Kelly: Well Oddball, what do you think?
Oddball: It's a wasted trip baby. Nobody said nothing about locking horns with no Tigers.
Big Joe: Hey look, you just keep them Tigers busy and we'll take care of the rest.
Oddball: The only way I got to keep them Tigers busy is to LET THEM SHOOT HOLES IN ME!
Crapgame: Hey, Oddball, this is your hour of glory. And you're chickening out!
Oddball: To a New Yorker like you, a hero is some type of weird sandwich, not some nut who takes on three Tigers.
Oddball: It's a wasted trip baby. Nobody said nothing about locking horns with no Tigers.
Big Joe: Hey look, you just keep them Tigers busy and we'll take care of the rest.
Oddball: The only way I got to keep them Tigers busy is to LET THEM SHOOT HOLES IN ME!
Crapgame: Hey, Oddball, this is your hour of glory. And you're chickening out!
Oddball: To a New Yorker like you, a hero is some type of weird sandwich, not some nut who takes on three Tigers.
This 1970 movie directed by Brian G. Hutton who also directed Where Eagles Dare (starring Clint Eastwood) is simply a fantastic film that begs to be watched with a good sense of humour. The characters are great, the story engaging (as long as you don’t take it too seriously) and the actors add that little bit of individualism to the characters they portray. Well worth watching!
The movie starts off in a town behind enemy lines where Kelly (Clint Eastwood) and a few of his men are in a Jeep with Colonel Dankhopf (David Hurst), a German officer taken as hostage. Due to all the rush and confusion the Germans have not noticed that the enemy is right in their camp and when someone finally notices they drive off as fast as they can to their side of the line. Kelly meets up with Big Jo (Telly Savalas) and they begin to question the German not about the enemy’s gun placements or troop numbers, but about good hotels (as you would) in the town they are soon hoping to invade. As Kelly starts looking through the Colonel’s brief case he finds a gold bar that the German officer has been trying to conceal and eventually, after getting the officer drunk, gets confirmation from the Colonel that there is more where it came from. Kelly then gets supply officer Crapgame (Don Rickles), Tank Commander “Oddball” (Donald Sutherland) and his own squad together to do the craziest thing…steal the gold from right under the German’s noses.
With a great cast and direction, the movie really shines as a not too serious WW2 movie with some serious laughs. The dry looks and comments from Clint Eastwood and Telly Savalas mixed with the comic remarks from the rest of the squad really make the movie. Then you have the hilarious Donald Sutherland and his crew adding to the mix in their own easy going hippy kind of way. It’s one of those great memorable movies that will continue to be enjoyable for years to come. Do yourself a favour and check it out!
The Australian Bluray reviewed is a basic release with the movie and no extras but boasts a solid image in a 2.40:1 aspect ratio and DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 which is effective for a movie if its age.
I have seen the film many times and it’s just as good each time. Highly recommended!
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This is one of my favourite WW2/heist films! And, of course, my favourite character is Oddball, I think he's got most of the funniest lines! Donald Sutherland is so hilarious, very different from his character in another excellent WW2 spy film, Eye of the Needle.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen many WW2 comedies, another one that comes to mind is Two Men Went to War, that's very enjoyable too :)
Its a great movie especially with the different type of characters and its comedic touch. It would be hard to imagine any others in the leading roles as they were all really good.
DeleteThere are a few other WW2 movies with a splash of comedy that I remember like Operation Peticoat and Father Goose but its been a long time since I have seen them :)