One of director Robert Aldrich's least-remembered films recently came out on DVD courtesy of MGM Home Video, and while Too Late the Hero (1970) can't be called a masterpiece, it turns out to be an unjustly neglected, very solid WWII combat drama featuring some fine suspense and excellent performances.

Cliff Robertson plays a soldier in 1942 who makes no bones about the fact that he wants to go on his furlough rather than return to active duty. But his commanding officer, Henry Fonda, has other plans and informs him that he is to leave immediately to join a British regiment preparing for a dangerous Pacific mission. They need someone fluent in Japanese to help them, and Robertson is it. Their mission is to land on a Pacific island, make their way to a Japanese radio base, broadcast some fake information and then destroy the radio transmitter.

Along the way, there are many casualties thanks to some botched leadership, and returning to camp, the surviving soldiers find themselves pursued through the jungle by a large number of Japanese. Eventually Robertson and Michael Caine (as an equally cynical British private) become the focal points of the story, featuring prominently in the suspenseful, original, and truly great ending.

Otherwise, standard combat genre devices of officers in over their heads and intra-squad tensions make up the bulk of the story, but it is well-done. Robertson in particular is interesting for the way he plays his character's cynicism. He clearly does not want to be on this mission yet does not come off as cowardly. He is, we feel, at heart a strong and brave soldier - when he chooses to be. It's an antiheroism which was becoming common in movies of the era, partly because of the then-raging Vietnam War. Too Late the Hero does contain some oblique references to Vietnam but they are subtle, and the film mostly avoids annoying metaphor for straight, realistic drama. It's also refreshing to see a war movie in which the soldiers react realistically - i.e. they're scared, they want to leave, they bicker with one another. There is little glamourisation of war here.

The casting is superb all-around. Denholm Elliott is a memorable platoon captain, and a supporting British cast of Ian Bannen, Harry Andrews, Ronald Fraser and others is rock-solid. Robertson (who was coming off an Oscar® win for Charly) and Caine play off each other brilliantly, and their chemistry is one of the best things about the picture. Caine didn't exactly enjoy the 22-week Philippine jungle shoot, writing in his autobiography that it was "the worst location I have ever worked in." But if working in such conditions created tension in the actor, it was well-channelled onto the screen, for his performance is compelling and intense.

Technically, the DVD transfer looks fine, though the night scenes do not appear as detailed visually as they could have been. The sound is quite good. The only extra is a trailer.

For more information about Too Late the Hero, visit Image Entertainment. To order Too Late the Hero, go to TCM Shopping.

by Jeremy Arnold