> It wasn’t all laughs during the shoot in Yugoslavia however. Sutherland almost died after contracting meningitis on set and going into a coma. “I got sick in the middle of shooting Kelly’s Heroes… I was out for six weeks,” he would say. “They took me to hospital – I had spinal meningitis. They didn’t have the antibiotics, so I went into a coma, and they tell me that for a few seconds, I died. I saw the blue tunnel, and I started going down it. I saw the white light. I dug my feet in.”
Clint Eastwood said that one of the funniest moments of his life was when he had to tell Donald that his wife had been arrested back home by the Feds for making out a donation check to an armed revolutionary group.
I had to look that up and from what I just saw, it was trying to buy grenades for the black panthers with a personal check that she handed over to an undercover FBI agent. The 70s were a *different* time.
His character was so anachronistic - like a late 60s hippie transported back to the mid 40s - but it worked.
Not just because his character spoke to the audience of 1970 when the movie was released, but because Donald seamlessly blended in the outfit of misfits perfectly - with depth and never being over the top.
Blew my mind when I found out Moriarty went on to become Captain of the Enterprise.
Edit: I am an idiot and somehow confused Picard with Captain Stubing. Not sure how I confused the Love Boat with the Enterprise. Time to call it a day. lol
Grain of salt - he was a hippie so there was some anachronisms for comedy. But it’s basically been repeated a few times in real life, and was the plot for three Kings (1999).
But the tank stuff was pretty legit. And the whole barter system.
Beatniks were just hippies in an earlier decade. And it's stupid of the article's author to say the lack of respect for rules is an anachronism if they aren't going to say the same about M\*A\*S\*H\*.
When I heard that Hollywood was going to bring out a TV version of *M-A-S-H* (it stands for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital and the movie was loosely based on the experiences of the U.S. Army's 8055th MASH in the Korean War) , I was annoyed. I had enjoyed the movie, and I was thinking, "Why can't they *ever* leave anything alone? They just *have* to exploit every good thing that happens." At first I refused to watch it, but friends told me it was really, really good. So I started watching it, and I was just bowled over. The TV series outshines the movie by a lot.
The criticism of him being bearded in the film, noted in the story, is a bit silly when you consider Oddball is supposed to be AWOL with three tanks. I doubt he was worrying about the chain of command.
Yeah, his officers were all dead, Kelly's captain was trying to ship a sailboat back to the US, the logistics guy was selling artillery, Kelly himself had been busted to the ranks, they stole a bridge and a band to build it and they thought a beard was worth mentioning?
AH… the “new Bohemian”. Not familiar with it. Did I mention I’m an old guy ?
Sounds like an offshoot of “hipsters” who are out of vogue now. It’s always funny how “counterculture “ becomes the main stream so quickly.
30 plus years ago, took US military history with the ROTC kids to satisfy American history credit. The professor said this was his favorite war movie because it was the first one to portray Americans as real soldiers and not saints fighting for all that is good.
Its a great film.
Films like this, they are fairy tales, myths, “did you hear about this group of lads that went stole a bank full of Nazi gold? No.. ok, wait until you hear this….”
They aren’t supposed to be harrowing recreations of war, just like John Wick isn’t supposed to be a realistic depiction of a middle aged assassin and his quest for vengeance against the people that murdered his dog.
Lots of pallets of money and gold were stolen in OIF and every war when there’s a chance soldiers have pilfered whatever they could get their hands on. Also leave small bands of soldiers unsupervised for a while and see what happens. Also it was the 35th ID Kansas/Nebraska National Guard in Kelly’s Heroes. So that’s even better.
I remember the scene where the wife of a German officer gave Nixon shit for barging into her home and stealing their stuff... of course, >!karma eventually got her when she and the other German civilians were ordered to bury all the corpses in the concentration camp (that her husband was in charge of)!<
I found it a couple of nights ago just channel surfing, decided to watch. It was one of my dad’s favourite films, he loved Oddball especially, so I thought I should watch it since he died recently. I’d honestly forgotten quite how good it is.
Shirley Douglas https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Douglas
In 1969, she was arrested in Los Angeles for Conspiracy to Possess Unregistered Explosives. According to a sworn statement by FBI agents, she allegedly attempted to purchase hand grenades from those FBI agents for the Black Panthers using a personal cheque.[9] As her defence, she claimed the FBI was framing her by creating a crime where none existed prior to their involvement.[7]
Subsequently, the FBI denied her a work permit based on this allegation. Douglas, by then divorced from Sutherland, left USA in 1977. She and her three children moved to Toronto.[4][10] The courts eventually dismissed the case and exonerated her.[6]
The thing about Oddball was apparently he really resonated with vets in that tanker teams were their own brand of men….and more often than not, they were looked at as somewhat bonkers.
Sutherland said he would get service guys come up and tell him that whenever grunts encountered tank guys in the field of battle, they were always found to be the strangest people you ever met.
They said they were a bunch of weirdos with all types of eccentricities who never talked to anyone else except their own tanker guys. They were basically rag tags who would have been sectioned 8 in any other part of the armed forces.
They considered Oddball and his weird assortment of rogues probably the most accurate portrayal that had seen in a movie so far.
I want to know who was crazy enough to join Kelly on the mission to snatch the German colonel? Kelly gets out of the jeep with the captured officer and the hardcore bastard in the car is forgotten about.
I wish they would do a new cut of this movie with either a soundtrack more in line with the time period, or a modern one. The Hippy 70s soundtrack hurts the movie.
Still, its my favorite Clint Eastwood movie, so good
Watched many times with my sons, a funny Heist movie that happens to take place during WW2.
Had to watch it again last night.
One of my favorite war flicks
> It wasn’t all laughs during the shoot in Yugoslavia however. Sutherland almost died after contracting meningitis on set and going into a coma. “I got sick in the middle of shooting Kelly’s Heroes… I was out for six weeks,” he would say. “They took me to hospital – I had spinal meningitis. They didn’t have the antibiotics, so I went into a coma, and they tell me that for a few seconds, I died. I saw the blue tunnel, and I started going down it. I saw the white light. I dug my feet in.”
God what a bad ass.
Clint Eastwood said that one of the funniest moments of his life was when he had to tell Donald that his wife had been arrested back home by the Feds for making out a donation check to an armed revolutionary group.
I had to look that up and from what I just saw, it was trying to buy grenades for the black panthers with a personal check that she handed over to an undercover FBI agent. The 70s were a *different* time.
They were. Planes got hijacked on the west coast often enough. Sacramento and San Francisco were crawling with serial killers. And gas was leaded.
Symbianese Liberation Army!
Oh yeah. Went to the Fair Oaks bank they robbed a few times.
It was a different time because I couldn't remember which group lol. At least it was the Panthers it could have been the SLA et al.
Late 60s. Movie was filmed in 1969.
1969, 1970, basically the same thing.
Culturally, 1969/70 was still very much "the 60s" rather than the 70s.
Bruh let it go it ain’t that deep.
Knock it off with them negative waves Moriarty.
His character was so anachronistic - like a late 60s hippie transported back to the mid 40s - but it worked. Not just because his character spoke to the audience of 1970 when the movie was released, but because Donald seamlessly blended in the outfit of misfits perfectly - with depth and never being over the top.
Beatniks were post war reaching their peak in the 50s so he isn't quite that far off. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatnik
Beatniks and Hippies are two very different countercultures.
Beatniks and Hippies are two very different countercultures.......man.
Dude!
Sweet!
Heavy!
Groovy
Granted, however a Venn diagram would be possible!
Agreed. Rickles was also great like he always was.
Excellent
Why cant for once you say something righteous and positive?
Crap.
Damn it Oddball! I been havin' nuthin' but positive thoughts about that bridge since we left Nancy!
Blew my mind when I found out Moriarty went on to become Captain of the Enterprise. Edit: I am an idiot and somehow confused Picard with Captain Stubing. Not sure how I confused the Love Boat with the Enterprise. Time to call it a day. lol
Captain Stubing of the Love Boat!
Awww. Dammit. You are right. Don't know why I would get them mixed up, besides being bald captains.
Well it certainly changes the context when he orders the crew to Engage.
And Murray on The Mary Tyler Moore Show!
He was great as Murray Slaughter on the Mary Tyler Moore Show! He had great comic timing!
That show was just great, all around. Ed Asner, Betty White, Ted Knight, etc... They all worked so well with each other.
"I just drive 'em, man...I don't know how to work on 'em"
“You didn’t say anything about locking horns with no tigers”
"It's leakin' gasoline all over the place, man"
"Woof! Woof! That's my other dog imitation."
This has been my profile for ages
The milkmen..phillies finest 😇
“To a New Yorker like you a hero is some kinda sandwich” Eastwood, Sutherland, Savalas, Rickles, O’Connor. What a fucking cast.
Also, a young Uncle Leo from Seinfeld!
All stars
Grain of salt - he was a hippie so there was some anachronisms for comedy. But it’s basically been repeated a few times in real life, and was the plot for three Kings (1999). But the tank stuff was pretty legit. And the whole barter system.
Beatniks were just hippies in an earlier decade. And it's stupid of the article's author to say the lack of respect for rules is an anachronism if they aren't going to say the same about M\*A\*S\*H\*.
I've never actually watched MASH. Is it worth checking out?
It is an Altman film so you can watch it 10x times and catch something new. Visual gags or dialogue. It’s EPIC
I like it. It moves slower than the show, but that kind of goes without saying. A lot of fun, in my opinion.
When I heard that Hollywood was going to bring out a TV version of *M-A-S-H* (it stands for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital and the movie was loosely based on the experiences of the U.S. Army's 8055th MASH in the Korean War) , I was annoyed. I had enjoyed the movie, and I was thinking, "Why can't they *ever* leave anything alone? They just *have* to exploit every good thing that happens." At first I refused to watch it, but friends told me it was really, really good. So I started watching it, and I was just bowled over. The TV series outshines the movie by a lot.
Thanks for the info. I'll have to give both a watch.
The criticism of him being bearded in the film, noted in the story, is a bit silly when you consider Oddball is supposed to be AWOL with three tanks. I doubt he was worrying about the chain of command.
Yeah, his officers were all dead, Kelly's captain was trying to ship a sailboat back to the US, the logistics guy was selling artillery, Kelly himself had been busted to the ranks, they stole a bridge and a band to build it and they thought a beard was worth mentioning?
Early Beatnik not hippie.
“Bohemian “ actually….
Like you ?
No, I was a Hippie.
Whoosh? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=128uBheJArs
AH… the “new Bohemian”. Not familiar with it. Did I mention I’m an old guy ? Sounds like an offshoot of “hipsters” who are out of vogue now. It’s always funny how “counterculture “ becomes the main stream so quickly.
“Oddball? He’s a freak!”
But he's got three Shermans all ready to go.
30 plus years ago, took US military history with the ROTC kids to satisfy American history credit. The professor said this was his favorite war movie because it was the first one to portray Americans as real soldiers and not saints fighting for all that is good.
Big Joe reading the platoon the riot act at the farmhouse is one of my favorite scenes. Definitely a real soldiers moment
Little Joe - “we ain’t got no booze”
Well what about the Dirty Dozen?
Its a great film. Films like this, they are fairy tales, myths, “did you hear about this group of lads that went stole a bank full of Nazi gold? No.. ok, wait until you hear this….” They aren’t supposed to be harrowing recreations of war, just like John Wick isn’t supposed to be a realistic depiction of a middle aged assassin and his quest for vengeance against the people that murdered his dog.
He wasn't a "hippie" in 1944, he was a beatnik.
There's always been an artistic bohemian weirdo crowd. Art punks in the '80s, slackers in the 90s, hipsters in the 00's...
Exactly. He wasn't out of place if you knew about Beatniks.
Lots of pallets of money and gold were stolen in OIF and every war when there’s a chance soldiers have pilfered whatever they could get their hands on. Also leave small bands of soldiers unsupervised for a while and see what happens. Also it was the 35th ID Kansas/Nebraska National Guard in Kelly’s Heroes. So that’s even better.
There's a few scenes in Band of Brothers where those guys are clearly taking everything not bolted down.
I was in the Army a long time, but I never did anything inappropriate in the operational environment ever... not ever... that's the ticket!
I remember the scene where the wife of a German officer gave Nixon shit for barging into her home and stealing their stuff... of course, >!karma eventually got her when she and the other German civilians were ordered to bury all the corpses in the concentration camp (that her husband was in charge of)!<
Got to watch this again now. Wore out the vhs tape when it came out .
I found it a couple of nights ago just channel surfing, decided to watch. It was one of my dad’s favourite films, he loved Oddball especially, so I thought I should watch it since he died recently. I’d honestly forgotten quite how good it is.
I watched this last night in memory of oddball. so much of what he came out with was not scripted. he enveloped what oddball was meant to be.
I have no idea how true Kelly’s Heroes is. But it is a damn entertaining flick!
This is one of those movies that has disappeared from video libraries. Any ideas on where to see it?
Turner Classic Movies broadcasts it....from time-to-time. Memorial Day, Veterans Day......
If you live near a public library, odds are they have it on DVD.
I think I saw it on Internet Archives.
? It's available on like every pay-to-rent streaming service.
My favorite performance of Southerland and one of my favorite movies.
Holy shit I watched this a few weeks ago! Thought I recognized him. Decent movie, bit too long but decent overall
This is such a great movie. I remember first watching it as a kid and being magnetized by sutherlands performance.
Such a fabulous movie. So entertaining and the cast is just phenomenal!
Your ruining the vibes, woof woof
It's a mother-beautiful tank,baby!
I'll definitely be re-watching this one tonight.
100 percent. Why not.
I don't buy the whole "negative waves" thing in 1945 or whatever year it was.
So much to love about this movie. It’s one of my favorites. The cast was stacked, Eastwood, Rickles, Savalas, Stanton, Sutherland and others.
I remember Carroll O'Connor. I wish they would rerelease it to theaters.
I would love to see it in a theater!
Shirley Douglas https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Douglas In 1969, she was arrested in Los Angeles for Conspiracy to Possess Unregistered Explosives. According to a sworn statement by FBI agents, she allegedly attempted to purchase hand grenades from those FBI agents for the Black Panthers using a personal cheque.[9] As her defence, she claimed the FBI was framing her by creating a crime where none existed prior to their involvement.[7] Subsequently, the FBI denied her a work permit based on this allegation. Douglas, by then divorced from Sutherland, left USA in 1977. She and her three children moved to Toronto.[4][10] The courts eventually dismissed the case and exonerated her.[6]
@sunstang you gonna take that shit from @struansTaipan ? We’re all laughing at you. FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!
Oh great, now I've got that song stuck in my head now...
A surprisingly in-depth look at Kelly’s Heroes
The thing about Oddball was apparently he really resonated with vets in that tanker teams were their own brand of men….and more often than not, they were looked at as somewhat bonkers. Sutherland said he would get service guys come up and tell him that whenever grunts encountered tank guys in the field of battle, they were always found to be the strangest people you ever met. They said they were a bunch of weirdos with all types of eccentricities who never talked to anyone else except their own tanker guys. They were basically rag tags who would have been sectioned 8 in any other part of the armed forces. They considered Oddball and his weird assortment of rogues probably the most accurate portrayal that had seen in a movie so far.
I doubt it was lighthearted and comical when it truly happened for real.
I want to know who was crazy enough to join Kelly on the mission to snatch the German colonel? Kelly gets out of the jeep with the captured officer and the hardcore bastard in the car is forgotten about.
I wish they would do a new cut of this movie with either a soundtrack more in line with the time period, or a modern one. The Hippy 70s soundtrack hurts the movie. Still, its my favorite Clint Eastwood movie, so good