Big Screen Peter: Kelly’s Heroes

Editor’s note: On occasion, Peter ventures off to review a movie classic. This is one of those ventures. Enjoy.

review by Peter Lewis

Clint Eastwood has been rightfully lauded for his litany of acting roles and award-winning turns behind the lens.

In the summer of 1970, MGM released “Kelly’s Heroes,” a film that starred Eastwood as the titular Private Kelly. Not only is the film sorely under appreciated today, it is one of Eastwood’s most enduringly underrated roles.

Eastwood is his usual steely self, both conniving and competent in his efforts as Kelly.

In a quintessential “shit rolls down hill” scenario, the former Lieutenant Kelly has been busted back to Private. After coming across a German intelligence agent, Kelly convinces his platoon to sneak across enemy lines and steal a load of German gold, with the help of some renegade Sherman Tanks, of course.

Because of the ragtag nature of the films protagonists, it has often drawn comparisons to the 1967 film, “The Dirty Dozen.” One description of “Kelly’s Heroes” even labels it as “The Dirty Dozen lusting after gold instead of fighting for clemency.”

Though this is certainly accurate in a sense, it lessens the value and impact of “Kelly’s Heroes.” Both Kelly’s and the Dozen are fantasy interpretations of war, but Kelly’s embraces the unreality of it all while the Dozen appears as if it’s not in on the joke.

Where The Dirty Dozen is wantonly violent, Kelly’s Heroes is nuanced with humor and political perspective. Which is perhaps part of the reason behind the film being so eternally quotable — and thus so culturally viable even today (Hero’s and negativity are both going to be around for a long time, and so to will Donald Sutherland’s quips about them both).

And perhaps it is the overall lightheartedness of Kelly’s Heroes that makes it so memorable. It’s digestible. Who can’t root for a handful of GIs to get some loot and retire to some semblance of Swiss luxury?

Yet the film offers much more than simple pleasures. For all the fantastical elements of the film, it offers pointed reminders of reality.

The cast is, as mentioned, ragtag, with Donald Sutherland playing the vibed out Beatnik and Don Rickles the hustling and abrasive supply sergeant. But beyond these outliers, the film depicts the wearisome nature of war and the seeming disconnect between the men at the front and in the rear. It’s as much about the reason for the reward as it is just the quest for the reward.

In short, the film is an almost perfect cocktail of war, laughter and well-developed characters. From laughs and explosions to heady banter and a classic theme song, Kelly’s Heroes has it all. It remains one of the best war movies to date.

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