You Can't Win 'Em All

You Can't Win 'Em All (AKA: Soldiers of Fortune/The Dubious Patriots) is directed by Peter Collinson and written by Leo Gordon. It stars Tony Curtis, Charles Bronson, Michele Mercier, Fikret Hakan, Leo Gordon and Salih Guney. Music is by Bert Kaempfert and cinematography by Kenneth Higgins.

1922 and the Greco-Turkish War is coming to a close, and two soldiers of fortune meet and find themselves on a deadly mission that will either make them rich, get them killed or something else entirely…

Marauding machismo under the burning Turkey sun, You Can't Win 'Em All is good on intentions and two fisted action quotas. That the script is poor is a shame, because although it's hardly grade "A" as an actioner, it is a whole bunch of fun and Curtis and Bronson are great company to be in.

Collinson constructs the action in a competent manner as he fills out the plot with gunfire, explosions, barroom brawls, biplane attacks, speeding train, foxy women and a picturesque location. Bronson gets to flex his muscles while Curtis deals out the quips, and the narrative has the two men spun into a world of double crosses, bluffs and dubious motives. Their chemistry is solid, they make for a good buddy-buddy pairing.

Weak on the page for sure, but enough guts, gusto and grins to ensure it's worth spending the time with. 6.5/10

This is a competent adventure movie pairing, of all people, Tony Curtis and Charles Bronson. It's setting is an obscure one for Americans: Turkey in its days of revolutionary war following the defeat and collapse of the Ottoman Dynasty in World War I. Bronson and his band of mercs have tommy guns but don't get to use them as much as you might expect. On no best-of list, but this movie is a bit better than it had to be, and worth a look.

Another reviewer has called this "better than it had to be", which I think is right on the money. This is not a history lesson, nor is Shakespeare, but it uses an obscure period of history to tell an adventure story without insulting anyone's intelligence.

It is a remake of "Vera Cruz", the 1952 Western with Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster. Except Curtis' character is much wittier than Cooper's, and Bronson's character is not a psychopath. Both changes make it easier to watch, although not as dramatic. Both movies have anachronisms, but I think many of the anachronisms in "You can't Win 'em All" are sardonically recognized.

There are easy parallels between the chaos of 1867 Mexico and 1922 Turkey. In both there were uncertain loyalties at the end of an Imperial rule and a major conflict had ended nearby, leaving a pool of unemployed killers. In both a nationalistic regime replaced the Old Order, and neither Juarez nor Attaturk were choirboys. But the movie is neither history lesson nor moral polemic, just a cheerful adventure story.

Set against the backdrop of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) Soldiers of Fortune tells the story of two opportunist former U.S. Army soldiers Adam Dyer(Tony Curtis) and Josh Corey (Charles Bronson). The two joins a group of Turkish mercenaries to protect the daughters of an Ottoman sultan and a train that carries gold. This is the first movie in cinematic history that portrays Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (even briefly by Patrick Magee) who is the founder and the first president of modern Turkey. Believe it or not, the rumor has it that one of the Turkish journalists wanted to interview Charles Bronson after the production of the movie but he was just vehemently rejected by Bronson. So the embittered journalist just started a smear campaign against the movie, that's why the movie has never been available on DVD here and unfortunately the only way that you can watch this movie in Turkey is to get hold of a pirate VHS copy. You Can't Win 'Em All may not have sounded realistic or historically accurate but it would not be fair at all to expect complete historical accuracy from an adventurous western movie. The filming locations do not really follow a logical order either. For instance, the mercenaries set out their adventurous odyssey in İzmir (formerly Smyrna)At first they camp in the Cappadocia region (east-central Turkey) Later on you see them in Ephesus and Didim (which is at the far west)I guess Peter Collinson must have thought he should show a few places that a tourist must see in his/her visit to Turkey. You Can't Win 'Em All may not be the best movie but if you like westerns and if you are real fans of Curtis and Bronson there is not a reason why you shouldn't like this one.

Not many people know that Hollywood actor Leo Gordon was also a noteworthy screenwriter. In point of fact Mr. Gordon wrote the script for this motion picture called " You Can't win them all. " He tells the the story of two traveling mercenaries Adam Dyer (Tony Curtis and Josh Corey (Charles Bronson) who arrive in Turkey in 1922. It was a turbulent time and the government was in the mists of a civil war. Our heroes arrive and sensing an opportunity to get rich, join which ever side will pay the most. This includes hiring on to guard a valuable shipment which includes members of a royal family, bars of gold and several million dollars worth of jewels. Throughout this movie which is filled with action, physical confrontations and exciting drama, our heroes try to stay one step ahead of they who would keep them from their treasure, only to realize it's not that easy. Michèle Mercier plays, Aila, a woman dedicated to the cause and proves a worthy adversary and ally for a Turkish General who is played by Patrick Magee. Leo Gordon who plays Bolek is in the film, but has a very brief role, still, with guns blazing, he does make his character exciting. Despite the movie's inability to make it at the box office, it has become a Classic in it's own right. Recommended. ****