We’re back this week looking at another film that I enjoyed a lot during the formative years of the development of my critiquing skills. It also happens to be Veteran’s Day weekend this weekend, and I would like to give a shout out to any veterans no matter where you may be to say thank you for your service and your sacrifice. Last year around this time, we looked at Memphis Belle, a fantastic WWII drama with huge star power, a great story, and some tense action. In keeping with that, now, tradition since I’m doing a similar thing again, I’d like to look at Kelly’s Heroes. As I’ve said before, growing up, we had a bunch of movies that we owned on VHS and there were a key few that I would watch over and over again because I enjoyed them so much. Kelly’s Heroes is one of those movies. It’s a little bit lighter take on war films, but only just a little bit so. It’s still got its serious tones, and its themes, but it also has a lighter side that I really enjoyed as a teen. Also, much like Memphis Belle, this film feels like it could have drawn from actual events, but it’s just a fun piece of fiction that excels at entertaining as far as I can tell. With that in mind, let’s take a look, shall we?
The film primarily focuses on Private Kelly, played by Clint Eastwood. Kelly used to be a lieutenant, but got demoted after botching an operation in Nancy, France. He didn’t really do anything, he was just playing scapegoat for an incompetent superior who made some bad calls during the operation, and so he’s got a bit of a chip on his shoulder. During his regular duties, Kelly and his crew capture a Nazi colonel who has a briefcase filled with gold bars. Kelly gets the colonel really drunk and uses that pliability to learn that in a village called Clermont, 30 miles behind German lines, the Nazis have stashed $16M worth of gold in a bank. This probably would have been an issue had someone more official been able to conduct a formal interrogation, but shortly after spilling these beans to Kelly, the colonel is killed when a Tiger I destroys the building where he’s being held.
Kelly, who remember is really jaded towards his army, decides that he wants to sneak behind enemy lines and steal the gold for himself so that he can have a substantial nest egg to retire on after the war. He realizes pretty quickly though that he’ll need help and resources if he’s going to pull it all off. This is where Supply Sergeant “Crapgame” comes into the picture. Crapgame is played by Don Rickles, and I gotta say, he does a great job in the role. I mean, he is hysterical at times, but also confrontational in his lack of optimism. It takes Kelly a minute to really win him over, and the hail mary play is Kelly actually showing him the gold, and explaining the exponential amount that awaits them in Clermont. Nearly ten years of playing RPGs has taught me that most men can be easily persuaded by money, and Crapgame is no different. He’s vital to the whole plan because he can get things, both over official channels, and more clandestinely. So it’s a good thing that he decides to play along.
Also vital to the success of Kelly’s plan is the support of a tank platoon. He knows from his previous experience that the Nazis love their mechanized support, and that in order to protect themselves from this threat, they’ll need to be able to respond in kind. Lucky for Kelly, a platoon of three Shermans, led by platoon commander “Oddball” just happen to be between gigs for maintenance and resupply. Oddball is played by Donald Sutherland, and hopefully, I don’t have to say anything more. If you’ve seen him in M*A*S*H, or more recently, the Hunger Games series, you should be well aware of his acting abilities. I think Oddball is probably my favorite part of this film. I’m kind of fuzzy on all of the context of the film’s production, but it came out in 1970 so counterculture was still kind of a thing at that point and Oddball represents in spectacular fashion. The decision is that Kelly and the group that he puts together will rendezvous with Oddball and his tanks closer to Clermont to avoid drawing unnecessary attention.
As far as Kelly’s group is concerned, he realizes that his own men have been getting shafted because their commander, Captain Maitland, has been working to enhance his own career to the detriment of everyone else under him. So convincing the crew to go along isn’t terribly difficult with the exception of one hold out. Master Sergeant “Big Joe”, played by Telly Savalas. I love Telly Savalas! He was in The Battle of the Bulge, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Bonanza, The Dirty Dozen, and he played Blofeld in One Her Majesty’s Secret Service. He was a great actor in his career, and it’s always a pleasure watching him on screen. Anyway, he finally agrees to join the operation and the caper begins!
As I said, Kelly and Oddball take different routes to Clermont. In the process, Oddball has to enlist the help of a bridging crew in order to keep momentum. That, of course, means more hands in the honeypot at the end of the day, which didn’t sit well with Kelly, but was an unavoidable measure. It’s okay though because during the trek, the bridging crew is lost. I can’t remember if they’re destroyed, or just put out of commission in other non-lethal ways. Kelly has taken his own losses along the way as well. He and his crew found themselves in a mine field and lost one of their privates. Geez! Get your head out of the gutter! I mean the rank, not the anatomical feature you silly person!
The finale is just great! The two forces fight their way the rest of the way to Clermont, and in the process of that, two of those Sherman tanks are lost. This really adds to the tension of the final act as Oddball’s remaining Sherman plays an intense game of cat and mouse with two Tiger I tanks that were left with infantry support to guard the town. I’m not an expert in such things per se, but I do know enough to know that the Sherman is extremely outclassed in this match up, especially with the numbers of the Tiger platoon. It’s absolutely wonderful watching all of the tanks stalk around the narrow streets of the town, barely missing one another as Oddball sets himself up for an ambush that will allow him to get a shot on the Tiger tank’s side armor. I like this little detail, and that the director and writers chose to emphasize it because in reality, Sherman tanks didn’t have the firepower to really damage Tiger tanks head on. They had to score shots on either the side or the back of the Tigers where the armor was not as thick. In this case, Oddball’s patience pays off, and he’s able to disable the Tiger tanks with a well placed shots to the side and I believe he gets one in the rear, but his tank breaks down, leaving one more Tiger that remains parked right in front of the bank.
In the meantime, Kelly and his crew have eliminated the infantry. There’s still the German Grey Tiger left in the room though, and a stalemate results as Kelly tries to figure out how to finally reach his goal. It’s Crapgame who comes up with the most realistic solution in the end. He suggests that Kelly fall back on good old fashioned diplomacy… ...And bribery… To that end, Kelly asks the tank commander for a moment to chat. They discuss the nature of the loot that the tank is currently guarding, and Kelly makes absolutely certain that the commander understands the sheer immensity of the amount of gold being discussed. Kelly offers the commander a share if they’ll help break into the bank. After some personal deliberation, the tank commander agrees and blows the vault door off the bank vault. The look on this guy’s face when he sees the gold is just priceless! I seriously feel like the actor nailed the I-just-crapped-a brick look. But at any rate, the US guys, and the Germans split their spoils and skedaddle just before General Colt, played by Carroll O’Connor, rolls into town expecting a fanfare welcome. I suppose I did forget to mention that part, didn’t I? It wouldn’t be a great film if there wasn’t any tension, and the tension for the bulk of this film stems from General Colt, and his relationship with Kelly. He doesn’t trust Kelly at all, and he’s always on the lookout for a way to wash Kelly out of the Army. In the finale, Big Joe buys the guys some extra time by telling all of the French villagers that General Colt is General Charles de Gaulle who was the head of the French Provisional Government from 1944-46, and who was later elected to be President of France. He was a pretty important guy, and the welcome that the French give General Colt as a result of this farce is befitting someone of such stature.
In all, this is an extremely entertaining classic. It didn’t get a ton of fanfare when it was released, but it’s certainly become a cult classic over the years, at least it has if you belong to the Cult of KC. It’s got a great narrative structure as a caper film, and as such, it follows in the footsteps of films like Ocean’s Eleven, and such. It’s got great humor, but it balances well with the serious stuff so that it can be taken seriously as well. I enjoy watching these actors together as anyone who has seen films from the 60s through to the early 70s is going to know most of them, at least in passing. This film has always been a joy to watch for me, and huge source of entertainment for me. I can’t recommend it enough. Do yourself a favor and google the end credits song. It’s awesome, and you’re welcome for that. Give it watch, and stay tuned for next week to see what I’m thankful for this time of year!
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