The Young Warriors (1967)

 

            “The Young Warriors” was based on the novel “The Beardless Warriors” (why did they change the title?).  Richard Matheson wrote the semi-autobiographical novel about his experiences as an infantryman in the 87^th  Infantry Division in Europe in WWII.  He entered combat as an 18-year old replacement.  After the war, he became a writer and wrote the sci-fi classic “I Am Legend”.  He adapted “The Beardless Warriors” for the screenplay.   Universal Studios forced him to adjust the plot so footage from “To Hell and Back” could be used for the combat scenes.  And a comic relief character was shoe-horned in.  The film was distinctly a B-movie and was filmed on the backlot.  It was directed by John Peyser, who directed 27 episodes of “Combat!”   It appeared on a double bill with “Rosie” starring Rosalind Russell.

            The movie opens with snare drums.  “This is a story of young men in war.  It takes place during WWII.  It could be “any army… any place… any time…”  Pvt. Hacker (Steve Carlson) arrives as a replacement and is assigned to a squad led by 38-year-old Sgt. Cooley (James Drury).  Eschewing cliches, Hacker is welcomed by the cinematic squad.  One of whom is PFC Guthrie who is the wisecracker.  Another is a slacker.  One has all sorts of health problems.  When they aren’t griping and telling Guthrie to shut up, they do some typical missions, like taking out a tank.  One of the missions is to capture a farmhouse.  They are given this mission so the footage from “To Hell and Back” could be used.  Watch Cooley as he suddenly has a Thompson machine gun.  

            “The Young Warriors” is an average WWII movie. It is helped by the casting of Drury, who was in the middle of his “The Virginian” fame.  He brings his charisma to the role of the fatherly Cooley.  Cooley is a good role model for squad leadership.  The rest of the cast is nothing to write home about.  Geezers will recognize Daly from “Petticoat Junction”.  His Guthrie is not obnoxiously funny and did elicit some smiles.  Carlson is decent as Matheson’s alter ego Hacker.  He bounced around TV for most of his career, including several episodes of “The Virginian”.  The problem is with the character as Hacker’s arc.  It is not rooted in reality.  He arrives as a replacement, and yet behaves like a veteran.  He is accepted by the vets and even supplants them in Cooley’s pecking order.  After some combat, he becomes a killer (Guthrie:  “He is in love with his rifle.”) and then goes through a Griff from “Big Red One” phase.  Redemption, please.

            The movie has a lot of action, although the missions are all easy, except the last one.  If you have seen “Combat!”, you’ll recognize the action style.  The “To Hell and Back” footage is fairly seamless, but if you have seen that movie, it is obvious.  Still, it’s better than CGI.  As far as the pauses between battles, imagine camping out with a Boy Scout troop. 

GRADE  =  C