Never So Few (1959)

Director:

John Sturges

Writers:

Millard Kaufman (screenplay)
Tom T. Chamales (novel)

Release Date:

7 December 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

Kiss by kiss the time ran out and never so few were the moments left for love!

Plot:

Captain Tom Reynolds and his band of skilled O.S.S. operatives are in WWII Burma to train the Kachin natives in modern warfare...

Plot Keywords:

American Soldier | Military | Soldier | Jungle | WWII

Cast

Frank Sinatra	...	Capt. Tom Reynolds
Gina Lollobrigida	...	Carla Vesari
Peter Lawford	...	Capt. Grey Travis
Steve McQueen	...	Bill Ringa
Richard Johnson	...	Capt. Danny De Mortimer
Paul Henreid	...	Nikko Regas
Brian Donlevy	...	Gen. Sloan
Dean Jones	...	Sgt. Jim Norby
Charles Bronson	...	Sgt. John Danforth
Philip Ahn	...	Nautaung
Robert Bray	...	Col. Fred Parkson
Kipp Hamilton	...	Margaret Fitch
John Hoyt	...	Col. Reed
Whit Bissell	...	Capt. Alofson - Psychiatrist
Richard Lupino	...	Mike Island

Also Known As:

Campaign Burma (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (re-rating) (1987) | West Germany:12 (f) | USA:Approved (PCA #19299) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Finland:K-16 | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Burma

Company:

Canterbury Productions

Trivia:

Steve McQueen's role was originally going to be played by Sammy Davis Jr.. A feud had broken out between Davis and Frank Sinatra after Davis had claimed in a radio interview that he was a greater singer than Sinatra. Sinatra demanded he be dropped from the cast, and McQueen got the part.

Goofs:

Factual errors: At the beginning of this WWII film, supplies are parachuted to the troops. On several of the boxes, USAF was stenciled on the boxes. The United States Army Air Force was not officially listed as the USAF until 1947 and the stencil should have read USAAF which stands for United States Army Air Force.

Quotes:

Nautaung: America a very funny place, full of prayers and money.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Steve McQueen: The King of Cool (1998) (TV)

Director Sturges underrated, so is this film

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!