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Undescribable Perfection

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

As an actor Errol Flynn had the dubious distinction of starring in both one of the worst propaganda war films and one of the best war films from a major studio during World War II. The worst was Desperate Journey and one of the best is Objective Burma. It was even recognized by the Academy as such getting Oscar nominations for best original story, film editing and best musical scoring.One category it should have gotten recognition is in the matter of sets. During wartime one could not travel to exotic locations to portray a jungle and a swamp. Warner Brothers did a remarkable job in recreating the Burmese jungle.Errol Flynn kept the bravura heroics which he was known for down to a minimum in this film. Here he is just a professional soldier charged with doing a job which is destroy a radio transmitting station deep in the Burmese jungle. Getting out is another problem as Flynn and his command can't meet their drop and have to march out. That original story was written by Alvah Bessie and the screenplay adapted from it was done by Lester Cole two of the Hollywood 10. No doubt the keepers of our patriotism at the House Un-American Activities Committee poured over the film and script looking for evidence of any suspicious Communist propaganda. I confess I found none.Henry Hull should also be singled out here as well. In many ways he's playing the character he created in Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat now transplanted to the China-Burma-India theater of World War II. Like in Lifeboat, Hull is the epitome of the civilized man whose whole world is shaken when he confronts the brutality of war, be it the evil of Nazi Walter Slezak in Lifeboat or the Japanese atrocities done to our troops in their areas of World War II.Maybe Warner Brothers should have splurged for some color although that was kept to a minimum during the war years to bring out the jungle backgrounds better. It worked well with later films like Never So Few and Merrill's Marauders that dealt with the same war theater.Objective Burma was also castigated in British circles because in point of fact the CBI theater was primarily a British show with Lord Louis Mountbatten as the theater commander and Field Marshal Sir William Slim as the ground commander in Burma. We were there, but a distinct minority and strictly in support.Despite their objections from across the pond Objective Burma is one of the best World War II era films that still holds up well for today's audience.

Flynn as the leader of a secret paratrooper patrol, deep in Japanese-controlled Burmese jungle, to take out a radar station, to facilitate the success of an anticipated air offensive. First, I will note an obvious connection between this screenplay and that of the prior "Northwest Passage", which also deals with a very dangerous march by Americans, through the forested wilderness, from New England to Canada and back, 2 centuries earlier. In both films, the troopers have a distant specific objective to destroy, which they succeed in doing. However, their expected pickup by plane or provisioned safe haven doesn't materialize, leading to much depression and suffering. They face potential starvation at times on the return trip, as well as constant threat of attack. In both, on the return trip, the leader decides to split the group in two to reduce the chance of detection, the one not including the prime commander being ambushed and nearly all tortured and killed. But, in both, eventually, their deliverance is accomplished for the survivors. I rate "Northwest Passage" as somewhat more entertaining, being my favorite Spencer Tracy film, which was shot in Technicolor, rather than the B&W of the present film.In contrast to most of his prior 'period' films, Flynn plays it straight, grimy and sweaty throughout the film., based on very contemporary WWII happenings. Very unusually, there are no women in this film, hence no budding romance angle. The humor is limited to small talk and personal eccentricities, with the character actors, rather than Flynn, providing nearly all the humor. Henry Hull, as a reporter included in the mission, serves as Flynn's special confident for part of the film, until he dies of exhaustion.The use of mostly real WWII equipment and gear should be commended, most being readily available. I was not aware that gliders were used in this war theater, but consultation with a history source confirmed this. Clearly, the moderately-sized USAAF CG-4A glider was the main type used in this rescue/mass air offensive combo, it being shown delivering jeeps and small artillery, as well as troops. After WWII, advanced helicopter's would take over this role. In the parting shot, the survivors leave in one of these gliders, most of which were assumed to be damaged beyond future usefulness, after the rough landing of their maiden flight. Amazingly, their C47 puller is shown somehow hooking onto the glider towline, pulling it aloft, without landing! One wonders why gliders weren't used, instead of parachutes, in the original landing, where forest clearings were rare and small. No doubt, because a glider would be impossible to hide, whereas the parachutes were promptly buried. One character suggested that they would be jumping at a mere 300 feet altitude, to avoid some being scattered into the forest and to avoid radar detection. I didn't think this very low altitude jump was possible, but an internet source claimed some jumps during WWII were even lower! Actually, the claim that the radar installation couldn't be seen in aerial photographs nor by bomber crews, hence necessitating a paratrooper hunt, looks made up! The installation clearly looked to be in plane view from the air(pun unintended).The film includes some shots here and there clearly taken from actual combat footage, adding to the realism. However, believe it or not, all studio filming took place within the greater L.A. area, including realistic-looking tropical jungle, swamps, and rivers. During the long periods of sneaking through the dense foliage and wading across rivers, we often hear various animal sounds, most recognizably, the Australian kookaburra. Director Walsh had made many silent films, thus was good at directing the long periods with little or no conversation. Although the implication is that the Japanese were the only enemy in Burma, in fact, neighboring Thais, and troops of Burmese and Indian independence advocacy groups were also allied with the Japanese in parts of Burma. Also, although the film focuses on US operations, forces of the British Empire played the dominant role in trying to oust the Japs from this British colonial country. This includes the dramatized air armada near the film ending, which is shown as an American invasion. Thus, this film was soundly criticized in the UK and soon withdrawn from distribution there. For a period, the dominant interest of the US in Burma had been to use it as a launching pad for B29s to bomb the Japanese homeland and China-located installations. However, it was discovered that the B29 engines were prone to failure at the high altitudes over the mountains between. Eventually, captured Pacific islands provided much closer air fields for B29 bombing of Japan.This is arguably the best of Flynn's several WWII-related films made during the war, although it may be too long, with too many silent stretches of walking or waiting. It's also the only one not scripted as taking place in Europe. The prior "Desperate Journey" also involved a lengthy sojourn in enemy territory, but was partly a farce, ridiculing the Nazis.Ironically, Flynn was rejected for active service, due to several ongoing or potential health problems. During shooting, he sometimes was unable to perform, due to one health problem or another. Also, freaky summer weather often prevented shooting.

As a drama the film does a good job, in terms of historical accuracy one questions it. The fighting in Burma was not carried out by the USA, but by the army of the United Kingdom. Had this operation actually occurred, it would have been carried out by the SAS. English soldiers fought in Burma from day one until the very end of the war. Fighting in the harsh, humid jungles of Burma was no easy task for the English army who were not accustomed to the extreme climate, the Japanese soldiers had the advantage. By suggesting that the USA came in and saved the day, I.e., the Calvary rushing in at the last minute, we minimise the role of her Majesty's forces and those who fell in her service. Many Englishmen paid the ultimate sacrifice for their queen and country. Burma was a British sphere of operation, just as the Philippines were an American theatre of operations. Let's not minimise the role of others.

Errol Flynn leads his men in "Objective, Burma!" a 1945 war film also starring James Brown, William Prince, George Tobias, and Henry Hull. Flynn, as Captain Nelson, is charged with parachuting his regimen to Burma and disabling a camouflaged Japanese Army radar station that is detecting Allied aircraft flying into China. An older war correspondent (Henry Hull) accompanies them. Unfortunately, once they were in Burma, getting out became much more difficult.There's something about Errol Flynn war movies that invites controversy, and this one is no exception. The film was withdrawn from release in the United Kingdom after one week because it infuriated British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and drew protests about the Americanization of an almost entirely British, Indian and Commonwealth conflict.That aside, it's actually quite a good movie with a very authentic feel, even though it was filmed in Hollywood. Actual weapons, uniforms, and gear came from the military, which added to the reality of the atmosphere.Errol Flynn does a terrific job as Nelson, a man who is an excellent soldier and leader but who also inspires loyalty among his men. One of the actors seemed very familiar to me, and he turned out to be James Brown, who starred in The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin when I was growing up.There's both triumph and tragedy in this absorbing film. Another reminder on Memorial Day of what servicemen suffered. Except in this case, they were from other countries besides the U.S. in reality.