Objective, Burma! (1945)

A platoon of special ops are tasked to parachute into the remote Burmese jungle and destroy a strategic Japanese radar station, but getting out isn't as easy.

Director:

Raoul Walsh

Writers:

Ranald MacDougall (screenplay), Lester Cole (screenplay)

Stars:

Errol Flynn, James Brown, William Prince

Nominated for 3 Oscars.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Errol Flynn	...	Capt. Nelson
James Brown	...	SSgt. Treacy
William Prince	...	Lt. Sid Jacobs
George Tobias	...	Cpl. Gabby Gordon
Henry Hull	...	Mark Williams
Warner Anderson	...	Col. J. Carter
John Alvin	...	Hogan
Mark Stevens	...	Lt. Barker (as Stephen Richards)
Richard Erdman	...	Pvt. Nebraska Hooper (as Dick Erdman)

Storyline

A group of men parachute into Japanese-occupied Burma with a dangerous and important mission: to locate and blow up a radar station. They accomplish this well enough, but when they try to rendezvous at an old air-strip to be taken back to their base, they find Japanese waiting for them, and they must make a long, difficult walk back through enemy-occupied jungle.

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Plot Keywords:

jungle | tropics | american soldier | jungle warfare | territory name in title | 

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Taglines:

Doorway to Japan !

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film has no female roles.

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Goofs

The 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment served in the Pacific - in New Guinea and the Philippines but not in Burma.

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Quotes

Capt. Nelson: [Seeing Gabby putting stagnant water in his canteen and getting ready to drink it] Hey, do you want to get sick? Where's your purifying tablets?
Cpl. Gabby Gordon: I lost them when we made that last river crossing.
[Nelson gives him some of his]
Cpl. Gabby Gordon: They'll remember me in history. Gabby Gordon: the guy who purified all the stinkin' rivers in Burma!

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Crazy Credits

Closing credits: This story has a conclusion but not an end- It will end only when the evil forces of Japan are totally destroyed. This film is gratefully dedicated to the men of the American, British, Chinese and Indian Armies, without whose heroic efforts Burma would still be in the hands of the Japanese.

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Alternate Versions

Some prints of "Objective Burma!" have been cut to 127 minutes. Also shown in computer-coloured version.

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Connections

Remade as Distant Drums (1951)

User Reviews

Ranks with "They Were Expendable" and "Saving Private Ryan"

When I read histories of the Pacific War, I frequently come across passages telling of a rage held by allied soldiers against the Japanese, more intense than that held against the Germans (though had they known at the time about Malmedy and the Holocaust, it might have been a different story). There is a scene in "Objective Burma" which conveys to me, more effectively than any other film, how that rage was born.

This is a Warner Brothers "A" picture, directed by the great Raoul Walsh, and it shows. The acting is superb, and the locations are totally convincing. The framework for these is a conventional story of an allied patrol's sabotage of an enemy radar station, deep in the jungle, and its harrowing trek back to safety. What sets "Operation Burma" apart is its concentration on the humanity of the characters within an "action film" context, without resort to melodrama. It is a delicate balance that many films fail to maintain, and it is perhaps why Errol Flynn is ideal as Captain Nelson, leader of the patrol. Flynn's screen image as a swashbuckler was always tempered by a disarming mildness, which not only made the ladies swoon but enabled him convincingly to reveal the human frailty behind the bravura. And nowhere else does he display this double facet to better effect than in "Operation Burma". It is said that the best commanders are those who only have to ask in order to be obeyed. Flynn is this kind of commander.

Other fine players should not be neglected. There is a standout performance by Henry Hull, as an elderly journalist whose ambition to cover the war from the ground leads him to the realization that in war it isn't just combat that kills. I also like Warner Anderson, both grim and sympathetic as Flynn's commanding officer. And the uncredited Erville Anderson's "Vinegar Joe" Stillwell is so convincing, I fancied the general was playing himself!

I like to have films representing each of a broad range of interests. For Errol Flynn, I have "The Adventures of Robin Hood," "Operation Burma" and "That Forsyte Woman". As well as any others, these three films define Errol Flynn's career. For World War II, I have "Operation Burma," "They Were Expendable" and "Saving Private Ryan". As well as any others, these three films define World War II. They are musts for any comprehensive film library.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

17 February 1945 (USA)

Also Known As:

Objective Burma

Filming Locations:

Palm Springs, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

142 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1