Too Late the Hero

Plot synopsis:
In the 1942 Pacific War theater of World War II, Lieutenant Sam Lawson, USN (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 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 rifle 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.
The commando group is led by Captain Hornsby (Elliott), an upper class officer 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); Griffiths, Rogers, Currie, Connolly, and Riddle.
By the time the squad reaches the Japanese post, Riddle, Connolly, and Currie are dead from a botched ambush — which, Tosh mutters to Lawson, was entirely due to Hornsby's incompetence: they were positioned on both sides of the trail, and the dead men seem to have been the victims of friendly fire. When Johnstone is wounded in another encounter, Hornsby leaves him behind; shortly thereafter, Johnstone is discovered by the Japanese and his throat slit.
After Scott drops and breaks the radio Lawson was to use, Hornsby decides to use the Japanese radio. 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 radio operator and motions to Lawson and Scott. Scott goes to the hut, but despite Tosh's urgings, Lawson refuses to go. The Japanese radio operator comes to, and in the ensuing fracas, both Scott and Hornsby are killed.
Lawson is now the ranking officer, with only Tosh, Campbell, Jock, Griffiths, and McLean left alive — and Jock has been wounded in the debacle. Japanese Major Yamaguchi (Takakura) is determined to stop them from reporting the existence of the secret Japanese airfield and planes they have discovered. Through loudspeakers in the trees, Yamaguchi exhorts the men to give themselves up. Lawson and Tosh agree that Yamaguchi is not to be trusted, but Campbell is favour of surrender, and he works at Griffiths as Jock weakens. 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 McLean, and the three of them run off.
Yamaguchi attempts to use the lives of Griffiths and McLean as bargaining chips. (Campbell, on the other hand, is killed in gruesome fashion after the Japanese discover he has a ring severed from the finger of one of the officers the patrol ambushed.) As Lawson and Tosh reach the edge of the open field adjacent to the British base, Yamaguchi announces that they have three minutes to surrender; Japanese soldiers have the field covered with rifles and machine guns. Tosh suggests that they give Yamaguchi a taste of his own medicine. They double back and shoot him. They then sprint out across the field. Despite cover fire from the base, first one, then the other is hit.
One of them rises and staggers to safety. 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."

Tags: anti war, murder

Review:
It's much less about shelling the enemy or just drill some holes in him, but more about "really" to outsmart him.An American officer, an Interpreter in Japanese, who's a real artist when it comes to avoid the battlefield, is about to get a long awaited leave when he suddenly is tasked to help a bunch of British raiders in their endeavor to capture and destroy a forward listening Japanese outpost.Through thick and through thin (literally), men who hate each other as well as hating the American officer (played by Cliff Robertson) have to face a common enemy who masterfully hides in the Jungle.One by one they get hunted down by the Japanese.
Through a microphone and various loudspeakers scattered throughout the Jungle and by performing a highly skillful and mind-shattering blackmail, they try to lure the two to surrender.A well timed war drama, masterfully played by all the actors involved figuring Ian Bannen ("The Hill", "The Outrage" etc.), Harry Andrews ("The Hill", "The Charge of the Light Brigade", "Battle of Britain"), Denholm Elliot ("Raiders of the Lost Ark", "A Room with a View"), Ronald Fraser ("The Hill", "The Wild Geese") and Ken Takakura ("The Yakuza", "Antarctica", "Black Rain").If you like two movies into one: a War Movie and a Suspense Thriller, then the price is really low.The DVD edition is as one may expect from Anchor Bay. No extras included, except for the trailer, but the movie alone is, in my view, a tiny masterpiece and well worth the effort.By the way, if you're looking for a similar movie, forget it.
TOO LATE THE HERO is a top notch war film about a british unit plus one american who must destroy a japanese communications station on a island.
Nolan (Henry Fonda) postpones the leave of the volunteer Lieutenant Sam Lawson (Cliff Robertson) and gives an assignment in New Hebrides Island with the British troops based on the required profile – fluency in Japanese and good shape.
When things go wrong, the soldiers have to fight to survive while exposing their weakness in character."Too Late the Hero" is a realistic and original war movie with human and cynical characters in the jungle of an island in Pacific.
Too Late the Hero is a cynical war adventure with a set of rather unsavoury, antagonistic characters caught in an unforgiving, hot  environment where they risk being embushed at any time by Japanese soldiers.
Not a big soldiers action film like The Dirty Dozen or Platoon, Too Late the Hero is nevertheless my favourite of the genre, although it took a couple of watchings to appreciate the simple, yet original, intelligent plot development, the realistic, yet interesting and even at times amusing dialogue and characters (for instance, Caine telling Robertson in his cockney accent: "now what's got you jumping about like a frog with a bullet up his ass..") and the suspenseful and well-made action sequences.
While they are not particularly sympathetic characters (there are none in the film, except maybe for the Japanese major), Cliff Robertson and Michael Caine manage to become likeable anti-heroes in their own way, each giving excellent performances; American Robertson wondering what the hell he is doing among a rough bunch of Brits fighting the Japanese on a Pacific island until he decides to find his destiny as a hero, and Caine as a brash, cynical, rude, insubordinate and altogether hilarious cockney, mainly concerned about saving his skin.
It takes for granted that war is hell and any sane man would just worry about surviving like Caine, Robertson or most of the other soldiers on an increasingly suicidal mission - not as the leader of the group, brilliantly played by Denholm Elliott, who appears suspect and foolish for trying to maintain traditional combat values and discipline.
Biroc.Lawson (Cliff Robertson) is an American naval officer who specialises in Asiatic languages, thus he is sent to a Pacific island to assist a group of British soldiers on what seems a routine mission.
Arguably, mind.It's a bloody suicide mission!That the cast list contains Michael Caine (brilliant here with gritty swagger), Cliff Robertson, Denholm Elliott and a barely used Henry Fonda is of obvious interest from the start, but the ace card in Too Late The Hero's pack is with its supporting players, Ian Bannen, Harry Andrews, Ronald Fraser and a serious turn from comedy specialist, Lance Percival, where all of them in the sweltering confines of the Phillipines location manage to pull the viewer into the mix and fully realise the crispness of Aldrich's excellent screenplay; aided superbly by Biroc who manages to convey via his photography some apt sweaty jungle madness.
This is not a film for those wanting guns a blazing at every turn, it's simply not that type of Gung-Ho picture, those bursts of action, while hitting hard, are swamped by the focused action of the human mind at work, the kind where greed, mistrust and a basic survival instinct are the order of the day.The set-up of the two opposing armies on this island is a bit daft, so some suspension of logic is needed from the off, while there's no escaping the fact that there are a number of war movie clichés within.
"Too Late the Hero" is an excellent WWII piece whose plot served as the basis for "Aliens" and "Southern Comfort" and is just as good as those other excellent movies: reluctant hero Cliff Robertson joins a motley group of soldiers (here British troops, including loud-mouthed Michael Caine and mad Ian Bannen) led by an incompetent officer, Denholm Elliot, and an experienced sergeant, Percy Herbert, who dies early on.
This taut war film is set during spring 1942 WWII, a superior officer(Henry Fonda) assigns a reluctant American lieutenant (Clift Robertson) a dangerous mission in island of New Hebridas .
It's formed a commando under orders a captain (Denholm Elliott) and a motley gang of soldiers released after fall of Singapur , as a tough sergeant (Percy Herbert who was actually a prisoner of the Japanese Army in The Second World War) , a mad soldier (Ian Bannen), a despicable private (Ronald Frazer) , among them.This exciting war movie contains thrills , noisy action , rousing adventure , tension , lots of violence and twists and turns .
In case anyone who keeps saying this is a Vietnam tale grafted on to World War II, I would remind them that Too Late the Hero comes from the cynical hand of Robert Aldrich who was trying to create another Dirty Dozen for the Pacific Theater.In a brief appearance at the beginning of the film Captain Henry Fonda sends Cliff Robertson for a little combat duty, not appreciated by a man who resolved to see no combat if possible.
But his skills in the Japanese language are needed by our British allies who have retreated from Singapore to the New Hebrides Islands and this particular island they're sharing with the enemy.These are the ones who barely got out ahead of the surrender and they're an undisciplined and surly lot as their commanding officer Harry Andrews discovers.
Too late the hero is one of the most boring movies that I've ever seen,well its not that bad,the action was good,the acting is decent and the battles are good.For a start,half way throughout the movie some things can just drive you insane and I'm not going to talk about that.It's about an American lieutenant who leads a platoon of British soldiers into a jungle somewhere in the Pacific to destroy a Japanese radio station.At that time a Japanese Major captured two men and are threatening the rest of the survivors to surrender or else he will kill them.As a lot of WWII movies are found interesting I found absolutely nothing interesting at all.The atmosphere for this movie is good and the effects are crap.This movie is nothing but sheer disappointment nd nothing can change that(yes,even a remake).The blood wounds are cheesy for a movie that was made in 1969.I don't know what the deal was on making this movie,it was probably seen as spectacular for its time.I was going to give it a 5 at the start but the boring parts made me give it a 4 instead.Mostly if you see a war movie you are expecting to see a lot of action but this is a war movie that should be avoided because there is barely any action in this movie.War movie fans will be disappointed with this heap of junk..
"Too Late the Hero" has the production quality, top acting and story that makes it a good film to have in any war movie library..
Cliff Robertson playing a somewhat reticent U.S. Naval Lieutenant (Lawson) hoping for a long due leave posting, is unexpectedly assigned to a command with a British base on an island in the New Hebrides off the South West Pacific in 1942.
On arriving at the British base and expecting some form of settling relaxation beforehand, is informed by Commanding Officer Thompson (Played by Harry Andrews), that he will be leaving for his duties in "half an hour".The stunned look on Lawson's face, and at a subsequent pr-briefing put him into a state of disbelief as to what is happening with his association with his British colleagues who are already demonstrating precision control over their already come to attention to duties.Enter British "Limey" Michael Caine (Tosh) an equally disconcerted medical orderly soldier with a totally disloyal uninterested squad of men, led on this patrol by bungling Captain Hornsby (played superbly by Denholm Elliot) who takes his troops to complete disaster with poor judgment of jungle fighting skills.
A subsequent discovery of a major Jap naval airstrip there by the remainder of the patrol leads to a chase and run by the enemy in an endeavor to stop them reporting this find.The remainder of the force retreat in a shambles with some of the party becoming victims of the Japanese,either killed or surrendering beforehand, leaving Lawson and Tosh to try to make it back to base.Both eventually leave the jungle perimeter under enemy fire over an exposed field with only one survivor returning.Really great movie full of comedy quips, combined with interesting American - British off beat well quoted differences, and a conclusion deserved of the movie title..
Unfortunately, an able cast is wasted in this very anti-war effort, which plays out more like an anti-Vietnam allegory than a tale of wartime heroics.In the spring of 1942, American Lt. Lawson (Cliff Robertson, "Up from the Beach") sits lazily on a Pacific island, doing everything possible to avoid hazardous duties.
Their assignment is to enter the Japanese-occupied jungle, destroy the enemy's radio, and return to the safe area.It's an extremely dangerous mission, but when they first set off, as Cliff gets to know his fellow soldiers, the tone still balances the extremely fine line of not taking the war seriously and not making the situation comical.
Robert Aldrich, who had done a fine job with other WWII films "The Flight Of The Phoenix" & "The Dirty Dozen" returns to the period with another success, the story of a American Soldier(played by Cliff Robertson) who is reluctantly transferred from a secure base, to a British unit, where they are sent to a Pacific Japanese held island, occupied by both allied and imperial forces.
Their mission is to go into enemy territory to destroy a Japanese Radio outpost, but Robertson proves to be a most reluctant hero, much to the consternation of his unit, led by Michael Caine(fine performance once again) among other cast members including Ian Bannen & Harry Andrews.Nicely realized film creates an authentic period feel, especially the claustrophobic danger from the jungle, where enemy soldiers lurk.
Perhaps its greatest fault is that the film is distinctly unmemorable, despite a fairly engaging plot of British troops and one American (Cliff Robertson) stranded on a Pacific island at the mercy of the Japanese.The largely British cast looks impressive on paper - Michael Caine, Ian Bannen, Harry Andrews, Denholm Elliott - but few really get a chance to shine: Caine, for instance, seems content most of the time to take a back seat to Robertson.
For all that, the film generates some genuine tension during the second half with its cat-and-mouse game between Robertson and Caine on one side and the Japanese major on the other.This is no jingoistic fare, however, a fact which is borne by the script (co-written by Aldrich) and, for this reason, Joseph Biroc's cinematography is deliberately murky - which also means that Gerald Fried's rousing score is actually an ironic comment on the glorification of war!
After all, an American (Cliff Robertson) is chosen to lead a secret mission of British soldiers because of his knowledge of the Japanese language (which makes sense) but through the course of the film, the soldiers sneaking into the Japanese sector of a contested island CONSTANTLY talk, yell and even sing!!!
A British Army position at the end of a Japanese Island is selected for an operation to penetrate enemy lines, destroy their radio equipment and broadcast a false message to confuse the troops and distract from the American Navy moving in nearby.
If you like your war movies heavy on meaning and light on logic, there's Robert Aldrich's 1970 Too Late the Hero, a clunking mess of an "anti-Vietnam War" WWII-era film that gets bogged down right from the start with Aldrich pointing out the moral-equivalency of the Allies and the Imperial Japanese by falling into that hoary 60s cliché of making the fascists brilliant and their opponents (us) foolish and sadistic cowards.Shot in the Phillipines, TLTH is such an stupidly plotted and incompetently constructed pile of junk that it makes the war movie by Cornel Wilde (Beach Red, I think) look good in comparison.I taped Too Late the Hero off TCM a couple years ago, sat down to see if it was anywhere near the quality of The Dirty Dozen, and almost immediately realized that Aldrich's slow decline (with the exception of The Longest Yard) had begun.Skip it, unless you find watching an artist's career implode an entertainment in itself..
Previously having done the 'Dirty Dozen', a hard act to follow, a kind of 'Motley Crew', in came this film.A group, as I say of misfits, though not criminal are pitted with a neurotic officer, played well by Denholm Elliott, with American Lieutenant Cliff Robertson, the obligatory American to get the 'States audience to watch it, one would imagine (Just like his star part in 633 Squadron) along with the annoying but definitely watchable role for Michael Caine, one of his best in my opinion, even though it's not a million miles away from his true cockneyed accent!
It's rare to find this many good character actors in one movie.I didn't realise as I watched, but apparently "Too Late The Hero" is meant to be an allegory for America's war against Vietnam.
Far too noisy,far too long,far from subtle.And it had Lance Percival in it.I don't really need to go on but I shall because "Too late the hero" or 'ero as our professional cockney might have it, is one of the worst kind of movies.The kind that pretend to be one thing but turn out to be quite another.Here we have a bash - crash no prisoners war movie full of squaddies with gritted teeth firing machine guns at other squaddies with gritted teeth accompanied by belicose music ,dramatic sunlight through the trees and much crunching of the undergrowth.One by one the good guys are killed off until only the professional cockney and the smug yank are left and then there's a rousing climax as they race across a huge expanse of open ground the Brits have inexplicably left unmined outside their camp until one of them gets his and the other collapses at the feet of his lantern - jawed C.O. who clenches his teeth manfully.OK.It's a Robert Aldrich war movie,a sort of "Dirty Half Dozen",but hey,now it's 1968 man,it's not cool any more to make war movies,let's pretend we've made an anti - war movie and really clean up.
Michael Caine and Cliff Robertson lead a cast of established actors in a story concerning a suicide mission against the Japanese in the Asian jungle.
Something of a proxy for the Vietnam War, it's the story of a handful of British soldiers and one reluctant American translator trekking through the bush on a Japanese-held island with the mission of destroying a Japanese radio station.The director, Robert Aldrich, is a Hollywood craftsman but adds little to a kind of paradoxical tale.
When Aldrich gets hold of a halfway decent script -- "The Dirty Dozen" or "Flight of the Phoenix" -- he handles it very well but he seems to have been reckless and put no effort into this rather ordinary war movie.Suspense in a movie like this is inevitable and it increases after the radio station is destroyed and what's left of the team tries to get back to the British base, with the enemy in hot pursuit.
We have gone to conquer, not to redeem." — Mark Twain Robert Aldrich attempts to repeat the success of "The Dirty Dozen" with "Too Late the Hero", a dull war adventure starring Michael Caine and Cliff Robertson.The plot?
Assisting him are Lieutenant Lawson (Cliff Robertson), an American language translator, and Private Tosh Hearne (Michael Caine), a disgruntled soldier."Too Late the Hero" indulges in many, then trendy, Vietnam Era counter-clichés.
The Cliff Robertson & Michael Caine World War II epic "Too Late the Hero" qualifies as another searing indictment of warfare.
You'll recognize several familiar British faces, such as lantern-jawed Harry Andrews, Percy Herbert, Denholm Elliot, Ian Bannen, and Ronald Fraser, from other World War II movies.Oscar-winning actor Cliff Robertson of "Charly" plays U.S. Navy Lieutenant (J.G.) Sam Lawson who has an easy job eavesdropping on Japanese radio chatter and interpreting it.