Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		4.0

Never So Few Blu-ray Movie Review

The Chairman of the Board Meets Gina (and McQueen)

Reviewed by Michael Reuben August 15, 2018

When people think of Frank Sinatra today, they're likely to remember the golden-voiced crooner and high-living Rat Pack swinger who was equally comfortable hobnobbing with both mobsters and the political elite. But in his heyday, Sinatra was also a huge movie star, the kind of name that could open a picture. Star vehicles were built around him, and one such film was the World War II tale Never So Few, which was released in December 1959 but is often listed as a 1960 film, because that's when most people saw it. The film was based on a novel by Tom T. Chamales, a former operative of the Office of Strategic Service (precursor to the CIA), who had led a detachment of indigenous guerillas in Burma (now Myanmar), attacking the Japanese behind enemy lines. Chamales fictionalized his exploits, and screenwriter Milliard Kaufman transformed them into a screenplay tailored to Sinatra. The director was John Sturges, who had already turned Kaufman's controversial script for Bad Day at Block Rock into an enduring classic.

Never So Few (or "NSF") is principally remembered as the breakthrough role for Steve McQueen, who, in a memorable bit of backstage lore, took on a supporting role originally intended for Sammy Davis Jr., after a falling out between Sinatra and his fellow Rat Packer. Director Sturges was so impressed with the newcomer that he would subsequently cast him in major roles in The Magnificent Seven and The Great Escape. But NSF has a lot to recommend it beyond McQueen, including striking location photography and a scorching role for sex symbol Gina Lollobrigida, who, in that era, was famous as "The Most Beautiful Woman in the World" (after the title of her 1956 French-Italian film).

NSF is part of the MGM film library now owned by Warner, and the Warner Archive Collection is releasing it in a new transfer that aptly showcases the film's star-powered cast and colorful locations.

An opening text crawl explains how a tiny force of a thousand native Kachin warriors under British and American leadership held back forty thousand Japanese troops in the early days of the war. "It has been said NEVER have free men everywhere owed so much to SO FEW." But NSF isn't just a war story. Indeed, it's almost two separate movies, with the narrative held together by Sinatra's Capt. Tom Reynolds, commander of the Kachin irregulars along with his friend and British counterpart, Capt. Danny De Mortimer (Richard Johnson, The Haunting).

In one movie—the "A" plot—Reynolds leads his forces on difficult missions and battles a series of daunting obstacles, including a critical lack of medical supplies, betrayal within the Kachin ranks and sneak attacks by both his Japanese adversaries and Chinese warlords, who turn out to be secretly authorized by the Chung King government of our supposed ally, Chiang Kai-shek. As in all good war films, Reynolds' unit is filled with colorful supporting characters played by distinctive faces that include Dean Jones, Charles Bronson and Peter Lawford (the last portraying an Army doctor whom Reynolds dragoons into service). On a trip to Calcutta, Reynolds is impressed by the driver assigned to him, a corporal named Ringa (McQueen), and he requests that the eager soldier be reassigned to his command, where Ringa quickly proves himself to be a resourceful asset. The Kachin forces are led by Nautaung, who is played by distinguished Korean-American actor Philip Ahn (later famous as Master Kan on TV's Kung Fu ), and their ranks include Mako (Conan the Barbarian) and George Takei, soon to be immortalized as Star Trek's Lt. Sulu (both uncredited).

NSF's "B" plot is a different kind of war story, in which there are only two combatants. On the same Calcutta trip where Reynolds recruits Ringa, he is introduced to Carla Vesari (Lollobrigida), the sultry and imperious girlfriend of the much older Nikko Rigas (Paul Henreid, Casablanca), a merchant who is rumored to be a major drug smuggler. Reynolds is entranced after a single glance (who wouldn't be?), but Carla is a volatile and demanding woman, and the romance that develops between them feels like it is always on the verge of exploding. The worldly Rigas watches from the sidelines, treating Carla's interest in Reynolds as a passing fancy, but we know otherwise. The air between the Italian beauty and the American soldier is so thick with combustible attitude that they're obviously destined to be together.

Sturges' direction wisely relies on Sinatra's magnetic presence to unify these two stories, and he fills out both of them with striking landscapes shot in Sri Lanka, Myanamar, Thailand and India. Pay close attention, however, and you'll notice that Sinatra is never recognizable in any of these location shots, even when they're supposed to contain Reynolds. Whenever the star is plainly visible, he's always on decked-out soundstages or backlots, with the distant landscape supplied by photographic enlargements, rear projection or painted scrims. Ol' Blue Eyes was famously attached to his creature comforts, and he wasn't about to sacrifice them for the rigors of shooting on location.

Never So Few Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Never So Few was shot in CinemaScope by William H. Daniels, who would go on to photograph Sinatra in the original Ocean's 11, Robin and the 7 Hoods and Von Ryan's Express . To create its new 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray, the Warner Archive Collection used an interpositive struck from the original camera negative by YCM Laboratories in 2004, which was scanned at 2K by Warner's MPI facility. Although the film dates from the tail end of the period when film stock was subject to the problematic phenomenon known as "yellow layer collapse" (described here), the negative of NSF was relatively well-preserved. After MPI's thorough color correction, using Ektrachrome production stills as a reference, the effects of the deteriorating yellow layer are observable only at dissolves. The color-corrected transfer has been subjected to WAC's customary thorough cleaning to remove dirt, scratches and age-related damage. The result is an impressively sharp and detailed Blu-ray image, with vivid colors in settings ranging from the Burmese jungle to the lavish party thrown by Paul Henreid's wealthy merchant (see screenshot 16). The film's grain pattern has been naturally rendered and, for the most part, finely resolved, with a slight but unavoidable coarsening in opticals (which occur primarily in dissolves). Lollobrigida's elegant wardrobe and the bright outfits warn by the Kachin provide a suitable contrast to the Army khakis worn by Reynolds and his troops. I doubt that the native costumes are historically accurate, but they look great onscreen.

WAC has mastered NSF at its usual high bitrate, here 34.99 Mbps.

Never So Few Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

NSF was released to theaters in four-track stereo, and Warner used the original magnetic master to remix the film in 5.1 for its 2004 DVD release. That same mix can be heard on the Blu-ray, but now in lossless DTS-HD MA. It's a rich and full audio experience, surprisingly so for a track that's nearly sixty years old. The lush orchestral score by Hugo Friedhofer (an Oscar winner for The Best Years of Our Lives) expands across the front soundstage and into the surrounds. The battle scenes may not be as thunderous or immersive as a contemporary mix, but they convey the essential sense of chaotic violence. The dialogue is clearly rendered and appropriately prioritized. The track is a fine example of how to do a remix that respects the original but delivers it with all the advantages of modern digital technology.

Although NSF's language is ludicrously tame by contemporary standards, in 1959 the office of the MPAA's Production Code was notoriously dainty, and the film's repeated uses of "Go to hell!" were a big red flag. MGM had to drop out a few other words—notably "damn" and "goddam"—to get the film approved for release. The omissions are barely noticeable, but for years there have been rumors of an "uncensored" dialogue track that restores the omitted cursing. In preparing its Blu-ray, WAC examined every audio element it could find: original stems; optical tracks; U.K. releases; even video and broadcast versions. They all reflect the same dialogue heard on the Blu-ray. All evidence indicates that the changes mandated by the MPAA were "baked into" the soundtrack; unless a heretofore unknown source is discovered, that extra sprinkle of salt in the dialogue is gone for good.

Never So Few Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The sole extra is a trailer (1080p; 2,40:1; 2:42), which has been remastered in 1080p. Warner's 2005 DVD of Never So Few was equally bare.

Never So Few Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

NSF isn't a particularly great war movie, and it isn't even a heart-throbbing romance (you can always sense the calculation in both the performances and the directing). But it's a great Frank Sinatra movie, energized by the sheer star power of Ol' Blue Eyes at the height of his film career. And even with minimal screen time, McQueen is magnetic. You can immediately see why Sturges kept using him and why he too became a star. For fans of either (or both), highly recommended.