Objective, Burma!

Burma, 1943. A unit of American paratroopers jumps into the jungle to blow up a Japanese radar station. The mission goes as planned. The trouble starts on the way back: the landing ground is in enemy hands, the evacuation is cancelled, and the men have to walk out. What follows is not combat but endurance: malaria, hunger, mud and a steadily shrinking number. The film's strength is in the second half. Firefights are sparse, and the march itself becomes the subject; the camera follows men moving through jungle and nothing resembling victory appears. Raoul Walsh directed, with Errol Flynn in the lead. It was pulled from British cinemas after a week. The reason was plain: the Burma campaign was largely fought by British, Indian and Commonwealth troops, and the film described a single American unit. British veterans and the military establishment objected, and Churchill was displeased. It was not shown again in Britain until 1952, and then with an apology attached to the front. Who it is for: anyone who likes classic war films and jungle campaign narratives. Who it is not for: anyone wanting balanced history. Japanese soldiers are drawn flat, it runs close to two and a half hours, and it barely acknowledges that the allies were there.