By 1970, the escalating carnage and moral ambiguities of the Vietnam War had begun to profoundly influence Hollywood’s portrayal of conflict, casting a pall even over narratives set during the Second World War—a conflict retrospectively idealised as “the Good War” by comparison. Robert Aldrich’s Too Late the Hero (1970) exemplifies this shift, offering a gritty, disillusioned take on wartime heroism that diverges sharply from the triumphalism of earlier WWII films. Though not among Aldrich’s most celebrated works, the film remains a fascinating artefact of its era, reflecting the growing scepticism toward military institutions and the futility of combat in the wake of Vietnam.
Co-written by Aldrich and Lukas Heller, the film is set in the Southwest Pacific during spring 1942. Cliff Robertson stars as Lieutenant Sam Lawson, a US Navy interpreter whose cushy posting—marked by sunbathing and drinking—is abruptly interrupted when his superior, Captain John G. Nolan (played by Henry Fonda), assigns him to a perilous mission behind Japanese lines. The objective: aid a British commando unit in destroying a radio transmitter on a New Hebrides island to protect an approaching US naval convoy. Commanded by the inept Captain Hornsby (played by Denholm Elliott), whose upper-class bravado masks tactical incompetence, the mission quickly unravels. Hornsby’s reckless decisions lead to catastrophic friendly fire incidents and unnecessary casualties, culminating in his own death. The surviving soldiers, including the cynical Private Tosh Hearne (played by Michael Caine), discover the mission’s futility when they stumble upon a hidden Japanese airfield that renders their efforts moot. Their subsequent flight through enemy-held jungle, pursued by the articulate Major Yamaguchi (played by Ken Takakura), becomes a desperate struggle for survival rather than a heroic endeavour.
While Aldrich’s The Dirty Dozen (1967) revelled in the brutal charisma of its criminal-heroes, Too Late the Hero strips away such romanticism. Both films centre on suicidal missions behind enemy lines, but the latter adopts a distinctly anti-war lens. The script emphasises the absurdity of military hierarchies and the hollow nature of valour—a stark departure from The Dirty Dozen’s celebration of rogue machismo. Here, heroism is either coerced or accidental: Lawson’s reluctant leadership emerges only after Hornsby’s blunders, while Hearne’s pragmatism stems from class-based distrust of authority. The film’s bleak conclusion—where survival, not victory, is the sole triumph—underscores Aldrich’s darker thematic pivot, likely shaped by Vietnam-era disillusionment.
The New Hebrides setting, historically untouched by Japanese forces, functions as a thinly veiled proxy for Vietnam. Hornsby’s reckless leadership mirrors the “fragging” incidents plaguing US officers in Southeast Asia, while the British soldiers’ atrocities—robbing corpses, strangling comrades—defy WWII’s sanitised mythos. Even the Japanese are humanised: Yamaguchi, far from a caricatured villain, negotiates via loudspeaker in fluent English, blending psychological warfare with sardonic wit. This nuanced portrayal contrasts sharply with earlier propaganda, though Aldrich stops short of moral equivalence, avoiding the revisionism of later films like Letters from Iwo Jima (2006).
However, the Vietnam parallels occasionally lapse into heavy-handedness. Dialogue referencing “long-haired conscientious objectors” (a clear nod to anti-war hippies) and anachronistic props like the M-16 rifle on promotional posters strain credulity, undermining the WWII veneer. Such choices reflect Aldrich’s eagerness to critique contemporary conflicts but risk diluting the narrative’s coherence.
At 133 minutes, the film’s pacing falters, with repetitive jungle sequences and a protracted climax. The finale—a melodramatic sprint across an open field under Japanese fire—drags interminably, sacrificing tension for spectacle. While Aldrich intended this as a metaphor for futile endurance, the execution feels overwrought.
Performance-wise, Cliff Robertson’s turn as Lawson is uneven. His character’s transition from apathetic interpreter to reluctant leader lacks emotional depth, possibly exacerbated by his strained relationship with Aldrich, who reportedly opposed his casting. Robertson’s subdued delivery often renders Lawson peripheral, overshadowed by the ensemble.
In contrast, Michael Caine shines as Hearne, channeling his own Korean War experiences into a portrayal of working-class disillusionment. Despite later describing the shoot as “unpleasant,” Caine injects weary authenticity into the role, elevating the film above its flaws. Denholm Elliott also impresses, embodying Hornsby’s tragic hubris with a mix of pomposity and vulnerability.
Too Late the Hero remains a flawed but compelling snapshot of Hollywood’s Vietnam-era reckoning with war’s moral complexities. While its pacing issues and Robertson’s middling performance hinder its impact, the film’s unflinching critique of military incompetence and its humanisation of the “enemy” mark it as a transitional work in Aldrich’s career—bridging the explosive action of The Dirty Dozen and the existential bleakness of Ulzana’s Raid (1972). For all its imperfections, the film captures a pivotal moment when the myth of “the Good War” began to fracture under the weight of contemporary disillusionment.
RATING: 6/10 (++)
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