Sutherland hippilarious in irreverent WWII heist movie

Rating: 8/10 (2 May 2015)

Kelly (Clint Eastwood) goes behind the lines and capture a German Colonel. Big Joe (Telly Savalas) is more interested in women and hotels than any military intelligence. They are getting hit by their own fire as well as the Germans. Kelly discovers that the Germans are actually transporting gold. As everybody pulls out, Kelly intends to steal the gold with a few of his fellow soldiers. Their Captain is more concerned about transporting a yacht to Paris while his men take a 3 day rest in the middle of nowhere. Crapgame (Don Rickles) is an opportunistic supply sergeant. They recruit Oddball (Donald Sutherland) and his three Sherman tanks. The gungho General Colt (Carroll O'Connor) berates his men for their lack of fighting spirit. When Kelly's men break through, he eagerly follows their advance.
This is a fun WWII movie. It's really a heist movie. The war is full of ridiculousness. This has more in common with MASH and that's not simply about Sutherland. He does create one of most memorable characters around. He is hippilarious. It's an irreverent take on the chaos and the incompetence of war. There are a lot of action blowing up lots of stuff. It's one of those movies where lots of Germans get killed. At the core, it's a really fun heist movie.