In the 1942 Pacific theatre of World War II, Lieutenant Junior Grade Sam Lawson, USN, (Cliff Robertson) is a Japanese-language interpreter who has avoided combat. His commanding officer, Captain John G. Nolan (Henry Fonda), cancels Lawson's leave and assigns him to a combat mission with the British infantry commando unit in the New Hebrides Islands. The British base is at the edge of the jungle, and on the other side of the jungle is a Japanese observation and communications post.
Lawson arrives at the base, a patrol of British soldiers sprint out of the jungle and across the open field, pursued by the Japanese. The base commander, Colonel Thompson (Harry Andrews), instructs his men to keep out of enemy range, and watch the patrol get cut down by Japanese rifle fire.
Lawson's commando group is instructed to destroy the Japanese radio transmitter to prevent them from sounding the alarm, warning about an American naval convoy which is scheduled to appear on the horizon in three days.
The commando group is led by Captain Hornsby (Denholm Elliott), an upper class officer with a history of foolhardiness. The other members of the squad are draftees from Singapore whose enthusiasm for fighting leaves something to be desired: Private Tosh Hearne (Michael Caine), a cynical Cockney who is also the squad's medic; Private Jock Thornton (Ian Bannen), a lean Scot; Private Campbell (Ronald Fraser) a fat Glaswegian; grey-haired Sergeant Johnstone (Percy Herbert); Signalman Scott (Harvey Jason) the radio operator; Private Griffiths (Martin Horsey); Private Rogers (Sean MacDuff); Privat. Currie (William Beckley); Private Connolly (Don Knight): Corporal McLean (Lance Percival); and Private Riddle (Roger Newman).
The squad reaches the Japanese post. Riddle, Connolly, and Currie are killed in a botched ambush. Johnstone is wounded in another encounter, and Hornsby leaves him behind, to be discovered by the Japanese, who slit his throat.
Scott drops the radio, and Hornsby decides to use the Japanese radio, walks boldly into the Japanese camp and enters the radio hut. He knocks out the radio operator and Scott goes to the hut, but Lawson refuses to go. After the Japanese radio operator comes to, both Scott and Hornsby are killed.
Lawson is now the ranking officer, with only Hearne, Campbell, Jock, Griffiths, and McLean left alive, and Jock's been wounded. Japanese Major Yamaguchi is determined to stop them from reporting the existence of the secret Japanese airfield and planes they have discovered. Through loudspeakers in the trees, Yamaguchi exhorts the men to give themselves up. Lawson and Hearne agree that Yamaguchi (Ken Takakura) is not to be trusted, but Campbell is in favor of surrender, and he works at Griffiths as Jock weakens. Finally, while Lawson and Hearne are asleep, Campbell tries to sneak off into the jungle; but Jock spots him and asks where he is going. Campbell strangles Jock, wakes Griffiths and McLean, and the three of them run off.
Yamaguchi attempts to use the lives of Griffiths and McLean as bargaining chips. Campbell is killed in gruesome fashion after the Japanese discover he has a ring taken from the finger of one of the officers the patrol ambushed.) As Lawson and Hearne reach the edge of the open field adjacent to the British base, Yamaguchi announces that they have three minutes to surrender; Japanese soldiers have the field covered with rifles and machine guns. Hearne suggests that they give Yamaguchi a taste of his own medicine. They double back and shoot him. They then sprint out across the field. Despite cover fire from the base, first one, then the other is hit.
One of them rises and staggers to safety. It is Hearne. When Colonel Thompson asks who the other man was, Hearne replies, "A hero. He killed fifteen Japs single-handed. Thirty, if you like."
A 1970 American war film produced & directed by Robert Aldrich, screenplay by Aldrich & Lukas Heller, from a story by Aldrich & Robert Sherman, cinematography by Joseph Biroc, starring Michael Caine, Cliff Robertson, Ian Bannen, Harry Andrews, Ken Takakura, and Henry Fonda. During filming, Robertson found out he won the Best Actor Oscar for "Charly" (1968). Frank Sinatra accepted it for him.
Aldrich wrote the story in 1959 with Robert Sherman. Aldrich wrote the first draft then had it rewritten by Lukas Heller. However the film was not made until after Aldrich had a big success with "The Dirty Dozen" (1967).
ABC Films, wanted another version of Aldrich's "The Dirty Dozen" and this was a property that had some of the same elements, and had been languishing in studio drawers. The idea of the film came from an unpublished novel called "Don't Die Mad" by Robert Sherman who had worked on several films with Aldrich.
In actuality, the Japanese never were in the New Hebrides in World War II. The American forces arrived in May 1942.
Although set during World War II, this is a deliberate allegory of the war that was raging in Vietnam at the time.