I dont normally like war movies, but this was alright. Clint Walker was great (as usual) and the story line a bit different than your regular war picture. But I must say, the most annoying thing was Tommy Sands! I dont know if he deserved an academy award for portraying a load mouth idiot so well or if he was the worst actor ever in a movie. If I was stranded on an island with him and a loaded gun.... Well, I dont think I have to tell you what Id do.
shareThink i`d rather join the Japs than put up with his monologue-sounds like a Dalek with pmt(sorry if you`re from the U.S. you prob won`t get that)
shareFrank Sinatra moved his Company to Warners and he was given a free hand and a green light by Jack Warner to do anything he wanted with anyone he wanted to do it with. Tommy Sands was his Son in Law and tis said that FS was if anything loyal.
Mr. Sinatra in this movie also used WB contract players hanging around the lot like Clint Walker and Sammy Jackson, etc and that was good and also typical of FS of using the good people who needed work.
I actually liked some of Sands work, but the only way to take his performance here is as comic relief. Apparently Sands thought all members of the USMC jut their jaws out two feet and talk with rabid monotones. I can tell you from personal experiences that only about half of them do.
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I was unable to continue watching most of the movie after barfing at Tommy Sands playground idiocy. Yes, I was in the marines so it wasn't pleasant to imagine gold bars on the shoulders of cretins. Thinking about it later -- why would the studio release such a travesty? It came to me. Sure, Tommy Sands was Sinatra's son in law. Go ahead and trash the whole project for such 'loyalty'. One thing about the film I appreciated was Brad Dexter's role. In the newspapers of the day it reported than he saved Sinatra from drowning and Sinatra rewarded him with contracted work. A comment here says that Dexter says, 'that ruined our friendship'. I had to laugh.
I miss Big Band music and talented singers. Leonard Cohen is my idol. Civility, harmony, unity!
Tommy Sands was told to act exactly that way by the director of this movie, Frank Sinatra. Actors do what the director wants, if they don't, they get fired.
Shortly after this, Tommy Sands divorced Nancy Sinatra, Frank's daughter. Frank in turn ruined Tommy Sands career. He was one very vindictive Sicilian.
DD-931..........a funny post, gave me the first chuckle of the day.
Ah!...Now we see the violence inherent in the system!
Apparently Sands thought all members of the USMC jut their jaws out two feet and talk with rabid monotones. I can tell you from personal experiences that only about half of them do.
Problem with that is, Sands still uses the same tone of voice after his change of heart. Either he was badly directed or could not act. I can't imagine what else motivated such a bizarre acting choice.
"Do you know what lies at the bottom of the mainstream? Mediocrity!"
Wow, the voice and that stupid look he had, made it uncomfortable to watch. Everytime he had a speaking role, I cringed. Overacting at its finest.
Didn't know he won an award for it though...
Sands' performance and characterisation was, IMO, deliberately OTT -- a caricature of a young, brash, gung-ho soldier eager to battle and keen to impress with a complete lack of true experience. His character was mirrored by a simalar Japanese among their troop... Ditto Walker/Mishashi.
NOW TARZAN MAKE WAR!
As a proud Californian, I must happily disagree with you on the Dalek reference - Dr. Who is universal.
shareI couldn't agree more about Sands' performance, one of the worst I've ever seen and comparable to a Used Car dealer doing his own commercials. So amateurish. If this wasn't his last film it should have been. He ruined any chance this film had of becoming a decent war movie. I visited here at IMDb to see if anyone agreed with me and I'm glad, or I would've lost my faith in man's sanity.
shareChalk up another arriving here just to see if anyone else thought his performance was terrible.
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(Spoilers)
I could take all the gung-ho bullying and the over-enthusiastic soldiering, it was his ACCENT that really turned me off. It was like a hugely exaggerated impression of a Deep South accent by someone who has had a stroke.
However, I agree with the contributor above that his complete knobbishness made his volte-face at the end all the more touching, especially when he tries to shout a warning to the Japanese.
Awight we're The Daamned we're a punk baand and this is called Carn't Be Appy T'day!
Agreed. Throughout the whole damned movie Sands sounded like a drunk guy doing an R. Lee Ermey impression. Shouting and slurring one's words simultaneously is an impressive feat unless he was intoxicated throughout filming, which I guess is possible.
Some posters here suggest Sands is supposed to be comic relief. That doesn't seem right to me. Sure I laughed at him, but it wasn't "oh what a funny character" laughter. It was "what is this idiot doing?" bad laughter, the sort you direct towards Peter Graves and John Agar in alien pickle movies.
The cynical part of me wonders if Frank deliberately made Sands look bad. Sands divorced Nancy that same year and Sinatra supposedly blackballed him afterwards. That would explain a lot, making Sands look so awful he was unemployable.
"Do you know what lies at the bottom of the mainstream? Mediocrity!"
I saw this movie a long time ago and I must have said a silent prayer that I might forget Sand's unforgettable performance. My prayers were answered, because I just saw it again and had completely forgotten his ludicrous attempt to portray a tough guy Marine. I don't know if it was bad acting, over acting, comic relief or what,, but I found it almost impossible to watch. I always root for our side, but I couldn't wait for someone,,, from either side,,, to put a bullet in his head. I've seen better acting in high school plays. I was under the impression that actors were supposed to research/study the characters they were to portray; to pick up on mannerisms, speech patters, language and such. From what I saw, he must have spent his time watching Popeye cartoons. All in all, I thought the movie was pretty good, but I have to knock one full star off my rating because he was such an annoying distraction. I said another,,, the same one,,, silent prayer, and I hope it will once again be answered.
shareLooks like this post has been around for quite a while. Just watched this movie again and had to comment on Sands. Maybe I can put this to rest. I spent many years in the U.S. Marine Corps. (Semper Fi!). I agree that Sands performance is over the top but I know what he is trying to do. (emphasis on trying!) Many Marines, more so NCOs and Non Comms have a certain way of speaking and acting. The most obvious example is the D.I. when orders or commands are given. I can only describe it as a strange combination of American Midwest, the deep south and a Scandinavian yoodle. When cadance is being called or drill commands, the words are not enunciated fully (this is intentional). Example: "Order Arms!" would sound more like "Aahaourdar Arms!" or "Port Arms!" sounds more like "Paahaorrt Arms!" with a lot of emphasis placed on the "A" in arms. The purpose is so commands can be heard by a large body of Marines or over a long distance if needed. A simple marching cadence of “left right, left right” is turned into a yoodle command like “La-Eft Rahto – Eft Raht ohh ledo –eft!” I know it may sound silly, but it is somewhat tradition and you’d have to be a Marine to get it fully. What I think is maybe Sands drove down the coast to either Camp Pendleton or MCRD San Diego and hung out with some platoon sergeants for a day and arrived on set with an exaggerated imitation of their speech and behavior. He gets it wrong but it does have a slight familiar ring to my ears, though painful that ring may be. Lol. Love Sinatra and Leathernecks!
shareI thought that Sands' caricature of a gung-ho, "know-nothing butter bar that knows it all (just ask him, he'll tell you he does!)" was the perfect counterpoint to Clint Walker's cooler, "knows more than you think he does Capt. with a past". Besides providing (for me) the comic relief for the Allies, it created an element of friction between the two Allied "factions"- Walker's keep cool and stay alive fighters vs. Sands' kill-em-all devil dogs.
"In a time of universal deceit,
telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
George Orwell
I thought Sands was pretty good. Over the top, funny but his character did serve a purpose as his transformation into a more compassionate leader at the end reflected the theme of the film.
shareSands did exactly what director, Sinatra, told him what to do. I read that he intentionally made him a buffoon out of spite, and I believe this version.
shareI read that he intentionally made him a buffoon out of spite, and I believe this version.