Tarnished Heroes
| Tarnished Heroes | |
|---|---|
.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 | 1961 |
Running time | 75 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Tarnished Heroes is a 1961 British war film directed by Ernest Morris and starring Dermot Walsh and Anton Rodgers. It was produced by Danziger Productions.[1] The film is set in France during World War II, and concerns a British major who destroys a Nazi convoy.[2] The plot of the film bears similarities to The Dirty Dozen, although it was made five years before Robert Aldrich's film, and three years before the novel on which it is based. However, it is possible that Tarnished Heroes was inspired by the success of The Magnificent Seven, released in 1960, as the concept seems close: the recruitment of a band of renegades to fight a difficult fight for the common good.[3]
Plot
When Major Roy Bell (Walsh) 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
- Major Roy Bell - Dermot Walsh
- Private Donald Conyers - Anton Rodgers
- Private Timothy Reilly - Patrick McAlinney
- Private Frederick Burton - Richard Carpenter
- Private Thomas Mason - Maurice Kaufmann
- Private Anthony Burton - Max Butterfield
- Private Bernard White - Brian Peck
- Private Walter Hoyt - Hugh David
- Corporal - Graham Stewart
- Col. Moreton - John Scott
- Capt. Mead - Stuart Hillier
- Josette - Sheila Whittingham
- Flamoun - Andreas Malandrinos
- Trench Officer - Frank Thornton
- Officer - Richard Bennett
- Officer - Eric Corrie
Critical reception
- Tortillafilms wrote, "Ernest Morris makes a good little film."[3]
- 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?."[6]
References
- ^ Tarnished Heroes at BFI
- ^ "Tarnished Heroes | BFI | BFI". Explore.bfi.org.uk. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
- ^ a b http://tortillafilms.tortillapolis.org/attaque-commandos.html
- ^ "Tarnished Heroes (1962)". dvdcity.dk. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
- ^ "Tarnished Heroes [DVD]: Amazon.co.uk: Dermot Walsh, Anton Rodgers, Maurice Kaufmann, Patrick McAlinney: DVD & Blu-ray". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
- ^ "Tarnished Heroes - Sky Movies HD". Skymovies.sky.com. 2003-04-29. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
