The Boys in Company C (1978)

This war drama (which prefigures the later "Full Metal Jacket") follows the lives of five young Marine inductees from their training in boot camp in 1967 through a tour in Vietnam in 1968 ... See full summary »

Director:

Sidney J. Furie

Writers:

Rick Natkin, Sidney J. Furie

Stars:

Stan Shaw, Andrew Stevens, James Canning

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Stan Shaw	...	Tyrone Washington
Andrew Stevens	...	Billy Ray Pike
James Canning	...	Alvin Foster
Michael Lembeck	...	Vinnie Fazio
Craig Wasson	...	Dave Bisbee
Scott Hylands	...	Captain Collins
James Whitmore Jr.	...	Lieutenant Archer
Noble Willingham	...	Sergeant Curry
R. Lee Ermey	...	Sergeant Loyce (as Lee Ermey)
Santos Morales	...	Sergeant Aquilla
Drew Michaels	...	Colonel Metcalfe
Karen Hilger	...	Betsy
Peggy O'Neal	...	Nancy Bisbee
Claude Wilson	...	Roy Foster
Chuck Doherty	...	George Pike

Storyline

This war drama (which prefigures the later "Full Metal Jacket") follows the lives of five young Marine inductees from their training in boot camp in 1967 through a tour in Vietnam in 1968 that quickly devolves into a hellish nightmare. Disheartened by futile combat, appalled by the corruption of their South Vietnamese ally, and constantly endangered by the incompetence of their own company commander, the young men find a possible way out of the war. They are told that if they can defeat a rival soccer team, they can spend the rest of their tour playing exhibition games behind the lines. But as they might have predicted, nothing in Vietnam is as simple as it seems.

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Plot Keywords:

vietnam | radio | male rear nudity | basic training | bare butt | 

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Taglines:

To keep their sanity in an insane war, they had to be crazy.

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Hong Kong USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 April 1978 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Os Rapazes da Companhia C

Filming Locations:

Philippines

Company Credits

Production Co:

Golden Harvest Company, Good Times Films S.A.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original script was written by Rick Natkin for a film class at Yale University in 1973.

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Goofs

DI SSgt Loyce (played by Lee Ermey) picks up the platoon of recruits at receiving as a Sgt, but is later seen as a SSgt with no explanation as to why or when he was promoted.

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Quotes

Washington: You listen to me dipshit, I ain't gonna repeat myself, don't mess with me! don't mess near me! don't bring no heat down on me, y'all heading for a fall and I ain't taking the ride, do you dig? You just stay clear of Tyrone! 'Cause you all a bunch of fuck ups! And you all going to die, every last one of you! You too, dipshit!

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Connections

Referenced in The Incredible Hulk: Terror in Times Square (1978)

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Soundtracks

"Here I Am"
Words & Music by Craig Wasson
Performed by Craig Wasson

User Reviews

I was an 8 year veteran and had been in a scuffle or two.

Having been in the military, this was one of the most true to life movies of military boot camp and life in Vietnam. Mr. Ermey, although I had never known him personally, portrayed the D.I. splendidly and must have been an outstanding D.I. in real life for the Marines.