| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Burt Lancaster | ... |
Maj. Asa Barker
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| Craig Wasson | ... |
Cpl. Stephen Courcey
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| Jonathan Goldsmith | ... |
Sgt. Oleonowski
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| Marc Singer | ... |
Capt. Alfred Olivetti
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| Joe Unger | ... |
Lt. Raymond Hamilton
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Dennis Howard | ... |
Cpl. Abraham Lincoln
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| David Clennon | ... |
Lt. Finley Wattsberg
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Evan C. Kim | ... |
Cowboy
(as Evan Kim)
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John Megna | ... |
Cpl. Ackley
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Hilly Hicks | ... |
Signalman Toffee
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Dolph Sweet | ... |
Gen. Harnitz
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| Clyde Kusatsu | ... |
Col. Minh
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| James Hong | ... |
The Old Man
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| Denice Kumagai | ... |
Butterfly
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Tad Horino | ... |
One-eyed man
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A unit of American military advisors in Vietnam prior to the major U.S. involvement find similarities between their helpless struggle against the Viet Cong and the doomed actions of a French unit at the same site a decade before in this bitter look at the beginnings of the Vietnam war. Written by Keith Loh <loh@sfu.ca>
Burt Lancaster turns in a fine performance as a US military advisor who has doubts about the wisdom of the war America is about to embark upon. GO TELL THE SPARTANS looks at Vietnam in 1964, before the conflict there was thoroughly Americanized. It is not your typical glossy, overproduced Hollywood action extravaganza. Nor is it overly laden with patriotic sentimentality. It is, rather, a compelling exploration of the hubris and naivete that shaped the American war effort.