The Reluctant Heroes

In 1969, Ken Berry starred in a made for TV war comedy, "Wake Me When the War is Over". The film has terrible...as well as stole its plot from "Situation Hopeless...But Not Serious". So, in light of this, I was not terribly excited about seeing "The Reluctant Heroes". However, I have recently been watching tons of "ABC Movie of the Week" films on YouTube and it WAS part of this series...so against my better judgment I decided to give it a try. Was this a good idea? Read on...

I gotta say first that this film really surprised me...because it's NOT a comedy...even thought it starred Ken Berry! Instead, it's a reasonably interesting film about a company of soldiers who are stuck behind enemy lines during the Korean War AND their commander is a brand new and totally inexperienced lieutenant (Berry). Despite this, he manages to surprise everyone with his wise guidance and strategy!

So is it any good? Well, it's okay...a decent time-passer and considering everything, I am quite alright with that! The company of men have some of the usual clichés and caricatures...the only reason I didn't rate this one higher. Worth seeing to prove that Ken Berry was NOT necessarily an annoying lightweight!

I expected far better than this MASH like crap. I don't speak of the story of course, because it is not a question of a hospital here, but I talk about the overall atmosphere. A light heartened one, that's just the problem with it. The movies made during the late sixties and early seventies were far more pessimistic and dark than this crap. The common war movie with super heroes fighting against evil enemies. with the happy ending. Forget this non sense garbage and Watch CROSS OF IRON instead. don't lose your time with this feature.

Saw this movie as a kid and it made a bigger impression on me then than Patton. Not sure if that's good or bad, but this was at an age before Chips and Dukes of Hazard as well as numerous other series and movies over-exposed the California hills near Los Angeles. On a simple and innocent level it's not a bad story and there's some great actors in it. Remember particularly the scene where the good guys position is overrun and they are able to hide in their foxholes as the North Korean go through. Not sure if that's realistic, but for an eight year old it was.

Would consider buying this movie if it was in DVD or VHS. It's not BlackHawk Down, but it was written for TV in the early 1970's, when people saw enough of what was going on in Vietnam.

I first saw the Reluctant Heroes a couple of years after it was released. The story is about a unit of soldiers in Korea who are trapped behind enemy lines. Their Captain has been killed and the only officer left is a military historian who has no actual combat experience. He reluctantly takes charge and uses a number of interesting tricks learned from his studies to preserve the lives of the squad members and to accomplish their mission.

I would love to see this movie released on DVD or VHS.

This is a pretty cheap and unspectacular made-for-television war adventure. Some lame "intellectual talk", long hairs and false military equipment on the North Korean side. Ralph Meeker seems drugged or something. There is, however, something to keep this thing bearable from beginning to end, if you are into war films. The plot is pretty clear and tight and there are no dead moments (well, it´s only 73 minutes). It feels just like watching an episode of an entertaining early 70´s war series. That´s not necessarily a bad way to spend some time. Don´t expect too much, though.