Only “Old Men” Are Going to Battle (1973)

 

            “Only Old Men Are Going to Battle” (also known as “Only the Old Go to Battle”) is a black and white Soviet war movie set in the Great Patriotic War.  It was co-written and directed by Leonid Bykov (One-Two, Soldiers Were Going…).  He also stars in it.  When he was a teenager, but too young to serve in WWII, he dreamt of being a pilot.  Instead, he went to acting school.  He turned his dream into a film about pilots.  The “old men” are the veteran pilots who looked after the younger ones.  Bykov focused on a “singing squadron”.  In WWII, some Soviet air units gathered musically talented pilots who would perform concerts behind the lines.  Bykov once attended one of these concerts and was in a teenage choir that returned the favor by serenading the warbling warriors.  Clearly, the movie was a labor of love.

            “Based on the reminiscences of Soviet pilots who fought in the war, newsreels, and wartime songs.”  It is the summer of 1943 and the squadron is based in Ukraine.  The squadron’s commander is Aleksey “Maestro” Titarenko (Bykov).  You can tell from his nickname that he leads the singers.  There is a dogfight with cockpit chatter over the credits, but this will not be an air combat movie.  Maestro returns from the air battle in a Messerschmidt.  No biggie.  When the unit gets replacements, he immediately asks if any of them can sing.  There’s an unusual question for an aerial combat movie!  And the first thing the veterans do with the rookies is practice singing.  The Red Army needs air support, but it will be a tough mission, so only the old men will go up.  The youngsters wait and learn.  Later, women pilots are added into the mix so the males have someone to sing to.  In between serenades, the squadron fights the war, almost as an afterthought. 

            Bykov claimed the movie was based on truth, but although the people and incidents did occur, not to one unit.  The movie is an example of “artistic synthesis”.  This is the excuse screenwriters use when they pile uncommon characters and developments into one movie.  “The Big Red One” is a classic example of this.  Did all those vignettes actually occur?  Yes, but not to the same squad.  This can also be used to justify cliches.  Did a pilot ever ask a female pilot to marry him and then get killed on his next mission?  Yes, but...  Did a pilot make excuses to avoid combat, but then redeem himself later?  Yes, but...  Some real war heroes inspired the characters.  Tatarenko is based on Vitaly Popkov.  Popkov was an ace with 40 kills who was awarded Hero of the Soviet Union twice.  It was his squadron that the teenage Bykov sang for.

Despite the fact that there were “singing squadrons”, it does feel odd that a war movie would be made about one of them.  Since the Soviet Union made a ton of movies about WWII, it should not be a surprise that one of them has a lot of singing in it.  There are six songs, but the movie is not a musical.  Bykov’s response when he was asked about the movie’s emphasis was: “Wars are transitory, music is eternal”.  This theme paid off at the box office as the movie was popular.  The public had seen enough Soviet movies that highlighted the hardships of the war.  You can’t really fault “Only Old Men” for downplaying the attrition in a fighter squadron.  There are enough deaths of likeable characters to fit a “war is hell” vibe.  However, it is not a “who will survive?” movie.  While praising it for breaking new ground, the film does not stand out in its production values.  The cinematography is pedestrian.  The air action is usually seen from the vantage of the maintenance men and earthbound rookies.  At least the planes are authentic.  The acting is average, but at least the soap opera aspects of the plot are not dripping with sentimentality. The songs carry that load.

“Only ‘Old Men’ Are Going to Battle” is not in the upper crust of Soviet war movies, but if you are intent on diving deep into the subgenre, it is an entertaining change of pace.  Just don’t be like me and watch it thinking, what the fuck is up with all this singing?

 

GRADE  =  C