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20 out of 30 people found the following review useful: Based on Real-life story of OSS Detachment 101, 25 March 2004 Author: ladybegood64 from United States
Although the profile mentions that Sinatra's character and his fellow agents are members of the OSS, this could use some elaboration. This movie is clearly an attempt to dramatize certain portions of OSS Detachment 101's exploits in the CBI during WWII. This is the only film I've ever seen that deals with a story involving the OSS that is based on any sort of factual series of events. Detachment 101, formed very early in WWII as an OSS Operations Group (OG), was responsible for hamstringing Japanese operations in the China-Burma-India (CBI) theater along with the Kachin Rangers, native people whom they had trained and equipped and a host of other Allied special operations type units, many of which contributed to the lineages of later special ops units, especially in the US (Merrill's Marauders = 75th Ranger Regiment and Det. 101 being the root of lineages of both CIA covert operations units and Army Special Forces).The story which most clearly sticks out here is the episode involving the discovery of warrants issued by the Chinese Nationalist government authorizing local bandit warlords to confiscate goods from anyone, including Allied forces. Although not quite right in the movie, these bandits attacked a group of Kachins, which brought the attention of US OSS agents. These agents, with their Kachin Rangers, attacked across the Chinese border, discovered the warrants and almost caused a major diplomatic incident between the US and Chinese governments, especially after the OSS agents turned a blind eye to the execution of the Chinese bandits by Kachin Rangers.All in all, not a spectacular film and the love interest aspect a little odd in the middle of a war-zone, but still notable as the only film dealing with the subject of OSS OGs in a semi-factual way.
15 out of 24 people found the following review useful: Let yourself cash with the action, of which there is plenty, and I think you're in for a chuckling time..., 31 January 2002 Author: ironside (robertfrangie@hotmail.com) from Mexico
One striking point in 'Never So Few' flavor is the luxurious Gina Lollobrigida, cautious, conventional and very careful, who is something to look at from any angle or any side... She displays an array of revealing gowns, and a full and shapely figure... And don't think the lady doesn't know it... With her, temptation is an art, and a titillating bath is an aesthetic maneuver... The signorina racks up quite a score... She exudes real charm and, contrary to expectation, the exotic locations of Burma, Thailand and Ceylon (exquisitely photographed in Technicolor and CinemaScope) are tentatively explored... 'Never So Few' is an undistinguished war film... Its stars are much more important than the story, but there is plenty of action...Sinatra is heroic, tender, and rebel... A hard-drinking, hard-bitten army captain swinging with the plot from mild-mannered soldier so brave in battle, to an officer and a gentleman so afraid of life... He leads his men against the Chinese although it means crossing the Chinese frontier... In a captured Chinese village he orders all prisoners shot, wiring his superiors to 'go to hell.' He finds American supplies, and licenses issued to warlords by Chungking to raid Allied troops and sell the booty to the Japanese, splitting the take with Chungking!The supporting cast is filled with familiar faces and each reacts to the situation differently:Peter Lawford is the surgeon pushed out over the hills who is treating Captain De Mortimer for malaria... He advises Sinatra not to cross the border...Steve McQueen looks good as the reckless, casual GI corporal who overpowers two 'guardians of law & order' so neatly that Sinatra gets him transferred to his outfit... McQueen gives his best screen performance, and it led to his being chosen as one of 'The Magnificent Seven' as Yul Brynner's first recruit and second-in-command...Richard Johnson is Captain Danny De Mortimer ordered with Tom Reynolds to take a two-week "holiday" in Calcutta to obtain a surgeon and medical supplies for their men...Paul Henreid is a war profiteer who buys and sells things in seven languages, at all hours... Charles Bronson is the tough and edgy Sergeant John Danforth...Dean Jones is the sergeant who clearly delivers the message: 'Do not move any attack. Rearm and release any prisoners you may have taken.'Robert Bray is Colonel Parkson who warns Reynolds not to attack the Chinese village...Brian Donlevy is General Sloan who backs up Reynolds and puts off the Chungking representative...
6 out of 8 people found the following review useful: Something Stupid, 9 September 2008 Author: Bill Slocum (slokes@optonline.net) from Norwalk, CT USA
"Never So Few" fails in so many ways; as a treatment of the Burma campaign in World War II; as a tough-nosed action picture; as an involving melodrama; and most especially, as a vehicle for star Frank Sinatra.Sinatra was too busy playing soldier and practicing his cool look to bother constructing an interesting character; a strange bitter vibe hangs over his performance. Oddly, it was another actor who managed to take the little "Never So Few" had to offer in the way of career advancement: Steve McQueen. Up to this point, he had done "The Blob" and TV, but his comfortable natural bearing around Sinatra's star wattage shows he could hold his own with the big boys, even when the script gave him little to work with.McQueen is Sgt. Ringa, a jeep driver who finds himself drafted for more dangerous duty when commando leader Tom Reynolds (Sinatra) takes a shine to his street-smart ways. Reynolds leads a small band of Kachin fighters in the hilly jungles of Burma, continually harassing a Japanese force many times its size."A regular Abe Lincoln in North Burma" is what rich merchant Nikko Regas calls him. Regas is part of the other story in "Few", the man whose girl (Gina Lollabrigida) Reynolds wants. The exotic Lollabrigida and the world-weary chain-smoking Sinatra are clearly meant to invite comparisons to Rick and Ilsa, and Paul Henreid cements the impression by playing Nikko as much the same character he was in "Casablanca".None of this comes together, though. In fact, the two parts fail to co-exist at all. You get 20 minutes of war followed by 40 minutes of earnest love talk, then back to the war. The war scenes are about as competently directed as an episode of "The Rat Patrol", with idiotically sequenced insert shots (like soldiers shooting up at people we then see falling in a river) and noble, servile Kachin dying with meek apologies to "Dua" Reynolds. War is hell for Tom, who loses both his monkey and his favorite gun caddy, a faithful Kachin who hands him a new automatic every time Reynolds empties a magazine on the enemy.The romance is even worse. Sinatra and Lollabrigida have no chemistry, she can't act, and director John Sturges' idea of story advancement is to focus on her bustline and hope you don't notice the dialogue. And what dialogue!Him: "I hanker for you alone."Her: "Why don't you go back to the hills and play with your popguns!"Henreid warns Lollabrigida he won't let her go then disappears for the rest of the movie, leaving Lollabrigida and Sinatra to kiss like dead fish in front of bad process shots.The film generates a bit of interest an hour or so in, when Reynolds and his men discover the Japanese are not the only force they have to fight. But the resolution of this angle is both trite and ugly, involving the wholesale slaughter of captured prisoners while the camera focuses on Sinatra, looking so sad his previously disapproving medic (Peter Lawford, better than usual here) has to pat his shoulder to let him and the audience know it's alright.McQueen at least mines his on-screen time to showcase his talents as an action man, and occasional scene stealer with the aid of handy props, like a slice of watermelon or a mortar. Competing with Charles Bronson, Brian Donlevy, and Richard Johnson as Reynolds' monocle-wearing British pal, McQueen hardly has to break a sweat.The worst performance here is Sinatra's, who just drips with self-importance, whether wearing an ugly goatee (Mitch Miller must have really got to him) or trying to sound like Hemingway with stiff lines like: "You have tasted the pain of wound in combat." Sinatra was not just good but great in parts where he allowed himself to project insecurity. But too often, when permitted to coast, he gave performances like this one, showcasing the boor he could be in life from time to time."Never So Few" drags for more than two hours, long enough to listen to four of his Capitol albums. Guess which is a better investment of your time.
7 out of 11 people found the following review useful: Dealing With Warlords With Warrants, 7 September 2007 Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York
Never So Few finds Frank Sinatra as co-commander with Britisher Richard Johnson of a behind the lines detachment of Kachin native tribesmen, conducting harassing actions against the Japanese in the China-Burma- India Theater of World War II. Sinatra is working out of the Office of Strategic Services which in this case is run by General Brian Donlevy playing William J. Donovan in all, but name.Sinatra keeps the hipster persona down to a minimum and delivers a good performance as the rather unorthodox commander of native troops. Of course he's confronted with a rather unorthodox situation when warlords with warrants from the Chinese Nationalist government in Chungking massacre Americans and Kachins for their supplies. Purportedly these were our allies.In all of this Sinatra finds time to romance Gina Lollabrigida the kept woman of Paul Henreid a most mysterious person of influence and nurse Kipp Hamilton. Gina is a most entertaining diversion, but the real story is about the Chinese actions in World War II.During the Fifties Chiang Kai-Shek was a godlike creature, a noble exile from Communism on Taiwan running the government we still recognized. Never So Few was a daring film for its time, fresh from the McCarthy years for daring to suggest the Nationalist Chinese were less than noble.Actually what is described in Never So Few, independent warlords making deals with both sides is old business in the Orient. It was something our culture couldn't grasp, still can't in many ways.Never So Few boosted the careers of three men in Sinatra's and Johnson's command. Charles Bronson, Steve McQueen, and Dean Jones all of whom went on to substantial careers. For McQueen it was his first role of substance in a major motion picture.I recall reading years ago that Hedda Hopper who always boosted Steve McQueen's career when she could in her column, claiming that while this was a good career move, he should avoid dependence on Frank Sinatra for his employment. McQueen being an independent sort of fellow anyway, probably would have come to that same conclusion on his own. Nevertheless he certainly did carve his own legend out in film history.Never So Few is a decent war film of a little known theater of war for Americans and should be seen.
7 out of 11 people found the following review useful: Director Sturges underrated, so is this film, 31 May 2007 Author: hondo551 from United States
I bought the DVD the other day and found it associated with Warner Brothers. While I watched I wondered how I would describe this film when I came here and thought, "A Warner's movie with all the slick and polish of an MGM film of the 50s/60s". In that rare and confusing arrangement with Turner Entertainment, it was an MGM film distributed by Warner's! Somehow I'd missed the lion at the beginning.This film may not rate up there with the likes of Twelve O'Clock High or They Were Expendable, but neither it or its director John Sturges should be as underrated as they are. Since seeing it for the first time in the mid 60s, I've come back to it like an old friend, year after year since then, and there has always been something about it I liked.While I can't help but feel that this movie is more about Sinatra than his character Tom Reynolds, I find it easy to put that aside when I watch the likes of Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, and Dean Jones, stars on their way up, working alongside the pros like Peter Lawford, Richard Johnson, Paul Henried, Philip Ahn, and Brian Donleavy. Hollywood sets blend well with all sorts of location shooting, and the story seems evenly broken up between the horrors/adventures of war and the romance with Lollobrigida. And when Sinatra's character has to break the rules, face insurmountable odds, and endanger his career in seeking justice for fallen friends, his personal smart ass attitude seems to fit the role. He even finds an ally in Brian Donleavy's General Sloan, who runs away with the film near the very end.Everybody in this film seems to live up to the slick and polish of 50s/60s MGM, even Hugo Friehofer's melodic and haunting score, and if there are a few times Sinatra is more Sinatra than Tom Reynolds, the rest of the stellar cast makes up for it. Its not a great war drama, but it is great war entertainment with a conscience!
12 out of 21 people found the following review useful: Routine Rat Pack(-) flick spiced up by Steve McQueen, 20 May 2004 Author: eaglejet98
This is a typical "Rat Pack" (minus Deano, Joey and Sammy) theatrical romp; big on action and small on fact based substance, but entertaining nonetheless. The big surprise is Steve McQueen, appearing in one of his first major films. Up to this point, he has come to prominence in the TV series Wanted, Dead or Alive, but has yet to make the jump to film star. "Never So Few" is his springboard. A spat between Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr. gets McQueen the supporting role that launches his movie career under the direction of John Sturges (who later directs The Magnificent Seven and The Great Escape).McQueen plays Corporal Bill Ringa (Why'd they pick that name...a pseudonym for "Ringer" maybe?), a self promoting "SGT. Bilko" type con man making a few fast bucks "in the rear with the gear" of the CBI. When Ringa is assigned as OSS Capt. Tom Reynold's (Frank Sinatra) jeep driver, during the latter's visit to the rear area headquarters, he impresses the officer with his unorthodox approach to selling illegal whiskey and fighting with MPs (anyone that hates MPs has got my vote). Reynolds gets Ringa transferred to his outfit and the two go about smashing the Japanese and renegade Chinese warlords.McQueen shows the strong almost overpowering "2d in command" role he perfects in The Magnificent Seven a year later. His on-screen presence in these two films propels McQueen to leading man status thereafter.Not a very historically accurate film, and some of the acting is overplayed, but McQueen is strong throughout and the film is fast paced and entertaining.
3 out of 4 people found the following review useful: Pink alert! Sappy romance masked as a war movie!, 3 April 2009 Author: AntiSpielbergForce
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Now, when I sit down to watch a war movie, I expect a bare minimum of glorious carnage. Sadly, none of the ingredients of a fun-filled afternoon - mountains of mutilated corpses, napalm rain lighting up screaming peasants, flak guns tearing through the flesh of the unworthy, crania grinding underneath triumphant Panzer tracks - are present in this so called "war movie".Seriously, where IS the war? There are some partisans and Japanese soldiers shooting at each other a couple of times, and a few grounded planes blowing up during a raid. That's about it. The little combat there is, is of such low intensity or urgency that it makes the opening blurb (about the heroes in Burma saving democracy from untold numbers of evil imperialist minions) look a little confusing, to say the least. Indeed, this movie never misses an opportunity to leave the scene of action for a trip into town. As soon as a modicum of martial tension is built up, Sturges instead chooses to wind down completely.After a brief opening scuffle with the Japanese, Captain Sinatra and his second leave for city HQ to request a doctor, or whatever. They go to a nightclub, where Frankie boy falls in love with the trophy companion of a local bigshot. She does not seem impressed at first, but we, of course, KNOW that she will not be able to resist the charm of Ol' Blue Eyes. After completing their phoney, bogus, bastard excuse for a "mission", the two soldiers - still in the city - receive two weeks leave out of the blue, which Sinatra of course spends on sweeping the young lady off her feet. When they finally get back to the jungle, an hour of the movie has already transpired. Frankie is immediately wounded, which means back to the city for more sweet lovin'. And it goes on like this.Even as a romance, the movie is a complete joke. Not only is there zero chemistry between the lovers, the concept of Lollobrigida's rich "owner" being the jealous type - which is strongly hinted at - is also completely disregarded. This would probably have moved the movie even further away from its front as a "war movie", but really, it had already abandoned the pretense of being a war movie long before that potential idea could be explored. During the first half of the romance, the lovers exchange snide remarks ("Go back to the jungle, soldier boy!", "You're just a piece of furniture!", etc.), whereas the second half consists of the two sitting around talking about how many children they will have. Excuse me while I look away.The flick transforms into courtroom drama towards the end, which is also the only remotely interesting plot-detour in the entire movie, but it comes too late to make any difference. Apparently, Sturges remembered that Sinatra was supposed to save democracy as well as looking good in a suit, so Frankie goes defying some international law. He is indicted, but since his actions exposed the forces of evil, he is cleared of all charges and democracy wins. Hooray.I respect Sinatra as an artist, but I have yet to see him make an impact as an actor. He seems to lack the gravitas for the "officer" part of his character here, and comes off as arrogant most of the time. Bronson and McQueen shine in their supporting roles, but are not on screen long enough to save this mess, and Lollobrigida is almost as pathetic an actress as Sophia Loren (who also tumorously thrived on roles like this).Don't bother.
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful: Frank Sinatra's Third World War II War Movie, 28 July 2009 Author: Van Roberts (zardoz@bellsouth.net) from Columbus, Ms
Frank Sinatra does his best Errol Flynn imitation in director John Sturges' "Never So Few," an uneven blend of romance and combat set against the exotic backdrop of the China-Burma-India Theater of World War II. Sinatra sports a goatee and wears his campaign hat with one side of the brim pinned back Australian style. Twenty minutes he shaves the goatee off and hangs onto the hat. When Sturges and scenarist Millard Kaufmann, who collaborated on "Bad Day at Black Rock," aren't shoe-horning into the narrative an unconvincing and superfluous romance between Italian beauty Gina Lollobrigida and Sinatra, they tackle the racial intolerance. The callous U.S. Army authorities display intolerance toward the Kachin resistance warriors, even some of Sinatra's own men in his unit show their prejudice. The Air Force keeps dropping medical supplies in without enough chutes so the morphine supplies shatter on impact, and the Allied hospitals feed these tribes people food calculated to cause dysentery rather than stimulate their healing."Never So Few" is unquestionably too ambitious for its own good. Sturges and Kaufmann have our war-weary protagonist, Captain Tom Reynolds (Frank Sinatra of "From Here to Eternity"), perform a mercy killing on one of his Kachin infantrymen despite his colleagues' protests. You see, Reynolds' outfit lacks adequate medical supplies to prevent the fatally wounded soldier's needless suffering. When Reynolds proposes to put the Kachin out of his misery, second-in-command Captain Danny De Mortimer (Richard Johnson of "Deadlier Than the Male") objects. "You can't kill a man without murdering a part of yourself." Reynolds dismisses Danny's objection because he has killed a dozen men already in their last battle with the Japanese. As you can see from the outset, "Never So Few" doesn't want to be considered another exercise in hollow wartime heroics.Reynolds and Danny fly back to base and Colonel Parkson (Robert Bray of TV's "Lassie") has a jeep and driver, Corporal Ringa (Steve McQueen of "The Great St. Louis Robbery'), placed at their disposal. During an interlude in a nightclub, Reynolds decks Danny to prove Danny's claim that not even a blow can knock the monocle out of his eye. As both Reynolds and Danny sprawl onto the floor, Carla Vesari (bosomy Gina Lollobrigida of "Solomon and Sheba") enters the nightclub with her wealthy boyfriend Nikko Reggas (Paul Henreid of "Casablanca") and notice the two soldiers on the floor. Talk about an introduction! Carla and Reynolds wind up dancing arm-in-arm briefly and she decides that Reynolds isn't her type. Inevitably, these two diametrically opposite persons are attracted to each other. Reynolds has a difficult time convincing Carla to reciprocate his sentiments. She is attached to Reggas who provides for her every wish and comfort. Meanwhile, Corporal Ringa raises a little of his own hell. He decks two military policemen about the time that Reynolds and Danny are leaving the nightclub. Reynolds decides that Ringa must join his outfit and he convinces Colonel Parkson to reassign him.Furthermore, Reynolds demands that Parkson assign a doctor to his unit. Reynolds has been acting as the chief surgeon. Parkson orders Reynolds and Danny to take two weeks off. Initially, Reynolds objects, but they wind up spending time with Reggas and Carla. Danny comes down with cerebral malaria and the Army doctor, Captain Grey Travis (Peter Lawford) shows up. Reynolds has Travis assigned to his unit. Danny recovers and they return to the jungle to fight the Japanese. Reynolds is ninety-nine per cent sure that Carla has deep sixed him.As it turns out, Reggas is working for Military Intelligence. It doesn't help matters that the Henreid character vanishes without any notice. Later, after a big battle scene, when they destroy an enemy airfield, Captain Reynolds and his men cross over into China and wipe out the renegade Chinese mercenaries authorized by the Chungking government to kill all invaders both foreign and domestic, including American servicemen. Reynolds has a showdown with the brass over this incident. They want to court-martial him, but he presents evidence of Chinese treachery.If this plot summary doesn't whet your appetite, you should know that future superstars Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson flesh out of the cast. "New So Few" ranked as McQueen's first major movie, while Bronson turns in another solid supporting performance as Lieutenant Danforth, a Navajo Indian radio translator, long before John Woo made "Windtalkers" about the Navajo contribution to World War II. The cast is padded with lots of familiar Hollywood actors, including Robert Bray, John Hoyt, Dean Jones, George Takei, Mako, James Hong, Brian Donlevy, and Whit Bissell.Basically, the action alternates between the jungle and behind Allied lines as our heroes take the time to chill out, get drunk, fight, and upset their superiors. The same can be said about the production. Some scenes were lensed on location while others take place on an MGM soundstage. "Never So Few" is one of Sinatra's early forays into an all-action white-knuckler and ole blue eyes wields a .45 caliber Thompson submachine gun and a British Sten gun. McQueen survives the fray, but Bronson bites the bullet. Sturges and Kaufmann depict World War II as "an unprecedented war. Sturges stages the battle scenes with his usual aplomb and the widescreen Panavision lens of cinematographer William H. Daniels, who lensed "Brute Force" and "The Naked City," add to the spectacle.Essentially, "Never So Few" opens with a controversial bang when Sinatra ices one of his own troops and ends with a bang when the Allies reprimand the Nationalist Chinese for letting their warlords indiscriminately murder American G.I.s! "Never So Few" qualifies one of those rare movies about the warfare in Asia with "The Bridge on the River Kwai" and "Objective, Burma" as the other two major films. Incidentally, a modicum of the action is based loosely on a true story.
2 out of 3 people found the following review useful: "Never So Few" at the box office, 3 June 2008 Author: (chuck-reilly) from Los Angeles
Considering its high-powered cast (Sinatra, McQueen, Bronson, Gina Lollobrigida etc.) and its famous director (John Sturges), it's puzzling how this movie never got anywhere with the general public upon its release. It was a complete bomb. That's unfortunate because it really isn't all that bad. Some critics took exception to Frank Sinatra's weird-looking goatee, but mostly it was the mediocre performances and stale script that turned them off. Steve McQueen, however, fared better than the rest of his fellow actors. It was his first starring role in a major film and he made the most of it. His trademark independent streak and commanding screen presence were on full display and director Sturges took note of it all. He was soon casting McQueen in some of his most famous roles (e.g. "The Magnificent Seven", "The Great Escape"). As for Ms. Lollobrigida, she was never more beautiful than in this movie even while looking like she would rather be somewhere else. That might have been due to Frank's character slobbering all over her.The story is mainly about US Guerrilla warfare in Burma during some rough days in World War II. There's a heap load of blood and guts and the film's "body count" is staggering even for a war movie. Unfortunately, the grisly action never compensates for the weak script and run-of-the-mill performances. The rest of the cast includes Brian Donlevy, Paul Henreid, Dean Jones, and Richard Johnson; all fine actors who seem happy to be collecting a check for their services. "Never So Few" also had some 1950's style swear words in its dialogue that brought it some unwanted attention. Compared to movies of today, it's rather tame, to say the least. Despite its negatives, "Never So Few" is a good rental just for the opportunity to see Steve McQueen before he became a household name.
3 out of 5 people found the following review useful: " You are a recipient of the Medal of Honor, General, I expected something more ", 12 January 2009 Author: thinker1691 from USA
This is a most unheralded Hollywood vehicle and yet it contain enough heavy weight stars to garner an entire shelf at the Academy Awards. The movie deals with that portion of World War II in and around what was then called Burma. (Today the world calls it Myanmar) Nevertheless, the small native Kachin tribe have been called upon to engage the Japanese army. Along with American forces they are a small, but formidable contingent who despite their numbers, become the banner of the film. "Never So Few" is the story of the Kachin and the American commander Capt. Tom Reynolds (Frank Sinatra) and his able assistant Capt. Danny Mortimer. Combating the superb Japanese forces and their attempts to conquer Indochina, creates many losses among the allies and prompts a need for a medical officer. Capt Grey Travis (Peter Lawford) joins their group as does a spirited Hell's Kitchen warrior, named William Ringer (Steve McQueen). Betrayed by the Chineese Government after they massacre American forces, Reynolds defies his own government, kills captured prisoners and invited a court-martial. During this same period he falls for beautiful Gina Lollobrigida who plays Carla Vesari a protégé of Nikko Regas (Paul Henreid) a rich entrepreneur. Brian Donlevy as Gen. Sloan orders Reynolds to come to headquarters to explain his defiance of orders. Dean Jones is Sgt. Jim Norby and Charles Bronson as Sgt. John Danforth along with Philip Ahn (Kung Fu) as Nautaung are superior in this movie. Each adds excellence to their respective characters, creating the cornerstone of a true Classic. Well done! ****
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