twridge

So many actors here that were later famous - Of course the underrated Richard Conte as the hero ( his famous Godfather role his lasting trademark ) , Peggy Castle ( later the Lawman TV series, her sad fate ) , then the soldiers - Charles Bronson , the tough Sgt , Chuck Connors , the radioman , LQJones , in his usual likekable comic role , the quiet, but recognizable Abel Fernandez ( later in the great Untouchables Series with Elliot Ness, Robert Stack ) , character actor Strother Martin , as wounded soldier , no lines ( Cool Hand Luke Warden -."we have a failure to communicate here " ) and the two mortar men the "plumbers " , the skinny talkative nervous guy that took care of the bigger guy was Aaron Spelling of all people (later the very famous producer ) and the other one was a familiar face, if not name , John Dennis , with over 196 credits .And then the British 3 man tank crew , all familiar faces with nearly 400 credits between them . . Finally watch that last jet skim over actors on the hilltop at end , Now THAT was close ...A solid movie , good locations as well ..

Caught up to this late , was a bit like Peyton Place in the desert with married Suzanne P. Making cat eyes at Lt Troy 5 minutes after he got to the Fort . Biggest weakness a flacid script and a very weak lead in Troy . The script definitely needed a script doctor , meandering , lacked tension ,. The old Troy and Suzanne seeking shelter in a cave during a rain storm. Was such a tired cliche . What was off on Troy character was is drilling men as the by the book West Point trained officer riding his men hard ( Troy couldn't sell that in those scenes though ) and then breaking all the rules and has an instant affair with fellow officer's wife while husband out on mission , that conveniently kills him off btw . ( such a big no no for a professional officer And not a thought given to it ) A lot of extras , both authentic Indians and cavalry. But not a very good movie .

I just happened to see this on YouTube the other day and was surprised by the themes in this movie that are never dealt with in movies even today - it was written , as well as directed, by James Clavell , the famous author and later famous screenwriter . The main aspect of the film is that the nurses are kidnapped by war lord's forces and later divided up among his men .All are raped , which isn't shown , but the women discuss the terrible aspects of what they experienced in detail after the fact . I was surprised that such a subject matter ( war rapes ) would even be in a movie let alone have the several women forced to endure it then describe their feelings . You had to watch it , even if some aspects had the usual escape scenes . The final scene was actually troubling when one of the survivors , after fighting off their pursuers , then wonders if she is pregnant and just stares ahead and doesn't answer when another woman asks her what will she do if she is ..strong stuff, especially for 1959.