IMDb >
Kelly's Heroes (1970)
Watch It
Buy it at Amazon
Rent it at Blockbuster.com
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
BETA
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotesOverview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv scheduleAwards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage boardPlot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotesFun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQOther Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDeskPromotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo galleryExternal Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clipsKelly's Heroes (1970) More at IMDbPro »
| Videos |
Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
23 June 1970 (USA) moreTagline:
Never have so few taken so many for so much. morePlot:
A group of U.S. soldiers sneaks across enemy lines to get their hands on a secret stash of Nazi treasure. full summary | add synopsisNewsDesk:
(5 articles)
Dimension Goes Hairy For An American Werewolf (From HollywoodNorthReport.com. 29 June 2009, 3:49 AM, PDT)
Say "U.N.C.L.E" - Cinema Retro Contributors David McCallum And Joe Sirola Reunited
(From CinemaRetro. 2 June 2009, 10:13 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
Great WW2 Buddy Pic more (142 total)US TV Schedule:
| Wed. Nov. 11 | 4:30 PM | AMC | |||
| Thur. Nov. 12 | 12:00 PM | AMC |
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Clint Eastwood | ... | Pvt. Kelly | |
| Telly Savalas | ... | MSgt. Big Joe | |
| Don Rickles | ... | SSgt. Crapgame | |
| Carroll O'Connor | ... | Maj. Gen. Colt | |
| Donald Sutherland | ... | Sgt. Oddball (tank commander) | |
| Gavin MacLeod | ... | Moriarty (tank crewman) | |
| Hal Buckley | ... | Capt. Maitland | |
| Stuart Margolin | ... | Pvt. Little Joe | |
| Jeff Morris | ... | Pvt. Cowboy | |
| Richard Davalos | ... | Pvt. Gutowski | |
| Perry Lopez | ... | Pvt. Petuko | |
| Tom Troupe | ... | Cpl. Job | |
| Harry Dean Stanton | ... | Pvt. Willard (as Dean Stanton) | |
| Dick Balduzzi | ... | Pvt. Fisher | |
| Gene Collins | ... | Pvt. Babra |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
144 minColor:
Color (Metrocolor)Aspect Ratio:
2.20 : 1 moreCertification:
Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:16 | UK:A (original rating) | Spain:13 | Argentina:Atp | Peru:PT | New Zealand:PG | Australia:M (original rating) | Australia:PG (alternate rating) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1970) | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:GP (original rating) | USA:PG | West Germany:16Filming Locations:
YugoslaviaFun Stuff
Trivia:
Kelly, Big Joe and the other recon soldiers wear the shoulder patch of the 35th Infantry Division, which was fighting in the area of Nancy, France, in late summer 1944. moreGoofs:
Factual errors: The number and type of mortars used for the bombardment on the crossroads would not cause the amount of damage depicted. moreSoundtrack:
Burning Bridges moreFAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (142 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Kelly's Heroes (1970) moreRecommendations
If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
Show more recommendations
|
|
|
|
|
| All Quiet on the Western Front | Tora! Tora! Tora! | Saving Private Ryan | A Bridge Too Far | Shock |
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Action section | IMDb Yugoslavia section |
| Add this title to MyMovies |


Utterly hilarious World War II adventure picture, with some great acting by all of the leads, fine action sequences and superb scenery.
Kelly (Clint Eastwood) captures a German colonel (David Hurst), who inadvertently tells him where the Germans are hiding $16,000,000 worth of gold bars. Kelly enlists the aid of his platoon to trek behind the German lines and steal the cash.
The movie features a top-notch cast of veterans and would-be stars. Eastwood (THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY) has a quiet, serious role and floats through the entire picture. Telly Savalas (PANCHO VILLA) makes a great counterpart as the loud, short-tempered and cynical platoon sergeant. Donald Sutherland (THE EAGLE HAS LANDED) steals the show, though, in a very offbeat role as a hippie-style tank commander. He delivers some utterly 60s dialog with great style and is uproarious. Don Rickles is funny, too, in a smaller role as Crapgame - a rear-echelon supply clerk who goes along on the trek for a profit and gets more than he bargains for. Carroll O'Connor (THE DEVIL'S BRIGADE) has an un-necessary but zany role as General Colt, a blustering officer who can't understand why his red-blooded American soldiers aren't cutting through the German army. The role is obviously a knockoff of George C. Scott in PATTON, and O'Connor does an excellent job.
The supporting cast is fine, too, though not many make much of an impact. Jeff Morris is a hoot as Cowboy, a transplanted Texas hick, with Harry Dean Stanton in support as his sidekick; Stuart Margolin is a jittery radio operator; Len Lesser is a construction officer who gets conned into going along to build a bridge for the guys, and ends getting really screwed over by Kelly's boys; Hal Buckley is the platoon commander who only cares about getting his yacht to Paris; Gene Collins is the baby-faced youngster. David Hurst is lovable as the dim-witted German colonel, and it's really a shame he gets killed - especially by one of his own tanks. Karl Otto Alberty (THE GREAT ESCAPE) has a nice, small role near the end as a Tiger tank commander, and there's an anti-war spin when Kelly and crew let him escape unscathed. Watch for John G. Heller (OPERATION CROSSBOW) as the German patrol leader during the minefield scene.
The movie also features some terrific action scenes. The minefield debacle is suspenseful and nail-biting, and eventually filled with tons of gunfire and neat explosions. The final battle, in which the dozen or so heroes manage to wipe out a garrison of Germans in a small French village is expertly filmed, with some great camerawork and lots of good, convincing special effects. Some major aspects of this sequence were ripped off in SAVING PRIVATE RYAN - Tiger tanks in the street, a sniper in a bell tower, machine gunners firing from bombed-out buildings - the whole general look of the sequence was completely conned.
The Lalo Schiffrin score is light-hearted fun, and Mike Curb Congregation's "Burning Bridges" theme is a good song but doesn't at all fit the theme of the movie. The film was shot in Yugoslavia to take advantage of lower production costs. It actually looks a lot like central France, with plenty of hedgerows, bombed out buildings and such - nothing like the mountains and rivers of THE BATTLE OF NERETVA.
I saw this movie on Turner Classic Movies, appropriately letterboxed at about 2.35:1 with hardly a flaw in the print. Colors are accurate and the image is pretty sharp. TNT used to play an awful, orange-looking print of the movie (with the dialog edited to pieces, also) The audio is fine and sounds clear and loud, but the gunfire and explosions lack intensity. The film is also available on DVD.
KELLY'S HEROES is a witty, lighthearted WWII adventure which I don't think any fan can miss. If you need to sit back and watch American GIs kick German butt for 2 and a half hours for a goal as lofty as pure, all-American greed then this is your flick.