Kirk Douglas' true colours

Rating: 9/10 (28 July 1999)

While Douglas acts as the voice of blinkered liberalism, he shows up the reactionary superiors for what they are - armchair soldiers, more afraid of mice than Mausers. It's a poignant scene when Douglas attempts to lead a second charge, only to be forced back into the trench by the deadweight of one of his fallen comrades. Also the ending, in which a female species of the enemy is brought out on stage to howls of derision, only for her to move the soldiers to tears with a half-hummed tune that crosses borders, and appeals to the pre-war human in them all. While they never got the anthill, Douglas and the three guilty are the real heroes, and the silent majority of the soldiers the real victims.