Cuando hierve la sangre

Never So Few finds Frank Sinatra as co-commander with Britisher Richard Johnson of a behind the lines detachment of Kachin native tribesmen, conducting harassing actions against the Japanese in the China-Burma- India Theater of World War II. Sinatra is working out of the Office of Strategic Services which in this case is run by General Brian Donlevy playing William J. Donovan in all, but name.

Sinatra keeps the hipster persona down to a minimum and delivers a good performance as the rather unorthodox commander of native troops. Of course he's confronted with a rather unorthodox situation when warlords with warrants from the Chinese Nationalist government in Chungking massacre Americans and Kachins for their supplies. Purportedly these were our allies.

In all of this Sinatra finds time to romance Gina Lollabrigida the kept woman of Paul Henreid a most mysterious person of influence and nurse Kipp Hamilton. Gina is a most entertaining diversion, but the real story is about the Chinese actions in World War II.

During the Fifties Chiang Kai-Shek was a godlike creature, a noble exile from Communism on Taiwan running the government we still recognized. Never So Few was a daring film for its time, fresh from the McCarthy years for daring to suggest the Nationalist Chinese were less than noble.

Actually what is described in Never So Few, independent warlords making deals with both sides is old business in the Orient. It was something our culture couldn't grasp, still can't in many ways.

Never So Few boosted the careers of three men in Sinatra's and Johnson's command. Charles Bronson, Steve McQueen, and Dean Jones all of whom went on to substantial careers. For McQueen it was his first role of substance in a major motion picture.

I recall reading years ago that Hedda Hopper who always boosted Steve McQueen's career when she could in her column, claiming that while this was a good career move, he should avoid dependence on Frank Sinatra for his employment. McQueen being an independent sort of fellow anyway, probably would have come to that same conclusion on his own. Nevertheless he certainly did carve his own legend out in film history.

Never So Few is a decent war film of a little known theater of war for Americans and should be seen.

The Good:

Great early look at a young Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson. Lots of big names otherwise, with Sinatra, Gina Lolabrigida, Peter Lawford, Paul Henreid and Brian Donlevy.

Underlying story idea is a good one: a semi-factual recreation of OSS operations in Burma during WW2. Would be nice to see a modern remake of this movie due to the interesting subject matter.

McQueen's first big movie role. Acquits himself well and his performance certainly helped propel him to his future starring roles.

Gina Lolabrigida can't act worth a fig, but she sure is a whole lot of woman to look at.

The Bad:

I didn't buy Sinatra in the role for a minute. The casting of this pompous lounge lizard as a charismatic special forces officer is an insult to all veterans. Sinatra reportedly pressured the producers into kicking his good buddy Sammy Davis Jr. off the picture. This is ironic, because Davis actually served in WW2, while Ol' Blue Eyes was humping every starlet he could lay his hands on.

And what was up with that Aussie-style hat Sinatra wears? The guy is living in a tent in a steamy tropical jungle mowing down scores of Japs with a machine gun and there's not a single smudge, sweat stain or wrinkle on his hat. It looks like he just picked it up off the rack in the Flamingo's tourist shop. I can just imagine the director, John Sturges, begging Frank to beat the thing on a tree stump for half an hour to make it look realistic and Sinatra refusing because the wanted a slicker look.

The Sinatra role felt like it was written for Humphrey Bogart. This is especially apparent in what is supposed to be clever Bogie/Bacall style repartee between Sinatra and Lolabrigida. The casting of Paul Henreid, who starred with Bogie in Casablanca, seems no accident.

I can imagine that Sinatra bullied his way into a role that was way, way over his head. As much as I would like to blame Sinatra entirely for this movie's failure, it should be noted that the script is the main culprit, especially the excruciating attempt at "snappy patter" between Sinatra and Lolabrigida. I don't think even Bogart could have saved this movie, but these two acting cripples have absolutely no chance.

Sturges went on to direct a fantastic film, "The Great Escape" a couple of years later, so we'll have to cut him a break on this one.

Reminds me of another star studded stinker, "The Way West", an unwatchable 1965 western that starred Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum and Richard Widmark. That also had a director, Andrew McLaglen, who went on to do much better work.

Bottom line: this is a great example of how important a script is to a movie. Here you had a panoply of big time stars and talent, a solid director, but the movie stinks anyway. Also, if your leading man is an actor of very narrow ability, you better make sure you cast him in a role that suits him.

Skip it – This was supposed to be a starring vehicle for Frank Sinatra. But this is romance, not war. There's some combat in the beginning and in the middle, but a lot of nothing the rest of the way. Sinatra's got a different rat pack in this one, made up of youngsters Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson. McQueen steals the show in one of his earliest roles. But he's not in enough scenes, and the only action scenes are the one's he's in. The title of the film insinuates that never before has so much been owed to so few. That's funny, because never before have so few of my expectations for a good action movie been met. 3.5 out of 5 action rating

During WW2, the American O.S.S. mounts covert operations , led by Captain Tom Reynolds (Frank Sinatra) commanding a handful of skilled O.S.S. operatives against the Japanese army in the jungles of Burma . But jungle combat is more grueling than Reynolds had reckoned . As the military commander and his outnumbered troops overcome incredible odds against the Japanese . As sharp-witted soldiers accompany him , such as : Sergeant Jim Norby (Dean Jones) , Capt. Danny De Mortimer (Richard Johnson) , Sgt. John Danforth (Charles Bronson) , Bill Ringa (Steve McQueen) and Doctor Capt. Grey Travis (Peter Lawford). Some respite is found in the arms of gorgeous Carla (Gina Lollobrigida) , an Italian woman protected by a veteran war supplier (Paul Henreid) . But after Chinese rebels offering illegal cross-border support , as they pass the frontier to loot and kill American soldiers ,as Reynolds abandons all notions of "military protocol" and seeks vendetta ; weighting Tom's impulsive requital , attacking against the formalities of the international diplomacy .

There's a lot of everything in this Sturges' wartime drama about Burmese war , such as : noisy action , romance , serious political talk , spectacular battles , luxurious scenarios , and wonderful Gina . This movie is based on the real-life story of World War II's OSS Detachment 101 and adapted from the novel by Tom T. Chameles ; but including a lot of focus on a silly love story . This was an OSS Operations Group designed to specialize in activities in the China-Burma-India region in collaboration with the Kachin Rangers , guerrillas and other Allied special operations units and particularly against a Japanese army as familiar with the terrain as the Kachin . The flick has a stolid script by Millard Kaufman , but not uninteresting , and results to be slow-moving , overlong and a little bit dull . However , the war battles , explosions and shootouts make strong impression . Too much romance bogs down this warfare yarn , although the action and intrigue are nice . The film loses impetus when it lingers over the Sinatra's romance with Lollo . Elsewhere, it is indicative of Cold War tensions that attention turns in the hard confrontation between American and Chinese troops . The picture proved once and for all that Frank could be a fine actor . He plays as Captain Tom Reynolds who is in WWII Burma to train the Kachin natives in modern warfare . Regular acting by Gina as the mistress of oily profileer played by Paul Henreid . There are excellent acting from some Hollywood's best players , including prestigious secondaries . Very good support cast as Dean Jones , John Hoyt , Whit Bissell , Richard Johnson , Brian Donlevy . And a lot of oriental actors to have an acceptable future Hollywood career as James Hong , George Takei and Mako's brief role as a soldier in the hospital , it was the first film role for Mako . And Aki Aleong who still goes on playing and producing ; in fact , he has played/financed the last Jean Claude Van Damme : ¨Pound and Flesh¨. It helped advance the youngster Steve McQueen career who exudes star potential , even though he was the late replacement when Sinatra fell out with Sammy Davis Jr ; as a feud had broken out between them . The following year Steve was one of ¨the Magnificent seven¨ and also played ¨The great escape¨ by Sturges .

Colorful cinematography in Cinemascope and Technicolor by William H. Daniels , usual cameraman to Greta Garbo . Thrilling as well as atmospheric musical score by Hugo Friedhofer . The motion picture was regularly directed by John Sturges . This one , though , is pretty slack stuff by John Sturges' standards . Sturges was an expert on Western genre as proved in ¨ Escape from Fort Bravo , The law and Jake Wade , The last train of Gun Hill, The Magnificent seven , Backlash , Hour of gun , Bad Day at Black Rock , Joe Kidd , The Hallelujah trail , 3 Sergeants , Valdez or Chino¨ and many others . rating : passable , worthwhile watching .

Although the profile mentions that Sinatra's character and his fellow agents are members of the OSS, this could use some elaboration. This movie is clearly an attempt to dramatize certain portions of OSS Detachment 101's exploits in the CBI during WWII. This is the only film I've ever seen that deals with a story involving the OSS that is based on any sort of factual series of events. Detachment 101, formed very early in WWII as an OSS Operations Group (OG), was responsible for hamstringing Japanese operations in the China-Burma-India (CBI) theater along with the Kachin Rangers, native people whom they had trained and equipped and a host of other Allied special operations type units, many of which contributed to the lineages of later special ops units, especially in the US (Merrill's Marauders = 75th Ranger Regiment and Det. 101 being the root of lineages of both CIA covert operations units and Army Special Forces).

The story which most clearly sticks out here is the episode involving the discovery of warrants issued by the Chinese Nationalist government authorizing local bandit warlords to confiscate goods from anyone, including Allied forces. Although not quite right in the movie, these bandits attacked a group of Kachins, which brought the attention of US OSS agents. These agents, with their Kachin Rangers, attacked across the Chinese border, discovered the warrants and almost caused a major diplomatic incident between the US and Chinese governments, especially after the OSS agents turned a blind eye to the execution of the Chinese bandits by Kachin Rangers.

All in all, not a spectacular film and the love interest aspect a little odd in the middle of a war-zone, but still notable as the only film dealing with the subject of OSS OGs in a semi-factual way.