Tarnished Heroes

Last updated
Tarnished Heroes
"Tarnished Heroes" (1962).jpg
Directed by Ernest Morris
Written by Brian Clemens
Produced by Edward J. Danziger
Harry Lee Danziger
Starring Dermot Walsh
Anton Rogers
Cinematography James Wilson
Edited by Desmond Saunders
Music by Bill LeSage
Production
company
Distributed by Warner-Pathé Distributors
Release date
  • 16 July 1961 (1961-07-16)
Running time
75 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Tarnished Heroes is a 1961 British war film directed by Ernest Morris and starring Dermot Walsh and Anton Rodgers. [1] [2] It was written by Brian Clemens and produced by Danziger Productions.

Contents

The film is set in France during World War II, and concerns a British major who destroys a Nazi convoy. [3] The plot of the film bears similarities to The Dirty Dozen ,[ citation needed ] although it was made five years before Robert Aldrich's film, and three years before the novel on which it is based.

Plot

When Major Roy Bell and his company are trapped by the advancing German army, Bell decides to embark on a suicide mission to blow up a bridge which is of strategic importance to the enemy. However, the only resource available to him is a group of rag-tag army failures, made up of drunks, thieves and deserters. According to the officer's handbook, 'an officer will perform whatever task confronts him with whatever men are available'. Under Bell's guidance, these men must now rise to the challenge and prove themselves as heroes if they are to fulfil the mission and come back alive. [4] [5]

Cast

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Dragging British World War II film with most of the textbook clichés: standard second feature action sequences, mildly purposeful acting." [6]

Kine Weekly wrote: "The characters, who, by the way, keep remarkably fit without eating or imbibing, are somewhat clumsily drawn and deployed, but the staging is eflective. It's the real McCoy until you closely examine the script, nearly shot to pieces by incredibilities and inconsistencies. ... The picture, a cut-price cross between Journey's End and The Lost Patrol , abounds with cliches punctuated by intermittent gunfire. Dermot Walsh keeps a stiff upper lip as Bell, but Patrick McAlinney and Maurice Kaufmann, as Reilly and Mason, and the other players representing tough army types are very theatrical, and Sheila Whittingham looks as if she's just stepped out of musical comedy as Josette. The Germans display little tactical skill and their gullibility, plus the novelettish romantic sequences, all but spike the film's guns." [7]

Tortillafilms wrote "Ernest Morris makes a good little film." [8]

Sky Movies noted " things are reassuringly in their place with Dermot Walsh, hero of a fistful of `B' movies, at the head of the cast. In a small role as a trench officer, you may spot Frank Thornton, later well-known on television for his long-running role in Are You Being Served?." [9]

References

  1. ↑ "Tarnished Heroes". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  2. ↑ Tarnished Heroes at BFI
  3. ↑ "Tarnished Heroes | BFI | BFI". Explore.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2012-07-12. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  4. ↑ "Tarnished Heroes (1962)". dvdcity.dk. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  5. ↑ "Tarnished Heroes [DVD]: Amazon.co.uk: Dermot Walsh, Anton Rodgers, Maurice Kaufmann, Patrick McAlinney: DVD & Blu-ray". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  6. ↑ "Tarnished Heroes". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 28 (324): 100. 1 January 1961 – via ProQuest.
  7. ↑ "Tarnished Heroes". Kine Weekly . 529 (2802): 19. 15 June 1961. ProQuest   2859070514.
  8. ↑ "Tortillapolis". Archived from the original on April 22, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Tarnished Heroes - Sky Movies HD". Skymovies.sky.com. 2003-04-29. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.