bkoganbing As an actor Errol Flynn had the dubious distinction of starring in both one of the worst propaganda war films and one of the best war films from a major studio during World War II. The worst was Desperate Journey and one of the best is Objective Burma. It was even recognized by the Academy as such getting Oscar nominations for best original story, film editing and best musical scoring.One category it should have gotten recognition is in the matter of sets. During wartime one could not travel to exotic locations to portray a jungle and a swamp. Warner Brothers did a remarkable job in recreating the Burmese jungle.Errol Flynn kept the bravura heroics which he was known for down to a minimum in this film. Here he is just a professional soldier charged with doing a job which is destroy a radio transmitting station deep in the Burmese jungle. Getting out is another problem as Flynn and his command can't meet their drop and have to march out. That original story was written by Alvah Bessie and the screenplay adapted from it was done by Lester Cole two of the Hollywood 10. No doubt the keepers of our patriotism at the House Un-American Activities Committee poured over the film and script looking for evidence of any suspicious Communist propaganda. I confess I found none.Henry Hull should also be singled out here as well. In many ways he's playing the character he created in Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat now transplanted to the China-Burma-India theater of World War II. Like in Lifeboat, Hull is the epitome of the civilized man whose whole world is shaken when he confronts the brutality of war, be it the evil of Nazi Walter Slezak in Lifeboat or the Japanese atrocities done to our troops in their areas of World War II.Maybe Warner Brothers should have splurged for some color although that was kept to a minimum during the war years to bring out the jungle backgrounds better. It worked well with later films like Never So Few and Merrill's Marauders that dealt with the same war theater.Objective Burma was also castigated in British circles because in point of fact the CBI theater was primarily a British show with Lord Louis Mountbatten as the theater commander and Field Marshal Sir William Slim as the ground commander in Burma. We were there, but a distinct minority and strictly in support.Despite their objections from across the pond Objective Burma is one of the best World War II era films that still holds up well for today's audience.

Jeff (actionrating.com) See it - The Japanese got more than they bargained for when they decided to mess with Errol Flynn. This time, Flynn plays the role of an American soldier commanding a handful of men who successfully complete a mission but must trek through miles of jungle to get to their rendezvous point. You know what that means – a high bad guy body count. There are three good combat sequences and a couple other smaller skirmishes. Different parts reminded me a lot of "Tears of the Sun" and "We Were Soldiers." This film is a little prejudiced, but I think it's forgivable when you consider we were at war with Japan when it was released. All in all, a classic first-rate WWII movie.

writers_reign For an Englishman, to watch this film for the first time in 2012, some 67 years after its initial release, is to ask what was all the fuss about. The fuss to which I refer is what I have read about in movie magazines and books about movies. Apparently the British people took exception to the way this film allegedly gave the impression that the Americans were solely responsible for victory in Burmaa and implied strongly that the British were not even there. Whilst it is true that the film concentrates on a small group of Americans, parachuted into Burma with a mission to destroy a Japanese radar installation and then, having done so, are obliged to walk some 200 miles to safety because it is unsafe for planes to land, I found nothing strange about focusing on one small unit in this way, I am sure a similar film could have been made about a strictly British unit involved in a similar mission and no one would have complained that there were no Americans portrayed. In fact at the close of the film the producers state that it is dedicated to all servicemen - English, Chinese, etc - who served in Burma. Errol Flynn is fine in the lead role and notably performs hardly any heroics, these are left to the men in his command, but Flynn's charm leaps off the screen. Henry Hull - who within two years would be appearing in O'Neill's Mourning Becomes Electra - is also splendid as a veteran war correspondent who elects to go on the mission. In short a fine example of the genre.

Spikeopath Errol Flynn stars as Major Nelson, who along with 50 other commandos parachute into Burma to destroy a Japanese radar station. The mission is a success but while waiting to be air lifted to safety they come under attack from the Japanese and are forced to trek thru the jungle, simultaneously fighting the terrain just as much as the enemy.There were two magnificently directed war films made in 1945, one was John Ford's supreme John Wayne vehicle, They Were Expendable, the other is this much unheralded Raoul Walsh classic. High on military detail and paced with the ultimate precision, Objective, Burma! is as tense as it most assuredly is thrilling. It also finds Errol Flynn turning in what is arguably his finest acting performance. Casting off his rapscallion prankster like persona, he delivers a straight and raw emotive performance that proves beyond doubt he was an actor of note. Short on flag waving sloganeering, courtesy of the source story from Alvah Bessie, Objective, Burma! holds its head high in the technical departments as well. Franz Waxman's brilliant score is tense and unnerving and it mixes seamlessly with the sound departments excellent work done with the noises of the jungle. It's now very much a relief to be able hear this picture thru the benefits of home cinema systems. James Wong Howe's photography is suitably bringing the jungle to life, which considering the film was shot mostly at the L.A. Arboretum & Botanical Gardens is quite some achievement.On its release in the U.S. the film was a critical and box office success, my fellow countrymen here in Britain however, were not so impressed. Angry about the lack of credit given to the British in the Burmese operation, the film was subsequently banned in the UK until 1952. Then, with common sense prevailing, new prints were issued with a prologue giving credit to the other armed forces involved in the campaign. Which all in all ends things on a rather tidy note I feel. It's a magnificent picture that never loses sight of its core story, it's widely available now on various formats so really you have no excuse not to see it. 9/10