Kelly's Heroes (1970)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Brian G. Hutton

Writer:

Troy Kennedy-Martin (written by)

Release Date:

23 June 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | War

Tagline:

Never have so few taken so many for so much.

Plot:

A group of U.S. soldiers sneaks across enemy lines to get their hands on a secret stash of Nazi treasure.

Plot Keywords:

Gold | Colonel | Lieutenant | Behind Enemy Lines | Tank

Cast

Clint Eastwood	...	Pvt. Kelly
Telly Savalas	...	MSgt. Big Joe
Don Rickles	...	SSgt. Crapgame
Carroll O'Connor	...	Maj. Gen. Colt
Donald Sutherland	...	Sgt. Oddball (tank commander)
Gavin MacLeod	...	Moriarty (tank crewman)
Hal Buckley	...	Capt. Maitland
Stuart Margolin	...	Pvt. Little Joe
Jeff Morris	...	Pvt. Cowboy
Richard Davalos	...	Pvt. Gutowski
Perry Lopez	...	Pvt. Petuko
Tom Troupe	...	Cpl. Job
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Pvt. Willard (as Dean Stanton)
Dick Balduzzi	...	Pvt. Fisher
Gene Collins	...	Pvt. Babra

Also Known As:

Ratnici (Yugoslavia: Serbian title)
The Warriors (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

144 min

Country:

Yugoslavia | USA

Language:

English | French | German

Colour:

Colour (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo (35 mm prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:16 | UK:A (original rating) | Spain:13 | Argentina:Atp | Peru:PT | New Zealand:PG | Australia:M (original rating) | Australia:PG (alternate rating) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1970) | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:GP (original rating) | USA:PG | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Yugoslavia

Company:

Avala Film

Trivia:

The noise made by electric motors of the Tigers' turrets was later used for the movements of the power lifters in Aliens (1986).

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The song Oddball plays during the tank attack on the railway yard ("All for the Love of Sunshine") was not written until 1970.

Quotes:

[Bellamy tells him he's behind enemy lines]
Oddball: So they tell me. Everybody round here is very friendly. Look, baby, I'm kinda hung up. I need sixty feet of bridge.
Bellamy: Hey, kid, they haven't got you in the nut ward again?
Oddball: Ah, Bellamy, for cryin' out loud. That's the the stinking, most awful, stupid joke and you're always pullin' that stinking awful stupid joke. You don't want in this thing, you don't get in this thing. I cut you out of everything. I don't need you. Sixty feet of bridge I can get almost anywhere. Schmuck!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Italian Job (2003)

Soundtrack:

Burning Bridges

Great Fun!

Interesting enough, reading through the comments on this film, I noted only one detractor, some sorehead from Canada who completely missed the point of the film. No, Sr. Canadiense. This is not a serious film about WW2. Read some of the excellent commentaries here about the social and temporal context of this film, i.e., the height of the Vietnamese war. Yes, Sutherland, your fellow countryman, was an active anti-war protester and fully embraced the anachronistic hippie role. The mad-cap story which tweaks the nose of the "establishment," in this case, the military establishment, is plausible when you let go of the blood, guts and glory of the war film genre. And, it is a damn funny film. Eastwood is at his clenched jaw, cynical best; Savalas is great as the Sergeant big-guy; Carrol O'Conner is riotious as the general; Rickles is, well, Rickles. But, Sutherland steals the show. The scenes where they tanks come out blasting the Germans to the tune of twangy Country-Western music is hilarious. Sutherland's out-of-time-sync "...no negative vibes... hey, man...yeah, baby..." is side-splitting. The final confrontation scene between the three striding up to the German tank commander, with Sutherland loosening his side arm, ala Clint Eastwood in Fist full of Dollars is a riot. This film is full of funny stuff. And, you can see it again and again and find new business to laugh about. Buffs will delight at seeing Harry Dean Stanton in a pre-Repo Man role and Richard Davalos who played James Dean's doomed brother Aron in East of Eden. This is a great piece of satire that was overlooked, cast aside and has still survived to the delight of those of us who enjoy it again and again. But, hey, don't just take my word for it. Of the 30 or so commentaries here-- and do read them, as there are some excellent ones-- only one was a detractor.