''The Challenge'' is a 1970

made-for-television movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature film, feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical f ...

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

starring Darren McGavin and

Mako , better known by the mononym name Mako (sometimes stylised MAKO), is a Japanese voice actress, singer and a member of the band Bon-Bon Blanco, in which her prominent role is as the maraca player. She has also performed in a Japanese television ...

. Director

George McCowan George McCowan (June 27, 1927 – November 1, 1995) was a Canadian film and television director in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. McCowan began his career working for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He worked as an actor and director fo ...

chose to hide his involvement by using the pseudonym Alan Smithee (spelled Allen Smithee in the credits). This was the last film appearance of

Paul Lukas Paul Lukas (born Pál Lukács; 26 May 1894 – 15 August 1971) was a Hungarian actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor, and the first Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama for his performance in the film '' Wat ...

Plot

An American orbital weapons platform crashes in an uninhabited area of the Pacific. An unnamed Asian country arrives first, but US naval forces block their escape from the area. The platform would allow any country to threaten the US from space. While the US has an overwhelming advantage in force, the country is allied with China, which the US does not want to aggravate. The Chinese government does not want to enter a full-scale war, but neither do they want to lose face. They agree to settle the matter with a "surrogate" war, fought by a single representative of each country. General Lewis Meyers is opposed to the proposal as he believes US forces can crush its adversaries. American agents track down and bring back Jacob Gallery from a Latin American country, where he is a guide on a big game hunt. Meyers is familiar with Gallery, who was court-martialed during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

for hunting

Viet Cong , , war = the Vietnam War , image = FNL Flag.svg , caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green. , active ...

sentries at night and keeping trophies of his kills. During one such unauthorized nightly expedition, his unit was wiped out while he was hunting alone. Meyers wants to send Bryant, a Marine captain who respects authority, but the Secretary wants to send someone whose disregard for rules and procedures is more likely to produce victory. A small tropical island is selected for the battle, its inhabitants relocated to

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

. Gallery reluctantly agrees to the assignment after demanding $1 million in advance. He is put through a training program and given a selection of weapons, including a pair of Madsen submachine guns bolted together that fires regular ammunition and

birdshot A shotgun shell, shotshell or simply shell is a type of rimmed, cylindrical (straight-walled) cartridges used specifically in shotguns, and is typically loaded with numerous small, pellet-like spherical sub-projectiles called shot, fired throu ...

rounds. He is warned that the greatest threat on the island is

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

, which can quickly infect any wound. A former resident of the island advises Gallery on where to find fresh water. Gallery is sent on his way from a surfaced submarine at the same time his adversary is sent. After his first encounter with Yuro, he sets up his base inside a hidden cave. He begins polluting the water sources, forcing Yuro to the last one. When Yuro goes to the pond, Gallery ambushes him. Yuro escapes, but not before being wounded. Gallery discovers Yuro's treetop base and booby traps it with a grenade. But Yuro had set razor blades in the tree trunk, one of which cuts Gallery's leg. On the submarine, Meyers arrives and unveils his plan to secretly send in Bryant since Gallery has not been successful after four days. In the now-abandoned village, a

fever Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a temperature above the normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature set point. There is not a single agreed-upon upper limit for normal temperature with sources using val ...

ish Gallery sets traps, but Yuro gets the drop on him. Gallery barely escapes and makes his way to the beach with Yuro in pursuit. Hearing his name, he peeks around rocks to see Bryant holding Yuro at gunpoint. Bryant tells Gallery to kill Yuro and be a hero, but a disgusted Gallery shoots Bryant instead. Yuro runs off. Making his way back to his cave, Gallery comes upon one of Yuro's countrymen, hanging dead in one of Yuro's tree snares, signaling betrayal from both countries. Resting in his cave, he hears Yuro beseeching him to forsake the treacherous country that sent a second man against the rules. Yuro offers to save Gallery from his festering wound, but is pointing his gun at the cave. Gallery empties his magazine into the greenery, killing Yuro. He takes out his transmitter to proclaim victory, but decides against it, throwing it away before succumbing to his infection.

Cast

* Darren McGavin as Jacob Gallery * Broderick Crawford as Gen. Lewis Meyers *

as Yuro *

James Whitmore James Allen Whitmore Jr. (October 1, 1921 – February 6, 2009) was an American actor. He received numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Theatre World Award, and a Tony Award, plus two Ac ...

as Overman *

Skip Homeier George Vincent Homeier (October 5, 1930 – June 25, 2017), known professionally as Skip Homeier, was an American actor who started his career at the age of eleven and became a child star. Career Child actor Homeier was born in Chicago, Illino ...

as Lyman George *

as Dr. Nagy *

Sam Elliott Samuel Pack Elliott (born August 9, 1944) is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a National Board of Review Award, and has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, two Primetime Emmy Aw ...

as Bryant, Gallery's unwanted help *

Adolph Caesar Adolph Caesar (December 5, 1933 – March 6, 1986) was an American actor, theatre director, playwright, dancer, and choreographer. Known for his signature deep voice, Caesar was a staple of Off-Broadway as a member of the Negro Ensemble Company ...

as Clarence Opano *Andre Philippe as Swiss official *Arianne Ulmer as Sarah (as Arianhe Ulmer)

Production

This

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made fo ...

film was made at the height of the Vietnam war. Critic Steven Puchalski suggests the film was an allegory for that conflict. The original director,

Joseph Sargent Joseph Sargent (born Giuseppe Danielle Sorgente; July 22, 1925 – December 22, 2014) was an American film director. Though he directed many television movies, his best known feature-length works were arguably the action movie '' White Ligh ...

, left the production after conflicts with the producer during editing. George McCowan took over the direction. Says Puchalski, "it's hard to understand why e decided to use the Allen Smithee pseudonymin this case, since ''The Challenge'' is actually a tightly-wound lesson about the stupidity and futility of warfare."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Challenge 1970 films 1970 television films ABC Movie of the Week Cold War films Films about duels Films credited to Alan Smithee Films set in Oceania 1970 drama films 20th Century Fox Television films Films directed by George McCowan

Plot

Cast

Production

See also

References

External links