/drama on the same level. Is it a great movie in the vein of The Godfather or Lawrence of Arabia? Heck no, but it doesn't need to be! I watched a version that was 128 minutes long, and it is one extended thrill ride from beginning to end. Director Andrew McLaglen is far from a great director, but this is one of his best (if not THE best) movies. It is gritty, graphic, rough and tumble and the definition of a great tough guy flick. This is a movie that earns it's "Guy's Guy" type of movie, even if that theme song (listen HERE) seems a little out of place. But that's for the opening and closing credits. Enough with that. Let's get to the action!

Okay, not quite yet there with the casting. In the men-on-a-mission vein of The Guns of Navarone or Where Eagles Dare, here's one of the all-time great tough guy casts. The script calls for some older mercenaries, giving stars who weren't exactly A-list stars a chance at the spotlight again, and let me tell you, they don't disappoint. In a part of his career where the films weren't exactly great (an understatement), Richard Burton absolutely nails the part as Faulkner, a weathered, experienced mercenary who doesn't care for much other than the money he makes and the booze he can drink. Not exactly a stretch, but let's not nitpick. His officers include Harris as Janders, the master tactician and planner, Moore as Fynn, the born soldier who can fly or drive anything with a motor, and Kruger as Coetzee, the South African experienced bush fighter who has quite a few racist tendencies. They each get their moments to shine, the tough guy quartet killing it throughout with an easygoing, likable chemistry.

But wait....there's more!!! Along with Granger's quick appearance, there's Barry Foster and Patrick Allen as other shadowy characters involved in putting the mission together. Filling out the mercenary lineup are scene-stealing Jack Watson as foul-mouthed drill instructor Sandy Young, John Kani as Sgt. Jesse, the youngest of the bunch but an incredibly capable fighter, Kenneth Griffith as Witty, the flamboyantly gay medic, with Ronald Fraser, Ian Yule (an actual former mercenary), Percy Herbert, and Glyn Baker rounding out the crew. Also look for Jeff Corey and Frank Findlay in small parts. Just a cool, underrated supporting cast with plenty of memorable, recognizable faces.

Based off a novel by Daniel Carney and a Reginald Rose screenplay, one of 'Wild's' most underrated aspects is its script. Yes, it is familiar. Yes, it is politically incorrect one moment and somewhat preachy the next. But in the end, you throw it all together and all those separate ingredients work well together. It follows the men-on-a-mission formula nicely, going from assembling the team, to training the team, to unleashing the mercenaries on their dangerous mission deep in Africa, a regiment of brutal Simbas waiting to wipe them out if given the chance. There's too many good moments to mention from the Wild Geese free-falling out of a plane at 25,000 feet to Watson's hysterical rants during the training sequences to the almost non-stop smartass attitudes that produce a ton of memorable one-liners, some funny and some highly effective in the old drama department. Just a lot of positives on display here across the board.

But the biggest positive? The action of course! It's so good that the DVD actually offers a stand-alone menu where you can watch solely the explosions, shootouts and all sorts of hell that breaks loose. Without giving away any spoilers, the mission doesn't go off quite as planned, Faulkner and his men forced to improvise deep in enemy territory. Most of the last hour of the film is one extended action scene with some occasional dialogue to break things up. The highlight is the last 30 minutes, the mercenaries shooting it out with a large force of Simbas hell bent on stopping them from escaping. It's bloody, graphic and uncomfortable and features some surprising twists too as the body count rises ever higher. The action turns into a chaotic chase across the African savannah, lines and flanks shifting minute to minute. What an action movie.

This can be a difficult movie to track down. Years ago, I was lucky enough to track down a Tango DVD of this 1978 mercenary flick. It's currently available at Amazon for a very reasonable $12.99 if you're curious. As I mentioned, is it a perfect film? Nope, and again, it isn't meant to be. Instead, it is pure escapism, pure entertainment, and for me that's all I'm looking for. Familiar but highly entertaining story, action to burn and one of my all-time favorite casts. Can't recommend this one enough.

The Wild Geese (1978): ****/****
Rewrite of June 2009 review

All the Brothers Were Valiant

I got off to a rocky start with 1953's All the Brothers Were Valiant. The story of two brothers on the high seas in the South Pacific in the 1850s seemed like so many other generic high seas adventures that flooded the market in the 1940s and 1950s. It seemed like all the samples from other movies were taken for this one down to the stock characters and idiotic decision-making. Thankfully somewhere along the way, director Richard Thorpe pulls his head out of his butt and decides to make a halfway-decent movie.

After a three year voyage, Joel Thorpe (Robert Taylor) returns to 1848 New Bedford to find out that his brother, Mark, has disappeared from his own voyage somewhere in the South Pacific. Joel is given command of his missing brother's ship -- a whaler -- and prepares for another long voyage, but not before marrying Priscilla Holt (Ann Blyth), the former sweetheart of Mark's who Joel always had a crush on. Priscilla joins Joel as they head for the South Pacific where they manage to find Mark (Stewart Granger), ready with an explanation for his missing status. Mark instantly causes problems, both with Priscilla who he wants back and almost inciting a mutiny on Joel's ship, enticing the crew with promises of pearls.

Okay, every so often I feel the need to say this. I realize it is the rare movie that is perfect and/or flawless. At least 99.99 percent of movies have something wrong with them. It's just hoping that the positives -- however many there are -- outweigh the negatives. That's why I'll be able to give 'Valiant' a positive review, a recommendation for any viewers who are curious. As bad as some parts are, as cliched as the characters and story can be, the end result is positive. I enjoyed the positives more than I hated the negatives, and that's all I'm looking for in a new movie on a first viewing.

Don't get me wrong. That first 30 minutes is particularly brutal. All the high seas cliches are there; the happy crew singing as they go about their work, the long shots of the majestic ship and its towering sails moving across the ocean, the firm but fair captain pushing his crew. It's bad, real bad. Making it worse is that Taylor and Blyth have no chemistry together. I've come around around Taylor who I wasn't always a fan of. This is not a strong part for him, a vanilla "hero" with little charisma or personality. Blythy's Priscilla is around because the story requires some tension. What woman in her right mind would board a ship with her husband with a three-year voyage ahead of them in the 1840s? Somehow, some way, she keeps her hair immaculate and her dresses pristine. Good for her.

The saving grace is Granger's arrival at about the 35-minute mark. He's the necessary bad boy hero, the good guy who has some questionable morals and/or motives. His backstory -- a flashback that runs around 10-15 minutes -- is the high point of the story, probably worthy of an entire movie on its own. Ravaged with fever in the South Pacific, he is cared for by a beautiful native girl (Betta St. John). Once healthy again, Mark joins with a marauding group of adventurers (including James Whitmore and Kurt Kasznar) searching for pearls on an isolated island with a warring tribe as its inhabitants. There is some tension, some excitement, some betrayals and backstabbing and greed in this too-short segment, starting the movie back on its more interesting path.

Thanks to Granger's introduction, the movie does get more interesting as things near the halfway point. There are still some weird coincidences and stupid decisions made, but the possible mutiny livens things up. Mutinies have a way of doing that I suppose. The drama that comes out of this second half illustrates what's wrong with the movie. It boils down to this. Granger is interesting. Taylor isn't. Granger's Mark plays everyone against each other for his own benefit, realizing his mistake in the closing minutes. It is a 1950s movie so his fate is never really in question. Taylor and his monotone voice and delivery keep us on Granger's side unfortunately so we're basically rooting for the "bad guy" of the two brothers.

Sappy love triangle and boring performances from Taylor and Blyth, this was a good movie. Granted, those are big strikes against any movie, but what are you going to do? Blyth bounces back and forth between Joel and Mark every other scene, and the resolution is too perfect to believe. I still liked the movie though in spite of basically everything in my head telling me not to like it. Among the mutinous crew, look for Keenan Wynn in Spanish-mode as Silva, the treacherous leader of the lowly crew, Michael Pate, Leo Gordon, Peter Whitney, and John Lupton. So overall, this movie barely (and it was close) gets a slightly positive recommendation. A classic it is not with some epic flaws, but I did enjoy it.

All the Brothers Were Valiant <---trailer (1953): ** 1/2 /****

Bhowani Junction

When I think of Hollywood legend and beauty Ava Gardner, I think of any number of things starting with her ridiculously good looks and her underrated ability as an actor.  One thing I don't think of?  Her looks being partial to her playing minority characters. But of the Gardner movies I've seen, I feel like a majority have her playing just about anything but a white, Southern girl (which is what she is).  Yeah, I get it. Acting requires and demands you do things that might not seem normal. But most of those movies where Gardner is playing a Hispanic, Mexican, or in the case of 1956's Bhowani Junction, a half-Indian woman, nothing is done to help her look the part.

In the case of this movie, it doesn't end up being a huge issue because Gardner handles her part so well.  A struggle I had with this 1956 epic is because of my own ignorance.  With a story set in 1947 India, I made a big realization about myself.  Well, sort of. Besides a basic knowledge about Gandhi, I know virtually nothing about Indian history.  Seeing a story about a turbulent time in Indian history was informative to say the least, even if I did struggle to keep up at times with characters and plot lines and political issues being thrown left and right. With so little background with the subject matter, regardless of how interested I was, I had trouble keeping up, and then two, staying interested as the story resorts more to genre conventions.

After four years away from home, Victoria Jones (Gardner) returns to her home and family in Bhowani Junction in 1947 India.  The country is going through rough times as Britain is going through the gradual process of withdrawing from India.  The population can't wait as some peaceful groups and some violent groups go about pushing the process along. A half Indian, half English young woman, Victoria finds herself trapped in the middle, trying to work through her problems as she works as a liaison for a British colonel, Rodney Savage (Stewart Granger). Attempting to discover who she is as an individual, she finds that even the people around her won't allow her to do so. Her life is even through into chaos as violent uprisings continue, and a horrific incident threatens to take her down for good.

When it comes to an actress or actor being miscast, it can typically go two ways, one much worse than the other.  The first one, just straight up wrong, the person just isn't right for the part, like John Wayne playing Genghis Khan in 1956's The Conqueror.  Other times, it's a physical miscasting, and that's what Gardner as Victoria is.  She's supposed to be playing a half Indian, half English young woman, but nothing is done to even remotely maker her look that way.  She looks like Ava Gardner, not a half breed as she calls herself.  The same goes for her accent.  Making an attempt (I think?) at an English accent, it comes across as more of a East coast accent than anything else.

Now saying those things, I will counter with this.  Besides the obviously odd physical choices, Gardner delivers one of her best performances.  Her filmography is checkered with characters like these, strong individuals who are tested to their limits and then some.  Instead of just being a sexy, smoldering seductress, Gardner shows off her dramatic acting chops.  Seeing a national struggle on such a large level, her Victoria is torn between her English and Indian heritage.  Which one is she? Neither side has ever really welcomed her as one of their own.  As she begins to realize, she is her own person who must make up her mind on her own because no one's going to do it for her.  I'm guilty of looking past her ability because of her looks, but she was an underrated actress, and this is a great chance for her to show that.

Wrapped up in this big historical epic with all its national upheaval is a surprisingly moving love story of Gardner's Victoria and, well, a lot of men.  Basically every man she meets falls madly in love with her, but it's not anywhere near the romantic comedy that it sounds like.  There's Bill Travers as Patrick Taylor, another half-Indian, half-English individual striving to find his place in the world, hopefully at her side. There's Francis Matthews as Ranjit, an Indian man who adores Victoria and would do anything for her. And last there's Granger as Col. Savage, the career soldier caught in an impossible situation. The relationship is never forced, especially early as they both seem ready to claw each other's eyes out.  It develops naturally, and the movie is the better for it.  I like Granger more and more with each movie of his.

Directed by George Cukor, this is a big, epic movie wrapped in the shell of a shorter, 2-hour story. At 110 minutes, Cukor packs a lot into his finished product. The scale is impressive, especially the extras numbering in the thousands. Pakistan fills in for India for the shooting locations, but the movie has an authentic, real feel to it.  But more than the epic quality of Cukor's movie is a story about individuals trying to find out who they really are, albeit in an extremely violent, tense time in Indian history.  Worthwhile for performances from Gardner and Granger, this is an underrated flick all around. It is available to watch at Youtube, starting HERE with Part 1 of 8.

Bhowani Junction <---trailer (1956): ***/****   

The Secret Invasion

Released in 1967, Robert Aldrich's The Dirty Dozen came along at just the right terms for movie audiences with its cynical tone and generally pessimistic look at society and any sort of hierarchy and power.  The story of 12 convicts chosen to take part in a suicide mission just before D-Day was unlike anything audiences had seen.  To Aldrich's credit, he made the premise unique and damn entertaining.  Really though, the idea of convicts turned commandos had been used countless times before.

Take 1964's The Secret Invasion from the master of schlock, low-budget B-movies, director Roger Corman. The cult director made a career of doing a lot with very little in terms of money in the budget as well as producing some 300-plus movies.  But when given the chance, Corman showed what he was able to do with even a mid-sized budget like in 1964's The Secret Invasion, a WWII story that uses the same basic premise as Dirty Dozen.  Don't be confused though, 'Invasion' is still a B-movie without any notion of being anything else.  On the highly positive side, it's a prime example of how good a B-movie can be when everything goes right.

Stationed in Cairo in 1943, British Major Richard Mace (Stewart Granger) has assembled a dubious crew to help him on a dangerous mission in the Balkans.  From prisons and penitentiaries all around the world, Mace has assembled a crew of criminals -- all experts in one way or another -- to join him.  Just days away from the Allied invasion of Italy, Mace and his team will sneak into the Balkans and help an Italian general (Enzo Fiermonte) escape from a heavily guarded German prison.  With the general's help, Mace hopes to turn the Italian forces against the Germans, making the Allied invasion even a little bit smoother.  First though, the major has to worry about keeping his team of crooks in line, many of them willing to shoot him and escape the first chance they get.

Now with a B-movie -- even a really good one like this -- you can't expect a bunch of A-listers starring.  Instead, you get something better.  Actors you know and have seen countless times but usually in supporting roles.  Some were past their prime and others still on the rise.  Corman hits a home run with the casting of his dirty half-dozen including Raf Vallone as Rocca, a mafioso and expert planner of strategy, Mickey Rooney as Scanlon, an IRA explosives expert, Edd Byrnes as Fell, the master forger, Henry Silva as Durell, the hired assassin, and William Campbell as Saval, a master of disguise and deception.  These were all solid character actors given a shot at starring roles, and the ensemble doesn't disappoint.

With any 'men on a mission' movie, there's a certain dark element that makes them intriguing.  By the end, you know most if not all won't make it so early on make your choices.  'Invasion' certainly has some fun with this notion as to who survives and how.  The cast is clearly having some fun with these cardboard cutouts for roles.  Vallone as the reliable second in command speaks in that heavily accented English and certainly makes a positive impression, as does Silva as the dead-eyed killer.  But by far, the most surprising and enjoyable part is for Rooney as the half-mad Irishman and explosives expert.  Playing completely against type -- as he would do again two years later in B-movie Ambush Bay -- Rooney absolutely steals the movie.

As much as I like a good, old-fashioned long movie (even The Dirty Dozen was 150 minutes long), a quick-paced B-movie can be just as enjoyable.  With his 95-minute movie here, Corman keeps the story going at all times with some snappy dialogue or a quick action set-piece.  The story flies by and never really slows down.  It's never long before the half-dozen find themselves in some sticky new situation they have to get out of.  Along the way, they dodge either, work with some partisans, and then finally must fight their way out of the German fortress.  Sounds easy, don't it?

Taking advantage of a bigger budget, Corman filmed in Yugoslavia and Croatia, giving the whole movie a unique, realistic feel to the proceedings.  The on-location shooting is great, but Corman saves the best for last.  Chased by hundreds of German soldiers, Mace's crew must escape up a seaside hill with the Germans close on their heels.  He clearly spent some money on this battle sequence with an epic feel.  Lots of extras working as German soldiers, explosions and shootouts galore, and some surprises as to who survives and who doesn't.  It's a great action sequence, and Corman almost lulls you to sleep early with so little action.  He certainly makes up for it in his finale.

I stumbled across this war flick at IMDB a few years back and am I ever glad I did.  It's exciting right from the start -- opening scenes included below -- and never really slows down.  Cool choices in casting, gorgeous locations, and a wham bang action finish.  Maybe it doesn't have the high hopes a movie like The Dirty Dozen did, but from master director/producer Corman, this is about as good as a B-movie can be!

The Secret Invasion <---opening (1964): *** 1/2 /****