IMDb > Never So Few (1959)

Never So Few (1959) More at IMDbPro »


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Overview

User Rating:
5.9/10   1,072 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?

Down 19% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.

Director:

John Sturges

Writers:

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

Contact:

View company contact information for Never So Few on IMDbPro.

Release Date:

7 December 1959 (USA) more

Genre:

Drama | War more

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... more | add synopsis

NewsDesk:

Geek Deal: 58% Off Scorsese, McQueen and James Dean DVD Box Sets
 (From Slash Film. 18 July 2009, 12:39 AM, PDT)

User Comments:

Routine Rat Pack(-) flick spiced up by Steve McQueen more (22 total)


Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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
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Additional Details

Also Known As:

Campaign Burma (USA) (alternative title)
more

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1 more

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 more


Fun Stuff

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. more

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: The film is at the beginning said to take place in the "?first years of WWII". But look at the costumes of Ms. Lollobrigida - petticoats, high heels, make-up - everything looks straight from the late '50s. more

Quotes:

Capt. Tom Reynolds: [explaining a kiss from a nurse] Just a good old American salutation. You'd be surprised at some of the customs of my people. more

Movie Connections:

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


FAQ

Midwest Premiere Happened When and Where?
more
12 out of 21 people found the following comment useful.
Routine Rat Pack(-) flick spiced up by Steve McQueen, 20 May 2004
Author: eaglejet98

This is a typical "Rat Pack" (minus Deano, Joey and Sammy) theatrical romp; big on action and small on fact based substance, but entertaining nonetheless.

The big surprise is Steve McQueen, appearing in one of his first major films. Up to this point, he has come to prominence in the TV series Wanted, Dead or Alive, but has yet to make the jump to film star. "Never So Few" is his springboard. A spat between Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr. gets McQueen the supporting role that launches his movie career under the direction of John Sturges (who later directs The Magnificent Seven and The Great Escape).

McQueen plays Corporal Bill Ringa (Why'd they pick that name...a pseudonym for "Ringer" maybe?), a self promoting "SGT. Bilko" type con man making a few fast bucks "in the rear with the gear" of the CBI. When Ringa is assigned as OSS Capt. Tom Reynold's (Frank Sinatra) jeep driver, during the latter's visit to the rear area headquarters, he impresses the officer with his unorthodox approach to selling illegal whiskey and fighting with MPs (anyone that hates MPs has got my vote). Reynolds gets Ringa transferred to his outfit and the two go about smashing the Japanese and renegade Chinese warlords.

McQueen shows the strong almost overpowering "2d in command" role he perfects in The Magnificent Seven a year later. His on-screen presence in these two films propels McQueen to leading man status thereafter.

Not a very historically accurate film, and some of the acting is overplayed, but McQueen is strong throughout and the film is fast paced and entertaining.

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Lollobrigida vickic531
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