ridiculous rating

Dreadfully Boring

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

During WW2, the American O.S.S. mounts covert operations , led by Captain Tom Reynolds (Frank Sinatra) commanding a handful of skilled O.S.S. operatives against the Japanese army in the jungles of Burma . But jungle combat is more grueling than Reynolds had reckoned . As the military commander and his outnumbered troops overcome incredible odds against the Japanese . As sharp-witted soldiers accompany him , such as : Sergeant Jim Norby (Dean Jones) , Capt. Danny De Mortimer (Richard Johnson) , Sgt. John Danforth (Charles Bronson) , Bill Ringa (Steve McQueen) and Doctor Capt. Grey Travis (Peter Lawford). Some respite is found in the arms of gorgeous Carla (Gina Lollobrigida) , an Italian woman protected by a veteran war supplier (Paul Henreid) . But after Chinese rebels offering illegal cross-border support , as they pass the frontier to loot and kill American soldiers ,as Reynolds abandons all notions of "military protocol" and seeks vendetta ; weighting Tom's impulsive requital , attacking against the formalities of the international diplomacy .There's a lot of everything in this Sturges' wartime drama about Burmese war , such as : noisy action , romance , serious political talk , spectacular battles , luxurious scenarios , and wonderful Gina . This movie is based on the real-life story of World War II's OSS Detachment 101 and adapted from the novel by Tom T. Chameles ; but including a lot of focus on a silly love story . This was an OSS Operations Group designed to specialize in activities in the China-Burma-India region in collaboration with the Kachin Rangers , guerrillas and other Allied special operations units and particularly against a Japanese army as familiar with the terrain as the Kachin . The flick has a stolid script by Millard Kaufman , but not uninteresting , and results to be slow-moving , overlong and a little bit dull . However , the war battles , explosions and shootouts make strong impression . Too much romance bogs down this warfare yarn , although the action and intrigue are nice . The film loses impetus when it lingers over the Sinatra's romance with Lollo . Elsewhere, it is indicative of Cold War tensions that attention turns in the hard confrontation between American and Chinese troops . The picture proved once and for all that Frank could be a fine actor . He plays as Captain Tom Reynolds who is in WWII Burma to train the Kachin natives in modern warfare . Regular acting by Gina as the mistress of oily profileer played by Paul Henreid . There are excellent acting from some Hollywood's best players , including prestigious secondaries . Very good support cast as Dean Jones , John Hoyt , Whit Bissell , Richard Johnson , Brian Donlevy . And a lot of oriental actors to have an acceptable future Hollywood career as James Hong , George Takei and Mako's brief role as a soldier in the hospital , it was the first film role for Mako . And Aki Aleong who still goes on playing and producing ; in fact , he has played/financed the last Jean Claude Van Damme : ¨Pound and Flesh¨. It helped advance the youngster Steve McQueen career who exudes star potential , even though he was the late replacement when Sinatra fell out with Sammy Davis Jr ; as a feud had broken out between them . The following year Steve was one of ¨the Magnificent seven¨ and also played ¨The great escape¨ by Sturges .Colorful cinematography in Cinemascope and Technicolor by William H. Daniels , usual cameraman to Greta Garbo . Thrilling as well as atmospheric musical score by Hugo Friedhofer . The motion picture was regularly directed by John Sturges . This one , though , is pretty slack stuff by John Sturges' standards . Sturges was an expert on Western genre as proved in ¨ Escape from Fort Bravo , The law and Jake Wade , The last train of Gun Hill, The Magnificent seven , Backlash , Hour of gun , Bad Day at Black Rock , Joe Kidd , The Hallelujah trail , 3 Sergeants , Valdez or Chino¨ and many others . rating : passable , worthwhile watching .

"Never So Few" is a bad film. While it's supposed to be about the guerrilla warfare against the Japanese in Burma during the war, too little of the film is devoted to this and way too much to a stupid and overly talky romance. Think about it...in Burma is an Italian bombshell (Gina Lollabrigida)...in the middle of Burma...yes, THAT Burma! Not only would such a woman NOT be in Burma, the fact she's an Italian (and we WERE at war with Italy at the time) never seemed to matter to anyone. Too often instead of action, we see Miss Lollabrigida in fancy designer gowns or naked in a bathtub! Heck, you'd have a hard time even remembering it's a war picture...so much is devoted to this silly and limp romance. As for the hero, Frank Sinatra, he just seemed kind of bored by all this...as did I. The bottom line is that Sinatra made a ton of great films...and eventually he had to make a stinker...and this one is it.

This is a most unheralded Hollywood vehicle and yet it contain enough heavy weight stars to garner an entire shelf at the Academy Awards. The movie deals with that portion of World War II in and around what was then called Burma. (Today the world calls it Myanmar) Nevertheless, the small native Kachin tribe have been called upon to engage the Japanese army. Along with American forces they are a small, but formidable contingent who despite their numbers, become the banner of the film. "Never So Few" is the story of the Kachin and the American commander Capt. Tom Reynolds (Frank Sinatra) and his able assistant Capt. Danny Mortimer. Combating the superb Japanese forces and their attempts to conquer Indochina, creates many losses among the allies and prompts a need for a medical officer. Capt Grey Travis (Peter Lawford) joins their group as does a spirited Hell's Kitchen warrior, named William Ringer (Steve McQueen). Betrayed by the Chineese Government after they massacre American forces, Reynolds defies his own government, kills captured prisoners and invited a court-martial. During this same period he falls for beautiful Gina Lollobrigida who plays Carla Vesari a protégé of Nikko Regas (Paul Henreid) a rich entrepreneur. Brian Donlevy as Gen. Sloan orders Reynolds to come to headquarters to explain his defiance of orders. Dean Jones is Sgt. Jim Norby and Charles Bronson as Sgt. John Danforth along with Philip Ahn (Kung Fu) as Nautaung are superior in this movie. Each adds excellence to their respective characters, creating the cornerstone of a true Classic. Well done! ****

Considering its high-powered cast (Sinatra, McQueen, Bronson, Gina Lollobrigida etc.) and its famous director (John Sturges), it's puzzling how this movie never got anywhere with the general public upon its release. It was a complete bomb. That's unfortunate because it really isn't all that bad. Some critics took exception to Frank Sinatra's weird-looking goatee, but mostly it was the mediocre performances and stale script that turned them off. Steve McQueen, however, fared better than the rest of his fellow actors. It was his first starring role in a major film and he made the most of it. His trademark independent streak and commanding screen presence were on full display and director Sturges took note of it all. He was soon casting McQueen in some of his most famous roles (e.g. "The Magnificent Seven", "The Great Escape"). As for Ms. Lollobrigida, she was never more beautiful than in this movie even while looking like she would rather be somewhere else. That might have been due to Frank's character slobbering all over her.The story is mainly about US Guerrilla warfare in Burma during some rough days in World War II. There's a heap load of blood and guts and the film's "body count" is staggering even for a war movie. Unfortunately, the grisly action never compensates for the weak script and run-of-the-mill performances. The rest of the cast includes Brian Donlevy, Paul Henreid, Dean Jones, and Richard Johnson; all fine actors who seem happy to be collecting a check for their services. "Never So Few" also had some 1950's style swear words in its dialogue that brought it some unwanted attention. Compared to movies of today, it's rather tame, to say the least. Despite its negatives, "Never So Few" is a good rental just for the opportunity to see Steve McQueen before he became a household name.