User Reviews

It's true that little attempt is made to build up or interest audiences in characterization, but that is one of the things I like about this little war picture. I'd much rather have few or no attempts at characterization than the usual, wearisomely conventional Hollywood stereotypes. Save me from the tough drill sergeant with the heart of gold and the officer who shows no compassion on the surface but weeps inwardly every time one of his men is killed. Save me from the new recruit or sergeant whom the men dislike but who makes an heroic rescue in the final battle scene. Save me from the gum-chewing, slobbily attired baseball fan from Brooklyn, from the ma-feet-hurt hillbilly and the lanky, shucks it weren't nothing' Texan. And save us all from the smiling, bland-faced chaplain whose sole functions are to hand out secular magazines like the Reader's Digest and to write down letters for wounded G.I.'s in hospital. But never, never, never to mention the name of Jesus, the Christ, in any connection whatever. For saving us from all this, The Quick and the Dead deserves a vote of thanks. But I like the film not only for what it doesn't do, but for what it does. There is almost continual action, and these actions are most realistically and convincingly staged with explosions going off all over the place and hundreds of uniformed extras taking part in real locations. Totten's direction is sometimes quite exciting, especially in the latter part of the land mine sequence where his use of a subjective camera will keep audiences balancing on the edges of their seats. Photography, film editing, music scoring, special effects and sound recording are extremely deft.

I got it from Sinister Cinema. I did not know it at all. Nor the director. Never heard of him. Well, nothing very inventive in this little war flick telling the story of a bunch of Gi's in the WW 2 Italy, in 1944, trying to reach their lines through hostile country side. They get help from some women and partisans. Usual fights, usual action scenes, good ones for this kind of tiny production, and good characterization. Fairly well acting too. The setting is adequate for this actioner. But it is not a real masterpiece anyway. Not the LOST PATROL. I have seen a hundred of films in this scheme, but it was a good time waster.

This one does not fool around with an introduction as the first scene is an American Patrol being shelled by Nazi Artillery. From here there is a quick attack on the Nazi Artillery spotters nest which is successful, then they get into a German minefield and get captured by the Nazi's by the time they can find their way out. Then, on the way to the Nazis back lines, they escape and get back to fighting.

An addition to their movements behind German lines is meeting 2 ladies, Maria and Teresa and then having them tag along with the escapee trying to avoid recapture. One of these ladies notably is played by Majel Barrett (aka. Mrs. Gene Roddenbury later in 1969). This Star Trek connection has nothing to do with this film, except this is one of the few times she has a movie role outside the TV series. Barrett did do a lot of TV work in many other series.

This movie was made on a shoe string, was filmed in California, yet it has the feel of actually being in Northern Italy. The patrols objective is a Nazi Ammo dump which Allied planes can not bomb. It is capably and visually directed and co-written by a very good television director. One of the main character actors, the late Jon Cedar in this film, has done some work in lots of other films, including an X-Rated film in 2010 known as Sebastian Bulge in Love Shack.

The entire film has many folks who did lots of television work, but this film is a notch above the Vic Morrow TV series Combat! which was also in production at this time. Some of the California sets resemble the sets used in that film for location shooting, though often the lake from the Andy Griffith show opening made several shots in Morrows TV show. The action throughout this film is very realistically shot this is worth a view by anyone who is a world war 2 film fan.