The Green Berets (1968)

Pretty much these days, nobody espouses a pro-war stance on the Vietnam conflict. It was not a "good" war, after all, and the war will always be part and parcel with the agony of America's social chaos in the late 60's and early 70's. However, at the time, the social battle lines were well defined between the peaceniks and the hawks; those against the war, and those all in favor of it. Without the thirty-plus years of hindsight to help them put this conflict in perspective, the hawks were pretty gung-ho. Likewise, the the peaceniks, who thought that if we just "love each other" everything would be alright, looks pretty naive and childish. If only the world were so simple.

Like the war, this film engenders strong feelings in those who see it. The DUKE was a known hawk, and you can see it shine through in every line, and in every scene. Like most hawks at the time, I suspect that The DUKE simply thought Vietnam was just like any other war (most likely, World War II), and it was incomprehensible to them that anyone would be against it. The film, in turn, reflects the hawk viewpoint.

In other words, you could substitute the Vietnamese with the Japanese in WWII, and the film would be more or less the same (good, upstanding Americans vs. big bad empire). The capture of the enemy general is pure WWII melodrama. The character of Petersen, the "scrounger", is also a stock character from a WWII movie. The staging of the action, the commando raid, blowing up a bridge, etc., all scream WWII.

DUKE co-directs, and despite being filmed in Georgia (which looks nothing like Southeast Asia!), the results are really pretty good. The raid to capture the enemy general is laughable, but tense and exciting nevertheless. The characterizations are solid. The film flows nicely, and isn't too long or too short. The cinematography is workable, and at times, even impressive. There's plenty of action, too!

When you see DUKE react to the child running from helicopter to helicopter looking for Petersen, you cannot help but have respect for this film. Certainly one of the best endings in American film history follows. Politics and anti-war sentiment of today's PC society aside, this is a great war film that honors the best of the best; the Green Berets.

Let me take a moment and say a word or two about David Janssen's role as George Beckworth, the reporter for a left-wing and anti-war newspaper. The character is a little too obvious, and at first, a little too strong on the anti-war sentiment. His conversion was a little too predictable, but the handling of his conversion to pro-war is very well-handled. Ultimately, I think it was a believable transformation, and this is due entirely to Janssen's talent. In the hands of another, less skilled actor, the Beckworth character could have been a big sore point, but Janssen makes Beckworth a quiet force, a wall of anti-war sentiment needing to be erroded away by the reality of the situation he finds himself in. In many ways, I think Janssen's underplayed approach for Beckworth makes him seem more real, and ultimately sells the character. It helps sell the movie too, despite our modern perspective on the war.

Appearing in supporting roles are Jack Soo (Nick Yemana on "Barney Miller"), George Takei (Sulu on "Star Trek"), and Bruce Cabot. Cabot had starred in a great many films, and "The Green Beret" is one of his last. He was a favorite DUKE co-star, appearing with DUKE in "Hellfighters", "Big Jake", "Chisum", "The War Wagon", "In Harm's Way", "McLintock!", "Hatari!", and others. Cabot is probably most famous for rescuing Fay Wray from King Kong. Also on hand is The DUKE's son, Patrick Wayne. Patrick appears as the commander of a Seabee team, following in his father's footsteps (DUKE starred in the famous homage to the outfit, "The Fighting Seabees").

DUKE fans should try to locate a copy of the video "No Substitute For Victory" (available on this site), in which DUKE hosts a right-wing documentary look at our reasons for fighting in Southeast Asia. Watching this documentary after the film will give the viewer new insights into the thinking of the hawks at the time, and their position during the Vietnam conflict.

If you are reading this you probably know the story of the movie.
John Wayne's Col. Kirby and his elite Special Forces "A" Team (no, not the one with Hannibal and Face and B.A. Barracus)is sent to Vietnam to establish base camps which offer protection to the local farmers from the murderous Viet Cong (whose crimes against their own people are well documented here). The soldiers teach the locals how to fight while providing basic medical care and 20th century improvements to their primeval way of life. There is the usual big John Wayne type battle as the VC try to overrun the camp, followed by a commando raid deep into enemy territory, and a tragic-heroic ending. But the movie is more than the sum of its parts. It is not mere entertainment, it is personal propiganda, designed to present the Duke's argument for why America was fighting in Vietnam at all. The only failing is its sappiness and jingoism, which make it easy for opponents to ridicule. But making fun of it doesn't take away the fact that the Duke's argument was based on something he is rarely credited for -- human decency. What "right" did we have in Vietnam? I guess the same "right" we had to land on the beaches of Normandy. We had no "right" at all -- it was just the "right thing to do", to support a bad government (South Vietnam) against a much worse government (North Vietnam) that used methods like mass killings of teachers, civil servants, nuns, missionaries, and village chiefs to destabilze the South and forcibly unite the country. You can argue about the legitimacy of taking sides in a civil war all day, but any country that uses methods like burying people alive and raping women to death as a matter of military policy probably deserves to be opposed, yes?

Anyway, let me take a moment to say I LOVE THIS FREAKIN' MOVIE. Growing up, good old Washington D.C. Channel 20 (remember when you only had ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS and your one local channel? Channel 20 was ours) played this movie, (along with "The Battle of the Bulge" and "The Bridge at Remagen" and some other classics) about once every other day. Even the thought of it brings a smile to my face. Here was a guy, John Wayne, who had the guts to make a film this flag-shakingly right wing at a time when patriotism was growing unfashionable and millions of people were abandoning and spitting on the ideals that he embodied -- which, by the way, a few of us still hold true. As a movie, "The Green Berets" has a hard ideology of anti-communism and shows the newfangled Special Forces as a sort of elite brotherhood consecrated to fight against it. I think a lot of the hate directed against this movie comes from the surity of Kirby's (meaning John Wayne's) beliefs. They are rock-solid and not up for debate or negotiation. He understands what will (and did) happen to Vietnam if the North wins the war, and fights bitterly to prevent this from happening, while simultaneously trying to win over a stubborn journalist who has legitimate doubts about our involvement. No question, this movie is jingoistic and predictable, a Vietnam war movie packed in WWII casing, but who cares?