Best Military Movie Role

Agreed!

Agree also---though Bill Guarnere---Babe Heffron--Eugene Rowe were all memorable too[ good casting because of their physical resemblance]

Kenneth moore as Douglas Bader[Reach for the Sky] and Audie Murphy[playing himself] in ' To Hell and Back' also spring to mind.

 

I would be interesed to hear what the consensus is about Dirk Bogarde's portrayal of Boy Browning in ABTF.

Apparently it stoked up a lot of controversy at the time - angry letters in the Times from Lady Browning (aka Daphne du Maurier) and several loyal subordinates saying that it was inaccurate and scandalous.

My thoughts are that Browning must have been a very hard character to play, and was always going to be the most controversial of the film. I can't help thinking that it was more accurate than not, from what I've read.

I've done some research on Browning and found that there is a lot about him that isn't widely known, his earlier and later careers shed a lot of light on his performance before and during Market Garden. Apparently there is a biography in the offing soon...

 

John Mills in "Ice Cold in Alex" , Liam Redgrave in the same movie " Dangletoes".

Jack Hawkins in "The Cruel Sea" , also Denholm Elliott in the same movie , Liam Redgrave also does sterling work as the engineering CPO.

Maximilian Schell in A Bridge too far (Bittrich).
( I would fully agree with the other roles previously mentioned from this movie , Edward Fox in particular).

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Also liked this small role. Wolfgang Preiss as Rundstedt.

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John Banner as Schultz, he could have been a re-enactor.

 

I am just about to start a series of drawing based on my top five 'stiff upper lip' British war movie heroes...

I thought it would be interesting to ask who are *your* favourite British military characters in war films? (Just in case I have forgotten any good ones!)

- My top five 'stiff upper lip heroes' are:-

> Flight Officer David Campbell (Richard Burton) - 'The Longest Day' (1962)
> Joe Roberts (Sean Connery) - 'The Hill' (1965)
> Maj. John Howard (Richard Todd) - 'The Longest Day' (1962)
> Douglas Bader (Kenneth Moore) - 'Reach for the Sky' (1965)
> Lt. Cmdr. Ewen Montagu (Clifton Webb) - 'The Man Who Never Was' (1956)

- I can also remember my Dad's favourites too:-

> Captain Anson (John Mills) - 'Ice Cold in Alex' (1958)
> M.E. Clifton-James (M.E. Clifton-James) - 'I was Monty's Double' (1958)
> Joe Roberts (Sean Connery) - 'The Hill' (1965)
> Maj. Jock Sinclair (Alec Guinness) - 'Tunes of Glory' (1960)
> Maj. John Howard (Richard Todd) - 'The Longest Day' (1962)

 

DICKIE ATTENBOROUGH ...the GREAT ESCAPE ..

 

Has to be Guinness as Major Jock Sinclair in "Tunes of Glory" his accent was impeccable...all through the film !

Cheers

 

Another Richard Attenborough role for me!

"Guns at Batasi"
(1964) set in post WW2 Africa.

If you have not seen it, you should get yourself a copy.

Described as: An anachronistic martinet RSM on a remote Colonial African army caught in a local coup d'etat must use his experience to defend those in his care.

Attenborough as Regimental Sgt. Major Lauderdale is brilliant as is the cast. He actually won the BAFTA award for best actor in 1965 but did not get a sniff at the Academy Awards.


Richard Attenborough ... Regimental Sgt. Major Lauderdale
Jack Hawkins ... Colonel Deal
Flora Robson ... Miss Barker-Wise
John Leyton ... Private Wilkes
Mia Farrow ... Karen Eriksson
Cecil Parker ... Fletcher
Errol John ... Lieut. Boniface
Graham Stark ... Sgt. 'Dodger' Brown
Earl Cameron ... Captain Abraham
Percy Herbert ... Colour Sgt. Ben Parkin
David Lodge ... Sgt. 'Muscles' Dunn
Bernard Horsfall ... Sgt. 'Schoolie' Prideaux
John Meillon ... Sgt. 'Aussie' Drake
Horace James ... Corporal Abou
Patrick Holt ... Captain
Alan Browning ... Adjutant

 

Donald Sutherland as Sgt Oddball-absolutely brilliant !

YouTube - Kelly's Heroes Oddball Takes a Rest

I also felt the crew in Das Boot were rather good.

 

Andy, had totally forgot about Das Boot - whole crew and the film/series absolutely outstanding. The kind of gritty realistic film I love.

Mike

 

Since you named the thread "military" not excusively "war" I feel free to vote for Tom Cruise as quite convincing in Top Gun.
Tom Cr... oh, but you ARE a girl

Charlton Heston in El Cid, especially the part at the end he was acting dead!

 

Donald Sutherland as Sgt Oddball-absolutely brilliant !

YouTube - Kelly's Heroes Oddball Takes a Rest

I also felt the crew in Das Boot were rather good.


As you can tell, I'm also a big fan of Sutherland in that role. Another that I really enjoyed was O'Toole in Murphy's War.

 

Richard Harris as Captain Ben Tyreen in "Major Dundee", Steve McQueen as Pvt. Reese in "Hell is For Heroes" and also as P01 Holman in "The Sand Pebbles". Great movies.

 

Jack Hawkins in any uniform.

Alex Guiness as Lieutenant Colonel Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai.

I know it's fiction and I know some veterans are not keen, but the acting is sublime.

 

Sean Connery in The Hill

 

Possibly because I've watched both films recently; George Segal in King Rat and Bridge at Remagen.