whpratt1
This is a film you can view and enjoy because it is a story about a Red Neck Capt. Beau Carter, (Stephen Boyd) who is ordered by a General to lead an all Black Brigade to protect a Dam that will be blown up by the Nazi forces. Capt. Beau was not so upset with having an all Black Brigade, but he learned that this Brigade was given for three, (3) years menial duties and had no experience in combat. One man was deaf and there was a soldier Pvt. Jonathan Crunk, (Richard Pryor) who did not want to die and he would run away from the enemy. This film tells a great story about the past and I am so glad we have progressed beyond racial barriers. This is a Gem of a film and very worth your time viewing this story. Enjoy.
raypdaley182
In this made for TV movie we get a mainly black cast with a few token white guys. The guy playing the white Major sent to take the unit to the dam, I've never seen before or heard of before.It's the black cast I knew. Billy Dee Williams (pre-Empire Strikes Back), Moses Gunn and Richard Pryor trying to play a straight version of himself.Basically this is a bigoted officer sent to command a brigade of black soldiers on a dangerous mission. So dangerous in fact 3 of them get killed before they ever get to the dam itself.The deaf guy was always going to die first, the big guy (who, it turns out used to be a pro footballer) is killed by a sniper and Billy Dee Williams gets blown up after stepping on a land mine.The same land mine injures Moses Gunn and Pryor looks like he deserts so only the black officer, 1 of his men and the white officer actually end up trying to attack the dam.Pryor uses a cart full of hay to get onto the dam and leads the attack only to be injured. The other black soldier is shot and killed during the skirmish with the Germans. Pryor throws the detonator for the explosives over the side of the dam.This is a film about 1 man who comes to change his point of view about black people, it's a good exploration of the themes of racism and bigotry.The film itself isn't very long and might have benefited from being at least 20 minutes longer and them having taken the entire brigade only for 2 men to survive.Still worth a look though to see Richard Pryor playing a more serious role for a change.
ewarn-1
The writers probably had no experience in the army, and probably never glanced at a history book, but I still give this cheaply produced war film some credit for taking a long-needed look at the role of black soldiers in the second world war.The action is confused and unbelievable--any episode of Combat! has better production values, but the cast is interesting. Seeing New York Giant Rosie Greer was worth the buck I paid for this. The art direction is fifth rate--the men wear Korean War uniforms, and it was pretty lousy weather by the time the U.S. Army reached Germany in 1944, not sunny as they show here, and I don't think the terrain resembled Northern California. The script never does make clear why the black support troops are used as combat soldiers. There is a nice touch that shows some of the men carrying Springfield rifles instead of M-1s, which second rate troops probably would have been issued with.This basic story idea(racist southern officer commanding black troops) should have been expanded into a big budget production back then, and its not too late to try it now. You have to take this for what it is, and I admire the creators of this film for making the effort.I remember seeing this a while ago and thinking it was set in Italy, which would have made more sense because there were black combat troops operating there in 1944.
john
This movie is a waste of film stock. Do you believe that the map of a plan of a military mission would be placed on an easel on a patio in broad daylight for anyone with binoculars or a camera with a zoom lens to see? It happened in this film. Do you believe that a DEAF person would actually be enlisted in the active duty army in Europe during WWII to serve in a "Negro" unit...cooking, supply services, burial detail, etc.? It happened in this film. Do you believe that a black (and supposedly intelligent) officer would select this same DEAF K.P. to be part of an active combat mission to protect a dam from being destroyed by the Germans before the allies arrived? It happened in this film. Would you be surprised that the DEAF soldier didn't realize that a German plane was approaching from behind and would strafe and kill him? It happened in this film. Would you be surprised that a group of American soldiers hold-up in a barn at a farmhouse that the Germans happened upon would SHOUT out their emotions at the sight of the German soldiers who were just 50' away? They did it in this film, and left any possible entrances to the barn the Germans might check totally unprotected. Would you believe that, over the airwaves and in clear English, the Captain mentioned the General's rank, if not his name, as the person he was speaking with and that the general, in plain English over open airwaves, said that the dam had to be protected the next day? Maybe they should have just sent in an emissary to tell which direction the American attack would be coming from just to make it a little easier on the Germans. This so-called movie should be placed on a list of the top 50 worst films. If it were, I'm sure it would do well. Watch it at your own risk.
AD
