Great Title, Great Cast, Nothing Else

Rating: Null/10 (1 November 2019)

This movie has a great title and a great cast, but nothing else to recommend it. The meandering story lines go nowhere. The characters (except Montgomery Clift's) simply continue the paths they were on before the little bumps this movie depicts. The two women head home to continue their lives. The First Sergeant goes back to work. The cruel, bullying, hot-tempered sergeant of the guard dies in a back-alley fight. The fun-loving drinking buddy continues doing stupid things that get him killed. The vain, lazy captain gets booted out of the Army. All of which gets a big yawn. Worst of all, there is this big buildup with Monty's character: he wants to be a soldier, not just a bugler; he is endlessly harassed because he won't box for the company, but endures; he stands up for himself, but never complains; he earns the respect of the First Sergeant. But then there is no resolution, because he leaves his own plot line to cross over into the drinking buddy/cruel sergeant plot line, resulting in his own pointless death. The First Sergeant laments the loss very briefly, then closes that story with "Get this body out of here." The same could be said for this whole movie.