One of the best World War II movies, Objective Burma! was filmed during the war. Among its many positives is a superior cast headed up by the immortal Errol Flynn; a talented action director, Raoul Walsh; a stirring Franz Waxman score; and superb lensing by James Wong Howe.

The film concerns a behind-the-lines mission by an elite paratroop company, led by Captain Nelson (Errol Flynn) in preparation for the invasion of Burma by a combined force of US, British, Indian, and other allied troops. The mission: to knock out a Japanese radar station deep in the jungle that will give early warning of the vast armada of allied planes scheduled to bring the invasion force in.

The unit is composed of some of the finest from Warner Bros.' stable of familiar character actors, including George Tobias, Henry Hull, Warner Anderson, Hugh Beaumont (Leave it to Beaver), and a host of others. All performances are top notch and the viewer will quickly find himself empathizing with the bunch.

Errol Flynn who endeared himself to millions with his early swashbuckling roles like The Adventures of Robin Hood makes for a rugged but sympathetic Captain Nelson, a somewhat deeper role than he was usually afforded. Objective Burma! is a superior contribution to the war film genre as was another collaboration between Flynn and Director Raoul Walsh, the peerless They Died With Their Boots On.

Back to the film: the commandoes parachute in, find their objective and knock it out, killing a quite a number of Japs in the process and sustaining zero casualties. Complications arise when they rendezvous at their rally point only to find that the aircraft cannot pick them up. They are given a new location by radio about thirty miles away, through the jungle. In order to find their way across the rugged Burmese outback, Flynn splits his command into two groups, one led by his second in command. Upon arrival at the new destination, they slowly discover that the second unit was ambushed by the Japanese pursuers and won't be coming to meet them. Many more complications arise, including the loss of their radio and the horrific discovery of what happened to their comrades, all culminating in a one hundred fifty mile march through the uncharted interior of Burma to their final destination, where they are once again beset by the Japanese Imperial Army. I will leave the rest of the story to your viewing pleasure.

The film captures much detail from the very era it was depicting so it is a valuable historical document in that sense. Students of arms and equipment will be very interested in the various personages (Gen. Joseph 'Vinegar Joe' Stillwell, Gen. Merrill of 'Merrill's Marauders') applications, uniforms, weapons sequences, and so on. Other films that document similar things are Battleground, A Walk in the Sun, and Gung Ho. Footage in all these films document actual wartime conditions. Like most films of its era, Objective Burma! does not try to whitewash the attitudes of the characters, calling the Japanese "slopeheads" and similar uncomplimentary terms, so if you are sensitive to these types of things you will not enjoy this film.

The Warner Bros. DVD contains a pristine black and white copy of the film in 4x3 theatrical format, subtitles, the theatrical trailer, and two fairly long WWII short films, The Tanks are Coming and The Rear Gunner starring Ronald Reagan (the future President) and Burgess Meredith. War fans must see Objective Burma!

Thanks for reading. Enjoy a good film tonight.



Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening