Too Late the Hero
Encyclopedia
Too Late the Hero is a 1970
Anglo
-American
war film
directed by Robert Aldrich
, and starring Michael Caine
, Henry Fonda
, Cliff Robertson
, Ken Takakura
, Denholm Elliott
, Ian Bannen
, Lance Percival
, Ronald Fraser
, Harry Andrews
and Percy Herbert
.
theatre of World War II
, Lieutenant
Sam Lawson, U.S.N.
(Robertson), is a Japanese language
interpreter who — so far — has avoided combat. His commanding officer (Henry Fonda
in a cameo role) unexpectedly cancels his leave and informs Lawson that he is to be assigned to a British
infantry
commando
unit in the New Hebrides
Islands for a combat mission.
The British base is in the middle of a large open field, several hundred yards from the edge of the jungle; on the other side of the jungle is a Japanese observation and communications post. Shortly after Lawson's arrival at the British base, a patrol of British soldiers sprint out of the jungle and across the open field, pursued by the Japanese. The base commander, Col. Thompson (Harry Andrews
), instructs his men to keep well back, out of enemy range; they watch as the patrol are cut down by Japanese machine-gun fire.
Lawson's commando group is instructed to destroy the Japanese radio transmitter, to prevent them from sounding the alarm about an American naval convoy which is scheduled to appear on the horizon in three days. The post's radio operator transmits an "all's well" signal every night at midnight; it will be Lawson's job to transmit a fake signal (in Japanese) to buy the Allies another 24 hours before the attack is discovered.
The commando group is led by Captain Hornsby (Elliott
), a very British officer from the upper classes who apparently has a history of foolhardiness. The other members of the squad are draftees from Singapore
whose enthusiasm for fighting leaves something to be desired: Tosh (Caine
), a cynical Cockney
who is also the squad's medic; Jock (Bannen
), a lean Scot
whom Lawson at first considers slightly cracked for skipping on patrol and singing the "Teddy Bears' Picnic
", Campbell (Ronald Fraser
), a fat Glaswegian
; grey-haired Sergeant Johnstone (Percy Herbert
); Scott the radio operator (Harvey Jason
); and the others — Griffiths, Rogers, Currie, Connolly, and Riddle.
By the time the squad reaches the Japanese post, Riddle, Connolly, and Currie have been fatally shot in a botched ambush of a Japanese patrol — which, Tosh mutters to Lawson, was botched entirely due to Hornsby's incompetence: the ambushers were positioned on both sides of the trail, and the dead men seem to have been the victims of friendly fire
. Johnstone also is wounded in another encounter. Since the squad cannot afford to carry him, Hornsby leaves Johnstone behind; shortly thereafter, Johnstone is discovered by the Japanese and his throat slit.
As the men prepare to carry out their mission, Scott drops the radio Lawson was to use to send the fake transmissions, breaking several of the valves
. Hornsby decides to take over the Japanese radio hut himself and use their radio to send the "all's well". Lawson flatly refuses to take part in any such scheme, giving the excuse that Hornsby is disobeying their orders with this extemporization. Nevertheless, Hornsby walks boldly into the Japanese camp and enters the radio hut without being spotted; he knocks out the Japanese radio operator and motions to Lawson and Scott. Scott goes to the hut, but despite Tosh's urgings, Lawson refuses to join him. The Japanese radio operator comes to, and in the ensuing fracas, both Scott and Hornsby are killed. Lawson finds himself in the mud under a hut, staring into the dead Hornsby's face.
With Hornsby dead, Lawson is now the ranking officer, with only himself, Tosh, Campbell, Jock, Griffiths, and Rogers left alive — and Jock has been wounded in the debacle at the Japanese base. Furthermore, Japanese Major Yamaguchi (Takakura
) is determined to stop them from getting back and reporting the existence of the secret Japanese airfield and planes they have discovered. The Japanese set up loudspeaker
s in the trees, through which Yamaguchi exhorts the men to give themselves up. Lawson and Tosh agree that Yamaguchi is not to be trusted, but Campbell is positively in favour of surrender, and he works at Griffiths as Jock gets weaker from his wound. Finally, while Lawson and Tosh are asleep, Campbell tries to sneak off into the jungle; but Jock spots him and asks where he's going. Campbell strangles Jock, wakes Griffiths and Rogers, and the three of them run off.
Lawson and Tosh are on their own. Yamaguchi attempts to outwit them psychologically, using the lives of Griffiths and Rogers as bargaining chips. (Campbell, on the other hand, has been killed in gruesome fashion after the Japanese discovered on his person a ring belonging to one of the officers the patrol ambushed.) As Lawson and Tosh reach the edge of the open field separating the jungle from the British base, Yamaguchi announces that they have three minutes to surrender; Japanese soldiers have the field covered with machine guns. At this point, Lawson suggests that they give Yamaguchi a taste of his own medicine. They double back, locate the Japanese major, and shoot him from the cover of the bushes, leaving the Japanese forces leaderless and in disarray. They then sprint out across the field, zig-zagging to dodge enemy fire. Despite cover fire from the base, first one is hit and falls, then the other.
However, one of the men rises and staggers into the British base. A crowd gathers around him. It is Tosh. When Colonel Thompson asks who the other man was, Tosh replies, "A hero. He killed fifteen Japs single-handed — thirty, if you like." The film closes with a long shot of Tosh as he walks back out to collect Lawson's body.
Island in the Philippines by the same crew and using many of the same sets of Jack Starrett
's The Losers
.
Robert Aldrich recalled that the production company ABC Films, wanted another version of his The Dirty Dozen
and that Too Late the Hero, a property that could use the some of the same elements, had been languishing in studio drawers for over a decade. The idea of the film came from an unpublished novel called Don't Die Mad by Robert Sherman who had worked on several films with Aldrich.
The attitudes depicted in the World War II film made during the Vietnam War
era reflected the 1960s, with one character talking about "long haired conscientious objector
s". The poster advertising the film showed a fallen soldier dressed in a 1960's American uniform and holding an M16 rifle
.
Aldrich was requested to film two separate endings for the American and English audiences, one with Robertson surviving.
ABC Pictures first release was Charly
, for which Cliff Robertson won the Academy Award for Best Actor. However Aldrich would not let Robertson leave the Philippine set to attend the ceremony. Aldrich said he wanted "anyone but Cliff Robertson" for the lead role but he was overruled by the studio.
1970 in film
The year 1970 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 9 - Larry Fine, the second member of The Three Stooges, suffers a massive stroke, therefore ending his career....
Anglo
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
war film
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
directed by Robert Aldrich
Robert Aldrich
Robert Aldrich was an American film director, writer and producer, notable for such films as Kiss Me Deadly , The Big Knife , What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? , Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte , The Flight of the Phoenix , The Dirty Dozen , and The Longest Yard .-Biography:Robert...
, and starring Michael Caine
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
, Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
, Cliff Robertson
Cliff Robertson
Clifford Parker "Cliff" Robertson III was an American actor with a film and television career that spanned half of a century. Robertson portrayed a young John F. Kennedy in the 1963 film PT 109, and won the 1968 Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the movie Charly...
, Ken Takakura
Ken Takakura
, born , is a Japanese actor best known for his brooding style and the stoic presence he brings to his roles.Takakura gained his streetwise swagger and tough-guy persona watching yakuza turf battles over the lucrative black market and racketeering in postwar Fukuoka...
, Denholm Elliott
Denholm Elliott
Denholm Mitchell Elliott, CBE was an English film, television and theatre actor with over 120 film and television credits...
, Ian Bannen
Ian Bannen
Ian Bannen was a Scottish character actor and occasional leading man.-Early life and career:Bannen was born in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, the son of Clare and John James Bannen, a lawyer. Bannen served in the British Army after attending St Aloysius' College, Glasgow and Ratcliffe College,...
, Lance Percival
Lance Percival
Lance Percival is an English actor, comedian and after-dinner speaker.-Biography:Educated at Sherborne School, Percival first became well known for performing topical calypsos on television satire shows such as That Was The Week That Was. He appeared in the Carry On film, Carry On Cruising...
, Ronald Fraser
Ronald Fraser
Ronald Fraser was an English character actor, who appeared in numerous British films of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s whilst also appearing in many popular TV shows.-Background:...
, Harry Andrews
Harry Andrews
Harry Fleetwood Andrews, CBE was an English film actor known for his frequent portrayals of tough military officers. His performance as Sergeant Major Wilson in The Hill alongside Sean Connery earned Andrews the 1965 National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor and a nomination for the...
and Percy Herbert
Percy Herbert (actor)
Percy Herbert was an English character actor who often played soldiers, most notably in The Bridge on the River Kwai, The Wild Geese and Tunes of Glory. However, he was equally at home in comedies and science fiction...
.
Plot
In the 1942 Pacific WarPacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
theatre of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Sam Lawson, U.S.N.
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
(Robertson), is a Japanese language
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
interpreter who — so far — has avoided combat. His commanding officer (Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
in a cameo role) unexpectedly cancels his leave and informs Lawson that he is to be assigned to a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
commando
Commando
In English, the term commando means a specific kind of individual soldier or military unit. In contemporary usage, commando usually means elite light infantry and/or special operations forces units, specializing in amphibious landings, parachuting, rappelling and similar techniques, to conduct and...
unit in the New Hebrides
New Hebrides
New Hebrides was the colonial name for an island group in the South Pacific that now forms the nation of Vanuatu. The New Hebrides were colonized by both the British and French in the 18th century shortly after Captain James Cook visited the islands...
Islands for a combat mission.
The British base is in the middle of a large open field, several hundred yards from the edge of the jungle; on the other side of the jungle is a Japanese observation and communications post. Shortly after Lawson's arrival at the British base, a patrol of British soldiers sprint out of the jungle and across the open field, pursued by the Japanese. The base commander, Col. Thompson (Harry Andrews
Harry Andrews
Harry Fleetwood Andrews, CBE was an English film actor known for his frequent portrayals of tough military officers. His performance as Sergeant Major Wilson in The Hill alongside Sean Connery earned Andrews the 1965 National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor and a nomination for the...
), instructs his men to keep well back, out of enemy range; they watch as the patrol are cut down by Japanese machine-gun fire.
Lawson's commando group is instructed to destroy the Japanese radio transmitter, to prevent them from sounding the alarm about an American naval convoy which is scheduled to appear on the horizon in three days. The post's radio operator transmits an "all's well" signal every night at midnight; it will be Lawson's job to transmit a fake signal (in Japanese) to buy the Allies another 24 hours before the attack is discovered.
The commando group is led by Captain Hornsby (Elliott
Denholm Elliott
Denholm Mitchell Elliott, CBE was an English film, television and theatre actor with over 120 film and television credits...
), a very British officer from the upper classes who apparently has a history of foolhardiness. The other members of the squad are draftees from Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
whose enthusiasm for fighting leaves something to be desired: Tosh (Caine
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
), a cynical Cockney
Cockney
The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...
who is also the squad's medic; Jock (Bannen
Ian Bannen
Ian Bannen was a Scottish character actor and occasional leading man.-Early life and career:Bannen was born in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, the son of Clare and John James Bannen, a lawyer. Bannen served in the British Army after attending St Aloysius' College, Glasgow and Ratcliffe College,...
), a lean Scot
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
whom Lawson at first considers slightly cracked for skipping on patrol and singing the "Teddy Bears' Picnic
Teddy bears' picnic
"Teddy Bears' Picnic" is a song consisting of a melody by American composer John Walter Bratton, written in 1907, and lyrics added by Irish songwriter Jimmy Kennedy in 1932. It remains popular as a children's song, having been recorded by numerous artists over the decades. Kennedy lived at...
", Campbell (Ronald Fraser
Ronald Fraser
Ronald Fraser was an English character actor, who appeared in numerous British films of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s whilst also appearing in many popular TV shows.-Background:...
), a fat Glaswegian
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
; grey-haired Sergeant Johnstone (Percy Herbert
Percy Herbert (actor)
Percy Herbert was an English character actor who often played soldiers, most notably in The Bridge on the River Kwai, The Wild Geese and Tunes of Glory. However, he was equally at home in comedies and science fiction...
); Scott the radio operator (Harvey Jason
Harvey Jason
Harvey Albert Jason is an English actor and the co-owner of Mystery Pier Books, an independent book store that sells first editions.Jason was born in London, the son of Marie Goldblatt and actor Alec Jason...
); and the others — Griffiths, Rogers, Currie, Connolly, and Riddle.
By the time the squad reaches the Japanese post, Riddle, Connolly, and Currie have been fatally shot in a botched ambush of a Japanese patrol — which, Tosh mutters to Lawson, was botched entirely due to Hornsby's incompetence: the ambushers were positioned on both sides of the trail, and the dead men seem to have been the victims of friendly fire
Friendly fire
Friendly fire is inadvertent firing towards one's own or otherwise friendly forces while attempting to engage enemy forces, particularly where this results in injury or death. A death resulting from a negligent discharge is not considered friendly fire...
. Johnstone also is wounded in another encounter. Since the squad cannot afford to carry him, Hornsby leaves Johnstone behind; shortly thereafter, Johnstone is discovered by the Japanese and his throat slit.
As the men prepare to carry out their mission, Scott drops the radio Lawson was to use to send the fake transmissions, breaking several of the valves
Vacuum tube
In electronics, a vacuum tube, electron tube , or thermionic valve , reduced to simply "tube" or "valve" in everyday parlance, is a device that relies on the flow of electric current through a vacuum...
. Hornsby decides to take over the Japanese radio hut himself and use their radio to send the "all's well". Lawson flatly refuses to take part in any such scheme, giving the excuse that Hornsby is disobeying their orders with this extemporization. Nevertheless, Hornsby walks boldly into the Japanese camp and enters the radio hut without being spotted; he knocks out the Japanese radio operator and motions to Lawson and Scott. Scott goes to the hut, but despite Tosh's urgings, Lawson refuses to join him. The Japanese radio operator comes to, and in the ensuing fracas, both Scott and Hornsby are killed. Lawson finds himself in the mud under a hut, staring into the dead Hornsby's face.
With Hornsby dead, Lawson is now the ranking officer, with only himself, Tosh, Campbell, Jock, Griffiths, and Rogers left alive — and Jock has been wounded in the debacle at the Japanese base. Furthermore, Japanese Major Yamaguchi (Takakura
Ken Takakura
, born , is a Japanese actor best known for his brooding style and the stoic presence he brings to his roles.Takakura gained his streetwise swagger and tough-guy persona watching yakuza turf battles over the lucrative black market and racketeering in postwar Fukuoka...
) is determined to stop them from getting back and reporting the existence of the secret Japanese airfield and planes they have discovered. The Japanese set up loudspeaker
Loudspeaker
A loudspeaker is an electroacoustic transducer that produces sound in response to an electrical audio signal input. Non-electrical loudspeakers were developed as accessories to telephone systems, but electronic amplification by vacuum tube made loudspeakers more generally useful...
s in the trees, through which Yamaguchi exhorts the men to give themselves up. Lawson and Tosh agree that Yamaguchi is not to be trusted, but Campbell is positively in favour of surrender, and he works at Griffiths as Jock gets weaker from his wound. Finally, while Lawson and Tosh are asleep, Campbell tries to sneak off into the jungle; but Jock spots him and asks where he's going. Campbell strangles Jock, wakes Griffiths and Rogers, and the three of them run off.
Lawson and Tosh are on their own. Yamaguchi attempts to outwit them psychologically, using the lives of Griffiths and Rogers as bargaining chips. (Campbell, on the other hand, has been killed in gruesome fashion after the Japanese discovered on his person a ring belonging to one of the officers the patrol ambushed.) As Lawson and Tosh reach the edge of the open field separating the jungle from the British base, Yamaguchi announces that they have three minutes to surrender; Japanese soldiers have the field covered with machine guns. At this point, Lawson suggests that they give Yamaguchi a taste of his own medicine. They double back, locate the Japanese major, and shoot him from the cover of the bushes, leaving the Japanese forces leaderless and in disarray. They then sprint out across the field, zig-zagging to dodge enemy fire. Despite cover fire from the base, first one is hit and falls, then the other.
However, one of the men rises and staggers into the British base. A crowd gathers around him. It is Tosh. When Colonel Thompson asks who the other man was, Tosh replies, "A hero. He killed fifteen Japs single-handed — thirty, if you like." The film closes with a long shot of Tosh as he walks back out to collect Lawson's body.
Critical response
Critical response has been moderate. This includes praise for decent acting in a tense thriller, though feelings are inconclusive about the overall impact and significance.Production
In actuality, the Japanese never were in the New Hebrides in World War II; the American forces arrived in May 1942. The film was made on BoracayBoracay
Boracay is an island of the Philippines located approximately south of Manila and 2 km off the northwest tip of Panay Island in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. Boracay Island and its beaches have received awards numerous times. Boracay was awarded in the "Travelers' Choice...
Island in the Philippines by the same crew and using many of the same sets of Jack Starrett
Jack Starrett
Jack Starrett was an American actor and film director. He is credited as Claude Ennis Starrett, Jr. in some of his films...
's The Losers
Nam's Angels
Nam's Angels is a 1970 action film, that was filmed in the Philippines. This film was directed by Jack Starrett. This film was originally released with the title, The Losers.-Plot:...
.
Robert Aldrich recalled that the production company ABC Films, wanted another version of his The Dirty Dozen
The Dirty Dozen
The Dirty Dozen is a 1967 film directed by Robert Aldrich and released by MGM. It was filmed in England and features an ensemble cast, including Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Telly Savalas, and Robert Webber. The film is based on E. M...
and that Too Late the Hero, a property that could use the some of the same elements, had been languishing in studio drawers for over a decade. The idea of the film came from an unpublished novel called Don't Die Mad by Robert Sherman who had worked on several films with Aldrich.
The attitudes depicted in the World War II film made during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
era reflected the 1960s, with one character talking about "long haired conscientious objector
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
s". The poster advertising the film showed a fallen soldier dressed in a 1960's American uniform and holding an M16 rifle
M16 rifle
The M16 is the United States military designation for the AR-15 rifle adapted for both semi-automatic and full-automatic fire. Colt purchased the rights to the AR-15 from ArmaLite, and currently uses that designation only for semi-automatic versions of the rifle. The M16 fires the 5.56×45mm NATO...
.
Aldrich was requested to film two separate endings for the American and English audiences, one with Robertson surviving.
ABC Pictures first release was Charly
Charly
Charly is a 1968 American film directed by Ralph Nelson. The drama stars Cliff Robertson , Claire Bloom, Lilia Skala, Leon Janney and Dick Van Patten and tells the story of a mentally retarded bakery worker who is the subject of an experiment to increase human intelligence...
, for which Cliff Robertson won the Academy Award for Best Actor. However Aldrich would not let Robertson leave the Philippine set to attend the ceremony. Aldrich said he wanted "anyone but Cliff Robertson" for the lead role but he was overruled by the studio.