FORGOTTEN GEM? Tribes (1970)

                        Back when I was a teenager, there was something called the ABC Movie of the Week.  This was before DVDs and even before VHS tapes.  You went to a movie theater, waited for your favorite movie to play on TV, or you watched a made-for-TV movie like “Tribes”.  Most of those television productions were forgettable, but a few were noteworthy.  “Tribes” got huge ratings and struck a chord in Vietnam America.  It was directed by Joseph Sargent (“Tobruk”, “MacArthur”).  He was nominated for an Emmy for best TV movie.  The movie won Emmys for Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Original Teleplay.  It was so successful it was given a limited release in America and played in British theaters as “The Soldier Who Declared Peace”.

                        The movie states its theme immediately by having a hippie ballad play over the credits.  Nixon fans needed to tune out at this point.  Adrian (Jan-Michael Vincent) is one of a group of new draftees who arrive at boot camp to be reamed by DI Drake (Darren McGavin).  He calls them “do-dos”!  Adrian is dressed as a hippy and has long hair (until the end of the credits).  “You and me are not going to get along.”  Like the audience needs to be told that.  But don’t expect this to be a typical boot camp movie.  Adrian is actually not a bad recruit and although Drake is hard on him, he is not a villain.  That role is reserved for his frenemy Sgt. DePayster (Earl Holliman) who makes it his goal to wash-out Adrian.   There is no dysfunction in the platoon, but it does go through all the key boot camp moments.  They march.  They shoot.  (But miss on purpose if you are Adrian.)  They pummel each other with pugil sticks.  (Or get pummeled if you are Adrian.)  They run the obstacle course.  Adrian does not spout much hippie peacenik crap, although he does tell Drake:  “Your whole bag is death.”   He does turn the recruits onto meditation to handle the sadism of the system.  Unlike the Hartman/Lawrence arc in “Full Metal Jacket”, in this movie the DI adjusts to the recruit.  Or at least, they come to an understanding.  Agree to disagree.  Drake:  “We’re from different tribes.”  (This one line makes the renaming of the movie “The Tribe” totally ridiculous.)

                        The Movie of the Week series was a mixed bag.  Most were very forgettable.  Some were high quality with decent casts.  “Tribes” was one of the better ones.  Vincent and McGavin have chemistry and give solid performances.  This was Vincent’s first big role.  The dialogue is fine and keeps the preaching to a minimum until the end.  You can watch it today and not laugh at some screenwriter’s idea of how hippies talked.

 

                        The problem with the movie is its strength is also its weakness.  Although firmly in the boot camp subgenre, it avoids most of the clichés and stereotypes.  Adrian is not the first pacifist to be put in a movie boot camp, but he is far from Bozz in “Tigerland”, a movie that is the opposite of this one.  The movie is not predictable because it defies the conventions of the subgenre.  The lack of dysfunction within the unit reduces the drama.  Only one recruit cracks.  This tame depiction flies in the face of most of other boot camp movie scenarios.  This was probably a combination of the cooperation of the military and the cautiousness of a TV production.   Adrian has a hard time not because he is a troublemaker or a detriment to the unit.  Drake is harsh, but he is not trying to break him.  The wild card is having another DI interfere with the Drake/Adrian dynamic.  This is unrealistic, but allows the movie to achieve its goal of having the military (personified by Drake) show it can adjust to the Vietnam generation.  Yet, it can still conclude with a sobering conclusion that pacifism and preparation for war cannot coexist.  

                        “Tribes” hit the country at exactly the right moment.  People were souring on the war and it tapped into that, but it is not a polarizing movie.  Although clearly anti-war, it is not overtly anti-Vietnam War.  Adrian is not a Vietnam War protester, he’s a pacifist.  I doubt the movie changed any minds.  It’s pretty tame as you would expect from a TV movie competing for ratings.  Mission accomplished.  However, it did not just get great ratings, it became a water cooler movie.  It is largely a forgotten movie, although not so much by people who saw it live.  It is not out on DVD, but you can see a less than high quality copy on YouTube. 

                        GRADE =  B-

My top 5 movie drill instructors:

5.  Hulka  (Stripes)

4.  Drake  (Tribes)

3.  Moore (The D.I.)

2.  Foley  (An Officer and a Gentleman)

1.  Hartman  (Full Metal Jacket)