The Reluctant Heroes

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.

I remember seeing this movie just before I enlisted in 1972. The story is about leadership and the traditions of the military that make it great. Whether the technical aspects of the movie are correct, as with the weapons carried etc., is not important to the central theme.........the military is made up of strangers thrown together by circumstance who are required to do very simple things under the most extreme of conditions. Technology is merely a tool the essence of the job has not changed in hundreds, if not thousands of years.

This story follows a small group of American soldiers who are cut off from friendly lines during an attack by hostile forces while in Korea.

The viewer learns that the military, on the "boots on the ground" level, is made up of Non Commissioned Officers who have all the practical knowledge and junior officers who know the "book." Many times a junior leader finds himself assigned to a group that have worked together for a significant period of time under the NCO and the officer is the outsider with a set of rules that don't seem to comply with the teaching of the practical NCO leadership.

This is the essence of the story, when the "book" meets the "practical knowledge" magic is made. In the case of the story, the magic is the soldiers safe return to friendly lines after a harrowing move through enemy territory. The young LT with "book knowledge" is the designated leader, the "crusty" NCO distrustful at first applies his knowledge to the plan and magic. Then in what can only be classified as a shot across the bow of any who would scoff at what the military does............Ken Berry sums up in a short entry for the unit history the soldiers' ordeal that the viewer has seen for the last hour.

The sum and substance of the entry is "unit broke contact with the enemy, conducted a move at night through enemy lines, and rejoin friendly forces." Fiction yes, but anyone who has done some sort of time in the military will recognize the dynamic.

I watched this when it first aired. I was really surprised. It was about soldiers who were in a desperate situation and to hold their own. It was well done. The cast was spot on. I wish it was a little longer.

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.

The ABC Tuesday Movie of the Week strikes again. I loved that series as a teen. The demand for 30 original movies a year (double that when the WEDNESDAY Movie of the Week came online) meant a lot of actors got work in ways they might not have before. Ken Berry was best known for F TROOP and MAYBERRY RFD. Who knew he had the potential for a war movie too? Yes, the film is a bit lightweight but so what? The MotW format was not intended to give us epics (which it sometimes did, anyway). The cast does a decent job, the production is pretty good for something shot in the hills outside LA, and anything with Soon-Tek Oh in it-- I'm there!