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''Kelly's Heroes'' is a 1970
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
comedy-drama heist film, directed by Brian G. Hutton, about a motley crew of American GIs who go
AWOL Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which ...
in order to rob a French bank, located behind German lines, of its stored
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
gold bars. The film stars
Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the " Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "'' Do ...
and
Telly Savalas Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas (January 21, 1922 – January 22, 1994) was an American actor and singer whose career spanned four decades. Noted for his bald head and deep, resonant voice, he is perhaps best known for portraying Lt. Theo Kojak on th ...
, and co-stars
Don Rickles Donald Jay Rickles (May 8, 1926 – April 6, 2017) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He became known primarily for his insult comedy. His film roles include ''Run Silent, Run Deep'' (1958) with Clark Gable, Carl Reiner's ''Enter La ...
,
Carroll O'Connor John Carroll O'Connor (August 2, 1924 – June 21, 2001) was an American actor, producer, and director whose television career spanned over four decades. He became a lifelong member of the Actors Studio in 1971. O'Connor found widespread fame a ...
, and
Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (born 17 July 1935) is a Canadian actor whose film career spans over six decades. He has been nominated for nine Golden Globe Awards, winning two for his performances in the television films '' Citizen X'' (1995) a ...
providing the comic absurdity, with secondary, comedic roles by
Harry Dean Stanton Harry Dean Stanton (July 14, 1926 – September 15, 2017) was an American actor, musician, and singer. In a career that spanned more than six decades, Stanton played supporting roles in films including ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), ''Kelly's Heroes ...
, Gavin MacLeod, Karl-Otto Alberty, and
Stuart Margolin Stuart Margolin (January 31, 1940 – December 12, 2022) was an American film, theater, and television actor and director who won two Emmy Awards for playing Evelyn "Angel" Martin on the 1970s television series ''The Rockford Files''. In 1973, h ...
. The screenplay was written by British film and television writer Troy Kennedy Martin. The film was a US- Yugoslav co-production, filmed mainly in the
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...
n village of Vižinada on the
Istria Istria ( ; Croatian and Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian, Italian and Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic betwe ...
peninsula.


Plot

During a thunderstorm in early September 1944, units of the 35th Infantry Division are nearing the French town of Nancy. One of the division's mechanized reconnaissance platoons is ordered to hold their position when the Germans counterattack. The outnumbered platoon is also hit by
friendly fire In military terminology, friendly fire or fratricide is an attack by belligerent or neutral forces on friendly troops while attempting to attack enemy/hostile targets. Examples include misidentifying the target as hostile, cross-fire while en ...
from their own mortars. Private Kelly, a former lieutenant scapegoated for a failed infantry assault, captures Colonel Dankhopf of
Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...
Intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can ...
. Interrogating his prisoner, Kelly notices the officer's briefcase has several gold bars disguised under lead plating. Curious, he gets the colonel drunk and learns that there is a cache of 14,000 gold bars, worth US$16 million ($ million today), stored in a bank vault behind German lines in the French town of Clermont. When their position is overrun and the Americans pull back, a
Tiger I The Tiger I () was a German heavy tank of World War II that operated beginning in 1942 in Africa and in the Soviet Union, usually in independent heavy tank battalions. It gave the German Army its first armoured fighting vehicle that mounted ...
tank kills Dankhopf. Kelly decides to steal the gold. He recruits Supply Sergeant "Crapgame" in order to obtain the supplies and weapons that will be needed. A spaced-out tank commander known as "Oddball" overhears the heist plan and suggests his three unattached
M4 Sherman } The M4 Sherman, officially Medium Tank, M4, was the most widely used medium tank by the United States and Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman proved to be reliable, relatively cheap to produce, and available in great numbers. It ...
tanks join the caper. With their commanding officer, Captain Maitland, preoccupied with visiting his uncle "The General" (and stealing a yacht), Kelly's platoon are all eager to join Kelly in the heist. After much argument, Kelly finally persuades cynical Master Sergeant "Big Joe" to go along. Kelly decides that his infantrymen and Oddball's tanks and crew will proceed separately and meet near Clermont. The Shermans fight their way through the German lines, destroying a railway depot in the process, but the bridge they must cross is blown up by Allied fighter-bombers. Oddball contacts an engineering unit to build a
bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...
for the crossing, and the engineers in turn bring in even more men to supply support. After losing their jeeps and
half-track A half-track is a civilian or military vehicle with regular wheels at the front for steering and continuous tracks at the back to propel the vehicle and carry most of the load. The purpose of this combination is to produce a vehicle with the cro ...
s to friendly fire from an American fighter aircraft that mistakes them for Germans, Kelly and his men proceed on foot. They walk into a minefield, and Private Grace is blown up when he steps on a mine. The last two men still trapped in the minefield, PFC Mitchell and Corporal Job, are killed after being forced to engage a German patrol that suddenly arrives before Kelly and Big Joe can kill all the Germans. Oddball links up with Kelly two nights later, bringing with him the extra troops that he has acquired. They battle their way across the river to Clermont. By this time, intercepted radio messages attract the notice of Major General Colt, who misinterprets them as efforts by an aggressive Army unit pushing forward on their own initiative. He immediately rushes to the new front to exploit this "breakthrough." Clermont is defended by three
Tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living Felidae, cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily pr ...
tanks of the
1st SS Panzer Division The 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler or SS Division Leibstandarte, abbreviated as LSSAH, (german: 1. SS-Panzerdivision "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler") began as Adolf Hitler's personal bodyguard unit, responsible for guarding ...
and its infantry support. The Americans are able to eliminate the German infantry and two of the Tigers, but the final tank parks itself right in front of the bank after Oddball's last Sherman breaks down, leaving them stalemated. At Crapgame’s suggestion, Kelly, Big Joe, and Oddball approach the Tiger and offer the commander and his crew "a deal-deal": equal shares of the gold if the Tiger will shoot the armored doors off the bank. After the Tiger blows the bank doors open, the Germans and Americans divide the spoils, each gold share amounting to US$875,000 (more than $14.3 million today). They go their separate ways, just barely ahead of the still-oblivious General Colt. His way into Clermont has been blocked by the joyous crowd of relieved French residents, who have been deceived by Big Joe into thinking that Colt is French Gen.
Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Governm ...
.


Cast

*
Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the " Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "'' Do ...
as Kelly *
Telly Savalas Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas (January 21, 1922 – January 22, 1994) was an American actor and singer whose career spanned four decades. Noted for his bald head and deep, resonant voice, he is perhaps best known for portraying Lt. Theo Kojak on th ...
as "Big Joe" *
Don Rickles Donald Jay Rickles (May 8, 1926 – April 6, 2017) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He became known primarily for his insult comedy. His film roles include ''Run Silent, Run Deep'' (1958) with Clark Gable, Carl Reiner's ''Enter La ...
as "Crapgame" *
Carroll O'Connor John Carroll O'Connor (August 2, 1924 – June 21, 2001) was an American actor, producer, and director whose television career spanned over four decades. He became a lifelong member of the Actors Studio in 1971. O'Connor found widespread fame a ...
as General Colt *
Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (born 17 July 1935) is a Canadian actor whose film career spans over six decades. He has been nominated for nine Golden Globe Awards, winning two for his performances in the television films '' Citizen X'' (1995) a ...
as "Oddball" * Gavin MacLeod as Moriarty * Hal Buckley as Maitland *
Stuart Margolin Stuart Margolin (January 31, 1940 – December 12, 2022) was an American film, theater, and television actor and director who won two Emmy Awards for playing Evelyn "Angel" Martin on the 1970s television series ''The Rockford Files''. In 1973, h ...
as Little Joe * Jeff Morris as "Cowboy" * Richard Davalos as Gutkowski *
Perry Lopez Perry Lopez (born Julio César Lopez; July 22, 1929 – February 14, 2008) was an American film and television actor. His acting career spanned 40 years. Biography Lopez was born in New York City of Puerto Rican descent. Lopez began his acti ...
as Petuko (often nicknamed on screen as "Pachuco"). *
Tom Troupe Tom Troupe (born July 15, 1923) is an American actor and writer. Biography Troupe was born in North Kansas City, Missouri, and studied with Uta Hagen at the Herbert Berghof Studio in Manhattan during the early 1950s. He made his Broadway debut in ...
as Job *
Harry Dean Stanton Harry Dean Stanton (July 14, 1926 – September 15, 2017) was an American actor, musician, and singer. In a career that spanned more than six decades, Stanton played supporting roles in films including ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), ''Kelly's Heroes ...
as Willard (credited as Dean Stanton) * Dick Balduzzi as Fisher * Gene Collins as Babra *
Len Lesser Leonard King Lesser (December 3, 1922 – February 16, 2011) was an American character actor. He was known for his recurring role as Uncle Leo in a total of 15 episodes of ''Seinfeld'', starting during the show's second season in the episode "Th ...
as Bellamy *
David Hurst David Hurst (born Heinrich Theodor Hirsch; 8 May 1926 – 15 September 2019) was a German actor, best known for his role in the film '' Hello, Dolly'' as Rudolph the headwaiter. Biography Early life and career Hurst grew up in a family of ac ...
as Colonel Dankhopf (credited on screen as "Colonel Dummkopf"). * Fred Pearlman as Mitchell * Michael Clark as Grace * George Fargo as Penn *
Dee Pollock Finis Dee Pollock (September 24, 1937 – December 27, 2005) was an American film and television actor. He was known for playing Billy Urchin in the American western television series ''Gunslinger''. Life and career Pollock was born in Alhamb ...
as "Jonesy" Jones *
George Savalas Georgios Demosthenes Savalas ( el, Γεώργιος Δημοσθένης Σαβάλας; December 5, 1924 – October 2, 1985) was an American film and television actor. He was the younger brother of actor Telly Savalas, with whom he acted in th ...
as Mulligan * John Heller as German Lieutenant * Shepherd Sanders as "Turk" * Karl Otto Alberty as German Tank Commander


Production


Origins

The screenplay was written by British film and television writer Troy Kennedy Martin. He relied on a true story, featured as "The Greatest Robbery on Record" in ''
Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'' from 1956 to 2000. On 4 December 1968, Elliott Morgan, MGM's Head of Research, wrote to the ''
Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'' requesting information on this entry: "The greatest robbery on record was of the German National Gold Reserves in Bavaria by a combine of U.S. military personnel and German civilians in 1945". On 10 December the editor, Norris D. McWhirter, wrote back to Morgan, stating that he had very little information and that he essentially suspected that there had been a cover-up, which required that the story should be subject to a "restricted classification". He closed by suggesting that until that security classification was changed, "due to death or eflux '' ic' of time, "any film made will have to be an historical romance rather than history". In 1975 British researcher Ian Sayer began a nine-year investigation into the
Guinness Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ov ...
entry. The results of his investigation, which confirmed a cover up by the U.S. government together with the involvement of U.S. military and former ''
Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...
'' and SS officers in the theft, were published in the 1984 book ''Nazi Gold — The Sensational Story of the World's Greatest Robbery — and the Greatest Criminal Cover-Up''. The investigation finally led to two of the missing gold bars (valued in 2019 at over $1 million) being handed over by German officials to the U.S. government in a secret ceremony at Bonn on 27 September 1996. The bullion was transported to the
Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government o ...
where it was held to the account of the
Tripartite Commission for the Restitution of Monetary Gold The Tripartite Commission for the Restitution of Monetary Gold, also known as the Tripartite Gold Commission, was a panel established in September 1946 by the United Kingdom, United States and France to recover gold stolen by Nazi Germany from oth ...
(TCRMG). The first disclosure that the Bank was holding the two bars (complete with Nazi markings) came from a press release issued by the bank on 8 May 1997 which confirmed that the two bars were those that had been identified as missing in the book ''Nazi Gold''. Sayer had given information to the
United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other na ...
concerning the two bars (amongst other things) in July 1978. In 1983 they finally agreed to investigate using Sayer's evidence. The State Department investigation did not conclude until 1997. On 11 December 1997 Sayer was invited, by the Secretary General of the TCRMG, to view the two bars in the gold bullion vaults of the Bank of England. In addition to being accorded this rare honour, he was also photographed holding the bars, which he had been instrumental in tracking down.


Filming

The project was announced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in November 1968 under the title of ''The Warriors''. Filming commenced in July 1969 and was completed in December. The film was made and released during a time of great financial difficulties for MGM, in the early days of the turbulent ownership by Kirk Kerkorian. It was shot on location in the
Istria Istria ( ; Croatian and Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian, Italian and Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic betwe ...
n village of Vižinada in
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...
, in the ruins of the Beočin palace in
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...
, in the
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...
, and finally in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
.McGilligan (1999), p. 183 One of the reasons for the selection of Yugoslavia as the main location was that, in 1969, it was one of the few nations whose army were still equipped with operating World War II mechanized equipment, both German and American, including in particular the
M4 Sherman } The M4 Sherman, officially Medium Tank, M4, was the most widely used medium tank by the United States and Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman proved to be reliable, relatively cheap to produce, and available in great numbers. It ...
tank. This simplified the film's logistics tremendously. During pre-production,
George Kennedy George Harris Kennedy Jr. (February 18, 1925 – February 28, 2016) was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 film and television productions. He played "Dragline" opposite Paul Newman in ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), winning the Academ ...
turned down the role of Big Joe, despite an offered fee of $300,000, because he did not like the role. The original script included a female role which was removed just before filming began. Ingrid Pitt had been cast in the role (she had worked on ''
Where Eagles Dare ''Where Eagles Dare'' is a 1968 war film directed by Brian G. Hutton and starring Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood and Mary Ure. It follows a joint British-American Special Operations Executive team of paratroopers raiding a castle (shot on lo ...
'' with Eastwood and Hutton the previous year). She later said she was "virtually climbing on board the plane bound for Yugoslavia when word came through that my part had been cut". In the film's climax, there is a nod to the ending of ''
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' ( it, Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo, literally "The good, the ugly, the bad") is a 1966 Italian epic spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood as "the Good", Lee Van Clee ...
'', another Eastwood film, including a similar musical score, and the overdubbing on the soundtrack of non-existent jangling spurs.


Vehicles and weapons

The
Tiger I The Tiger I () was a German heavy tank of World War II that operated beginning in 1942 in Africa and in the Soviet Union, usually in independent heavy tank battalions. It gave the German Army its first armoured fighting vehicle that mounted ...
tanks were actually Soviet
T-34 The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank introduced in 1940. When introduced its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was less powerful than its contemporaries while its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against anti-tank weapons. The C ...
tanks that had been modified to look like the German tank. The U.S. Sherman tanks were the M4A3E4 variant. Kelly's platoon also drove an
M3 Gun Motor Carriage The M3 Gun Motor Carriage (GMC) was a United States Army tank destroyer equipped with a 75 mm M1897A4 gun, which was built by the Autocar Company during World War II. After observing the new and often decisive, uses of armored vehicles ...
before it was destroyed on the hill, as well as several half-tracks. The Germans also drove a Kübelwagen. Kelly's men were armed with a mix of .30 caliber machine guns, Browning Automatic Rifles, and
Thompson submachine gun The Thompson submachine gun (also known as the "Tommy Gun", "Chicago Typewriter", "Chicago Piano", “Trench Sweeper” or "Trench Broom") is a blowback-operated, air-cooled, Magazine-fed rifle, magazine-fed Selective fire, selective-fire subm ...
s, with few carbines and no
M-1 rifle The M1 Garand or M1 rifleOfficially designated as U.S. rifle, caliber .30, M1, later simply called Rifle, Caliber .30, M1, also called US Rifle, Cal. .30, M1 is a semi-automatic rifle that was the service rifle of the U.S Army during World ...
s. Gutkowski, the unit's sniper, was armed with a Soviet
Mosin–Nagant The Mosin–Nagant is a five-shot, bolt-action, internal magazine–fed military rifle. Known officially as the 3-line rifle M1891 and informally in Russia and former Soviet Union as Mosin's rifle ( ru , винтовка Мосина, ISO 9: ) ...
M91/30 rifle. The German soldiers were armed almost exclusively with
MP 40 The MP 40 (''Maschinenpistole 40'') is a submachine gun chambered for the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge. It was developed in Nazi Germany and used extensively by the Axis powers during World War II. Designed in 1938 by Heinrich Vollmer with in ...
submachine guns. The U.S. plane that attacked Kelly's group was a Yugoslavian
Soko 522 The Soko 522 was a two-seater Yugoslav military training and light attack aircraft produced in the 1950s by SOKO in Yugoslavia. History The ''Soko 522'' was designed by Yugoslav engineers Šostarić, Marjanović and Čurčić at the Ikarus Airc ...
with a U.S. Army air force roundels.


Deleted scenes

MGM cut approximately 20 minutes from the film before its theatrical release. Eastwood said later in interviews that he was very disappointed about the re-cut by MGM because he felt that many of the deleted scenes not only gave depth to the characters, but also made the movie much better. Some of the deleted scenes were shown on promotional stills and described in interviews with cast and crew for Cinema Retro's special edition article about ''Kelly's Heroes'': * Oddball and his crew pack up to go across the lines to meet up with Kelly and others while local village girls are running around half naked. * The platoon encounters a group of German soldiers and naked girls swimming in a pool. * While they wait for Oddball in the barn at night, Kelly and Big Joe talk about their disillusionment with the war and why Kelly was made a scapegoat for the attack that resulted in his demotion. Another scene was deleted from this part, in which the platoon decides they do not want to continue with the mission, and Gutkowski threatens Kelly at gunpoint, but Big Joe and Crapgame side with Kelly. * General Colt is in bed with some women when he gets a call that Kelly and others have broken through the enemy lines. * During the attack on the town, production designer John Barry had a cameo as a British airman hiding from the Germans. * One promotional still shows Kelly finding a wounded German soldier among the ruined houses during the final town attack. * Kelly, Oddball and Big Joe discuss tactics while standing on an abandoned Tiger tank before the scene in which they negotiate with the German tank commander. * When Kelly and platoon drive off at the end, a bunch of soldiers yell at them that they are headed in the wrong direction.


Musical score and soundtrack

The
film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...
was composed, arranged, and conducted by
Lalo Schifrin Boris Claudio "Lalo" Schifrin (born June 21, 1932) is an Argentine-American pianist, composer, arranger and conductor. He is best known for his large body of film and TV scores since the 1950s, incorporating jazz and Latin American musical eleme ...
, while the
soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' ...
was released by
MGM Records MGM Records was a record label founded by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack recordings (later LP albums) of their musical films. It transitioned into a pop music label that continued into the ...
in 1970. The President of MGM Records,
Mike Curb Michael Curb (born December 24, 1944) is an American musician, record company executive, motorsports car owner, philanthropist, and former politician. He is also the founder of Curb Records where he presently serves as the chairman. Curb also ...
, wrote two songs for the film, with his group the
Mike Curb Congregation Michael Curb (born December 24, 1944) is an American musician, record company executive, motorsports car owner, philanthropist, and former politician. He is also the founder of Curb Records where he presently serves as the chairman. Curb also s ...
performing on a number of the songs. The soundtrack was released on LP, as well a subsequent CD featuring the LP tracks, by Chapter III Records; both were mostly re-recordings. An expanded edition of the soundtrack was released by
Film Score Monthly ''Film Score Monthly'' is an online magazine (and former print magazine) founded by editor-in-chief and executive producer Lukas Kendall in June 1990 in music, 1990 as ''The Soundtrack Correspondence List''. It is dedicated to the art of Film sco ...
in 2005. The main musical theme of the film (at both beginning and end) is "Burning Bridges", sung by the Mike Curb Congregation with music by Schifrin. There is also a casual rendition of the music heard in the background near the middle of the film. The Mike Curb Congregation's recording of "Burning Bridges" reached #34 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart on March 6, 1971; but did much better in South Africa, where it was the #1 song on the charts for five weeks ending in November 1970, and in New Zealand, where it spent two weeks at #1 in March 1971. It also had a two-week stay at #1 in Australia, and in Canada the song reached #23 in March 1971. Mike Curb wrote the song "
All for the Love of Sunshine "All for the Love of Sunshine" is a song written by music executive Mike Curb, Harley Hatcher and Lalo Schifrin, recorded by American country music singer Hank Williams Jr. The song went to number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles char ...
" for the film, with the Mike Curb Congregation providing background on the recording by
Hank Williams, Jr. Randall Hank Williams (born May 26, 1949), known professionally as Hank Williams Jr. or Bocephus, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style is often considered a blend of southern rock, blues, and country. He is the son o ...
The song became the first #1
country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...
hit for Williams.


Reception

The film received mostly positive reviews. It was voted at number 34 in
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
's ''100 Greatest War Films of All Time''. The film earned $5.2 million in US theatrical rentals.Hughes, p.196 Film
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
gave the film an approval rating of 78% based on 23 reviews, with an average rating of 6.83/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Kelly's Heroes subverts its World War II setting with pointed satirical commentary on modern military efforts, offering an entertaining hybrid of heist caper and battlefield action".
Roger Greenspun Roger Greenspun (December 16, 1929 – June 18, 2017) was an American journalist and film critic, best known for his work with ''The New York Times'' in which he reviewed near 400 films, particularly in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and for '' ...
of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' described the action scenes as "good clean scary fun," until it goes "terribly wrong" when many soldiers are killed and "the balance alters to the horrors of war. To acknowledge its deaths the film has no resources above the conventional antagonistic ironies and comradely pieties of most war movies. And since its subject is not war, but burglary masquerading as war, the easy acceptance of the masquerade—which is apparently quite beyond the film's control—becomes a denial of moral perception that depresses the mind and bewilders the imagination". Arthur D. Murphy of ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' called the film "a very preposterous, very commercial World War II comedy meller, the type which combines roadshow production values and length with B-plot artistry".
Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the '' Chicago Tribune''. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted a series of movie review programs on television from 1975 until his ...
of the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four and wrote that "the bombing becomes tedious. One quickly realizes anytime a large object is brought into focus it will soon be incinerated. With only one dramatic problem—getting the gold—it is hard to imagine how the producers and directors could let the film run nearly two-and-one-half hours".
Charles Champlin Charles Davenport Champlin (March 23, 1926 – November 16, 2014) was an American film critic and writer. Life and career Champlin was born in Hammondsport, New York. He attended high school in Camden, New York, working as a columnist for the ...
of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'' called the film "a picture which confuses shrillness with wit and slaughter with slapstick", adding, "Even the estimable Donald Sutherland can't redeem the picture. Despite his artful efforts, his role as a long-haired hippie tank commander is so ludicrously out of time and place that it becomes hard to stomach in a film in which, elsewhere, two GIs trapped in a mine field are gunned down like cans on a stump. You can't poison your cake and eat it too". Alan M. Kriegsman of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...
'' described the film as "a case of machismo gone mad," and wondered "how a photographer like Gabriel Figueroa, who shot a number of Luis Bunuel's finest films, among other things, ever got roped into such a jejune, tasteless project". ''
The Monthly Film Bulletin ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with ''Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a ...
'' stated that "In terms of rip-roaring, bulldozing action, this attempt to cross ''
The Dirty Dozen ''The Dirty Dozen'' is a 1967 American war film directed by Robert Aldrich and starring Lee Marvin with an ensemble supporting cast including Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Richard Jaeckel, George Kennedy, Ralph M ...
'' with ''
Where Eagles Dare ''Where Eagles Dare'' is a 1968 war film directed by Brian G. Hutton and starring Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood and Mary Ure. It follows a joint British-American Special Operations Executive team of paratroopers raiding a castle (shot on lo ...
'' can be said to have achieved its object". However, the review went on, "With all energy apparently expended on sustaining over two hours of consistently devastating explosions, pyrotechnics and demolition, little attention has been paid either to period detail (resulting in mini-skirted townswomen and the description of conditions in terms of 'hung-up' and 'freaked out') or to the script, which is jolly, vituperative, and little else".


Home media

''Kelly's Heroes'' was released on DVD by Warner Home Video on August 1, 2000, in a Region 1 widescreen DVD (one of several solo DVDs marketed as the Clint Eastwood Collection). The film was re-released again on June 1, 2010, this time as a Blu-ray Region A widescreen two-disc set also with Eastwood's 1968 World War II
feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...
, ''
Where Eagles Dare ''Where Eagles Dare'' is a 1968 war film directed by Brian G. Hutton and starring Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood and Mary Ure. It follows a joint British-American Special Operations Executive team of paratroopers raiding a castle (shot on lo ...
''.


See also

*
List of American films of 1970 This is a list of American films released in 1970. ''Patton'' won the Academy Award for Best Picture. The top-grossing film at the U.S. box office was ''Airport''. __TOC__ A–B C–F G–I J–M N–S T–Z See also * 1970 in ...
* ''
Les Morfalous Les Morfalous (literally ''The Greedy-Guts'', in French argot ; English title: ''The Vultures'') is a 1984 French adventure film, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and directed by Henri Verneuil, featuring the French Foreign Legion during the Second Worl ...
'', a French 1984 remake of ''Kelly's Heroes''


Citations


General and cited references

* * *


External links

* * * * *
Kelly's Heroes online
{{Brian G. Hutton 1970 films 1970 war films 1970s English-language films 1970s heist films 1970s war comedy films American World War II films American heist films American satirical films English-language Yugoslav films Films about armoured warfare Films about deserters Films about the United States Army Films directed by Brian G. Hutton Films scored by Lalo Schifrin Films set in 1944 Films set in France Films shot in Yugoslavia Films with screenplays by Troy Kennedy Martin Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Military humor in film Western Front of World War II films World War II films based on actual events Yugoslav World War II films Yugoslav war films 1970s American films