Kelly’s Heroes – 1970

• 2023/01/14

Few conflicts have created a mythological landscape as suited to adventure films as WW2. From The Dirty Dozen to Where Eagles Dare, the number of thrilling capers set during this period is quite the anomaly. Where to begin? Maybe with this one: Clint Eastwood’s Kelly hears of a huge stash of gold behind enemy lines, and enlists a growing posse of disgruntled soldiers to retrieve it. Eastwood is at his stoic best, but what makes this a classic are the varied action set-pieces, the hilarious script and the wild assortment of characters, including Telly Savalas as a jaded non-commissioned officer on his last ropes, and especially Donald Sutherland as a stoned tank commander. They don’t quite make them like this anymore, and what a shame it is.