''You Can't Win 'Em All'' is a 1970 British-American

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 ...

, written by Leo Gordon (also an actor who appears in the film) and directed by Peter Collinson. It stars

Tony Curtis Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor with a career that spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 films, in roles co ...

Charles Bronson Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. He was known for his roles in action films and his "granite features and brawny physique". Bronson was born into extreme poverty in ...

and Michèle Mercier. The film is set at the end of the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922). Two American

mercenaries A mercenary is a private individual who joins an War, armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rath ...

are forced to serve an Ottoman governor, who wants them to escort his daughters to

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. He also wants them to safeguard a

treasure Treasure (from from Greek ''thēsauros'', "treasure store") is a concentration of wealth — often originating from ancient history — that is considered lost and/or forgotten until rediscovered. Some jurisdictions legally define what constit ...

Plot

The end of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

is near. Two American soldiers of fortune – Adam and Josh – team up in 1922 Turkey with separate missions. Josh and his men are interested in profiting from the turmoil prevailing as the Ottoman Empire collapses. Adam, the surviving heir to a shipping company, hopes to reclaim a ship seized by the Germans during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and interned in a Turkish port. Before they can achieve their goals, they are captured by the forces of Osman Bey, an Ottoman governor. Osman Bey is impressed by the Americans' firepower – which includes

Thompson submachine gun The Thompson submachine gun (also known as the "Tommy gun", "Chicago typewriter", or "trench broom") is a blowback-operated, selective-fire submachine gun, invented and developed by Brigadier General John T. Thompson, a United States Arm ...

s – and enlists them in a mission to escort his daughters, seemingly to

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

, but really to

. Because of the war, Turkish ports are blockaded by the British. Knowing that an American ship is not subject to the blockade, Adam suggests using the one held by the Turks, once they have returned it to him. With Osman Bey's consent, the group sets off for the coast with Osman Bey's daughters, and also their guardian, the beautiful and formidable Aila. Along the way, they must contend with the dangers of the terrain, the war, the machinations of Osman Bey's opportunistic colonel and also each other's greed. They also begin to realize that the Bey was not open with them about the real object of their mission, to safeguard a priceless treasure from the empire's enemies. During one desperate battle, Aila convinces Josh to abandon his men and Adam, and flee with her and a suitcase full of jewels. Adam and a few of the other mercenaries survive and reach the port of

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

, where they find Josh, Aila and Adam's ship. However, before Adam and Josh can come to blows over Josh's betrayal, panicked Ottoman soldiers board the ship, seeking to escape the nationalists. In the firefight, the ship catches fire. Josh and Adam are captured by the victorious nationalists and brought before their general, who offers them their freedom in exchange for the jewels. Aila shows up, and Josh and Adam realize that she is a nationalist spy. She has persuaded the general to let them go since he has the real treasure, an ancient Koran hidden in the suitcase. The mercenaries suspect Aila stole the jewels herself.

Cast

Uncredited voice actors: * David de Keyser * Roger Delgado * Robert Rietty

Production

The film was originally known as ''Dubious Patriots''. "The country, the people, were fabulous", said Tony Curtis shortly after filming ended. "The thing that did us in was the very shoddy British production set up. They promised certain things on location and didn't provide them. There were inadequate sanitary conditions: people got sick. The director, Peter Collinson? I have no comment about Mr Collinson. Some day I'll tell you about him." Aircraft sequences were flown and coordinated by Charles Boddington and Lewis Benjamin. The aircraft were owned by ex-RCAF pilot

Lynn Garrison Lynn Garrison (born April 1, 1937) is a Canadian pilot and political adviser. He was a Royal Canadian Air Force fighter pilot in the 403 Helicopter Operational Training Squadron, 403 City of Calgary Squadron, before holding jobs as a Commercial ...

who shipped several of his S.E.5 replicas from Ireland to Turkey for the production. They were previously featured in ''

The Blue Max ''The Blue Max'' is a 1966 war film , WW I film directed by John Guillermin and starring George Peppard, James Mason, Ursula Andress, Karl Michael Vogler, and Jeremy Kemp. The film was made in DeLuxe Color and was one of the last movies filme ...

'' and '' Darling Lili'' and would go on to star in '' Von Richthofen and Brown'', ''

Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp. 155� ...

'', ''

The Great Waldo Pepper ''The Great Waldo Pepper'' is a 1975 American drama (film and television), drama film directed, produced, and co-written by George Roy Hill. Set during 1926–1931, the film stars Robert Redford as a disaffected World War I veteran Aviator, pi ...

'', and numerous TV commercials.

References

External links

*
You Can't Win 'Em All
at the TCM Movie Database 1970 films 1970s English-language films 1970s action adventure films 1970s American films 1970s British films 1970 war films 1970 action comedy films British aviation films British war films British buddy action films American buddy action films American action adventure films American action comedy films Turkish War of Independence films Films set in 1922 Films about mercenaries Rail transport films Films produced by Gene Corman Films directed by Peter Collinson Columbia Pictures films Films set in Turkey Films shot in Turkey Films set in Istanbul Films shot in Istanbul Films set in İzmir Films shot in İzmir Works about the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) English-language action adventure films English-language action comedy films {{war-film-stub

Plot

Cast

Production

See also

References

External links