Never So Few (1959)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

John Sturges

Writers:

Tom T. Chamales (novel)
Millard Kaufman (writer)

Release Date:

7 December 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

Kiss by kiss the time ran out and never so few were the moments left for love!

Plot:

Captain Tom Reynolds and his band of skilled O.S.S. operatives are in WWII Burma to train the Kachin natives in modern warfare...

Plot Keywords:

WWII | Jungle | Beautiful Woman | Christmas | Christmas Tree

Cast

Frank Sinatra	...	Capt. Tom Reynolds
Gina Lollobrigida	...	Carla Vesari
Peter Lawford	...	Capt. Grey Travis
Steve McQueen	...	Bill Ringa
Richard Johnson	...	Capt. Danny De Mortimer
Paul Henreid	...	Nikko Regas
Brian Donlevy	...	Gen. Sloan
Dean Jones	...	Sgt. Jim Norby
Charles Bronson	...	Sgt. John Danforth
Philip Ahn	...	Nautaung
Robert Bray	...	Col. Fred Parkson
Kipp Hamilton	...	Margaret Fitch
John Hoyt	...	Col. Reed
Whit Bissell	...	Capt. Alofson - Psychiatrist
Richard Lupino	...	Mike Island

Also Known As:

Campaign Burma (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (re-rating) (1987) | West Germany:12 (f) | USA:Approved (PCA #19299) | Finland:K-16 | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Burma

Company:

Canterbury Productions

Trivia:

Steve McQueen's role was originally going to be played by Sammy Davis Jr.. A feud had broken out between Davis and Frank Sinatra after Davis had claimed in a radio interview that he was a greater singer than Sinatra. Sinatra demanded he be dropped from the cast, and McQueen got the part.

Goofs:

Factual errors: At the beginning of this WWII film, supplies are parachuted to the troops. On several of the boxes, USAF was stenciled on the boxes. The United States Army Air Force was not officially listed as the USAF until 1947 and the stencil should have read USAAF which stands for United States Army Air Force.

Quotes:

Capt. Tom Reynolds: I'm not sure I can even spell democracy and I don't know what the big picture even looks like but I know you've got a big mouth.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Guns for Hire: The Making of 'The Magnificent Seven' (2000) (TV)

Intended as a tribute to the Kachin natives...

...who were never so few and however were never so brave -that's the first lines of the movie- and ends up with the glorification of the individual US officer.Frank Sinatra plays the part of the officer who proves us that rules are made to be broken and orders not to be executed.

Thanks to a good cast (Richard Johnson,Steve McQueen,Charles Bronson)this is watchable ,in spite of an unambitious directing by a director (Sturges John) unable to enhance the splendid landscapes he films.Also handicapped by a dismal love interest ,where Gina Lollobrigida is decorative and pointless(her first gesture is to" reveal her charms" when she sits down at Sinatra's table).