The opening was okay, the Marine Sergeant Michael Conrad, was convincing, the squad of rookie Marines were not, a wasted 20 opening minutes, I must have blinked because I never saw the star booted out of the Marines and what for was never mentioned. The next major scene was strange beyond belief, this is the bar scene with the guy wearing a full Marines outfit (Richard Gere) and our hero Jan Michael Vincent, wearing an odd looking blue suit carrying no hand luggage but intending to cross the US to 'see the country'. Then outside the same bar Gere the Marine steals Vincent crazy Joe blue suit, with Gere exchanging it for a full Marine Uniform, all crisp and new with hero's medals and combat badges. Explain that to your mother age 68. In this small role Richard Gere looked creepy, I thought he was a male prostitute but have read "he was deserting the Marines". Vincent puts the Marines suit on and looks a million dollars in it, walking away from the bar he passes the alleged hard man in the street who wanted to fight a Marine. Him. And off course Vincent knocks this guy out with a punch only Rocky Marciano could throw. That was one scene that should have been cut. We then have the hitchhiking scenes, the Sheriff Dana Elcar who gave our hero a lift came across as a professional star actor, he was (he should have had an Oscar tattooed on his forehead after this film) so should the 5 leading villagers in this alleged Bidwell Township, including and especially the Norwegian looking guy who had lost his son in WW2, and the bereaved mother at the fairground. In the Bidwell café the film at last then took off with the arrival of Rosie the waitress, Glynnis O'Conner. We then watched the pretend Rosie the waitress family saving this load of %^%$£$ film, apart from her role nothing gelled and nothing was convincing. The star of this film was Glynne O'Conner, and the townsfolk who all went on to having great careers. There wasa guy sneaking about Bruno Kirby, whose role should have been cut. I loved viewing the 3 huge snow capped mountains in the outdoors backdrop (a great set for a Climb every mountain scene with Rosie playing a young Von Trapp singer heading for Nashville, this scenery had shades of Alan Ladds film, Shane here. This film would have worked better with the straight forward simple story of a failed Marine, an honest to God guy who tried hard to join the Marines and failed, a man who was now down on his luck, drifting across America seeking work (Grapes of Wrath echos wantedhere) and a man adopted by the townsfolk. Even the film title was crazy, it should have been "The Cowardly Hero". Barely watchable on a cold wet day in Downtown England.
