Saturday, 18 September 2021 18:58

Kelly's Heroes






KELLY'S HEROES

US/Yugoslavia, 1970, 143 minutes, Colour.
Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Don Rickles, Donald Sutherland, Carroll O' Connor.
Directed by Brian G. Hutton.

Kelly's Heroes was a 1970's war film cashing in the atmosphere of Where Eagles Dare and Clint Eastwood's popularity as well as M*A*S*H with its humorous slant on the ironies of war, cashing in on Donald Sutherland's reputation. Kelly's Heroes is certainly big and booming, with European locations, and the use of robbery conventions to show a unit getting as much gold as it could out of the war. Clint Eastwood is his usual self in command, Donald Sutherland is an anachronistic hippie-style tank commander who prefers to make love rather than war. Telly Savalas and Carroll O' Connor, with their TV reputations, are there to add to the proceedings. It is an unusual blend of war
adventure, spectacle, daring robbery, and an ironic look on the futility of war. Perhaps with all the immorality of war going on around, why should soldiers object to being robbers?

1. The meaning and tone of the title and its irony? The atmosphere of war and heroism? Audience expectations from the title? The mocking of ordinary expectations.

2. Was this an enjoyable film? Why? Who did it appeal to most? A male audience? Why?

3. The contribution of the music, the songs, especially Burning Bridges? The use of colour, widescreen, noise? The location photography?

4. How seriously did the film present war? Even if it was presented ironically? The number of deaths, the ineffectiveness of authorities, the bombs on the wrong people, the questions of morale, the men and their attitudes, the question of victory? Was comment implied in the ironic proceedings of the film?

5. Did the film seem to say that war justified the robbery? The behaviour in war, if death was the end,. then why not robbery etc.? The film's attitude towards the robbery and its drawing of audience response to this?

6. The war for gold as a parallel to the real war? The worthiness of the object of fighting etc. The methods? Kelly's interrogation of the German and his death? The elaborate manoeuvres and supplies for getting the gold. The gold for making war?

7. The character of Kelly: Clint Eastwood's style. Kelly as a person, soldier, cool leadership, plans, the heroics e.g. on the tank, the success of his mission? A sympathetic or interesting character? Explored well during the film?

8. The contrast of Big Joe: Telly Savalas' personality, a tough soldier, loud, his indecisions and then entering the plan, his coping with the situations? Interesting and sympathetic?

9. How effective was the satire with Oddball? Donald Sullivan's comic style, the overtones of M*A*S*H? The modern drop-out and peace-man? The buffoon style? Yet his capacities for achieving the goals? His enjoying making war and riding the tanks? What appeal did he have to the audience?

10. The character of Crap Games? His greed, calculating, the manoeuvring of supplies etc. his role in the war, falling into the lavatory?

11. How well were the ordinary soldiers portrayed? As individual characters? Their loyalty to Kelly? Their attitudes towards the war? The reasons for their going after the gold? Risking life and death? Their attitudes amongst themselves? The example of the sequence in the mine-field?

12. The satire on the General? The stars on his dressing-gown? His wanting success? His rushing into the war? Maitland and his going to Paris?

13. How vividly did the film show the realities of war: the mine-fields, the deaths of the Germans, the war in the town itself, the bombardments etc.? Audience response to this?

14. Audience-interest in the details of the manoeuvres - the bridges, the tanks and their running, the ringing of the bells, the getting of the Germans out of the buildings, the taking of the gold? The involvement of the German tank-commander and this? The comment on the equality of nationalities in the search for gold?

15. How was this film one of the ordinary man-in-the-street whatever his rank? The attitude towards the ordinary man - optimistic or pessimistic? His main characteristics? Attractive or unattractive?