A group of men parachute into Japanese-occupied Burma with a dangerous and important mission: to locate and blow up a radar station. They accomplish this well enough, but when they try to rendezvous at an old air-strip to be taken back to their base, they find Japanese waiting for them, and they must make a long, difficult walk back through enemy-occupied jungle. In 1944, Capt. Charlie Nelson leads a platoon of paratroopers into Burma to blow up a Japanese radar station in advance of the allied invasion. They're accompanied on the mission by Mark William, an American journalist who is there to write about their exploits. The mission goes off without a hitch and without the loss of any men. The plan was for them to be picked up by two transport airplanes at an old landing strip but a Japanese patrol prevents them from doing so. The men are now forced to march towards the front lines, however the closer they get, the greater the number of Japanese troops they will face. With the Air Corps dropping them supplies at agreed locations, the men move on but few of them remain after encounters with the enemy. Eventually, they are all presumed lost just as the invasion is launched. Warner Bros. OBJECTIVE BURMA (1945) is one of the best war pictures made during the war about the war. Produced for the studio by Jerry Wald its fine screenplay by Ranald Mac Dougall, and Lester Cole derived from an original story by Alvah Bessie. With crisp and sharp Monochrome cinematography by the great James Wong Howe it was masterfully directed by Raoul Walsh. It also boasted splendid looking Art direction by Ted Smith with the Burmese jungle mock-ups (filmed at the "Lucky" Baldwin ranch near Pasadena in California) not only looking convincingly authentic but with the added sounds of jungle wildlife making it quite daunting too.<br/><br/>The story has Major Nelson (Errol Flynn) and his large contingent of American Paratroopers being dropped into the Burmese jungle behind enemy lines on a secret mission. They must locate and destroy a Japanese radar station. After a successful sneak attack on the station (a good action sequence) the men pull back to their designated pick-up point and wait. Suddenly things go terribly wrong when Japanese ground troops discover where they are after tracking them. Nelson and his men have no alternative but to scurry into the thick jungle to escape and radio for a new pick-up point. But the new rendezvous is 150 miles away. Losing half of the platoon on the journey - because of their forced march through rivers and dense jungle plus tangling with enemy troops - they finally make it to the pick-up point and are rescued.<br/><br/>Although there are the usual stock characterisations - which seems to be endemic in all war movies - performances are generally good. Flynn in particular is excellent! Eschewing his swashbuckling heroic image he turns in a splendid portrayal of a respected commanding officer who is professional and human. In one disturbing moment he expertly manages to bring a deeply effective sense of grief to the scene where he tearfully tries to comfort his dying friend and fellow officer (William Prince). Flynn has rarely been better! OBJECTIVE BURMA was one of the actor's personal favorite pictures and considered it one of his few worthwhile efforts. Good too is Henry Hull as Williams the aging war correspondent who, constantly trying to keep the bright side out, finally succumbs to the pressure of the arduous trek and passes quietly away in his sleep "Gee, I'm awfully sorry Mr. Williams" observes a compassionate James Brown. And watch out for Mark Stevens as the pilot of the B29 in one of his first film appearances under his real name of Stephen Richards.<br/><br/>One of the outstanding aspects of the movie is the marvellous Acadamy Award nominated music by Franz Waxman. The score contains one of the finest march themes ever for a war picture which compliments the early preparation scenes to perfection in its jaunty engaging statement. Then for the Paratroopers jumping from the B29s high pitched strings descend with them as vibrato on the brass simulate the engine noise of the great Bombers. The score is one of the composer's most memorable works and high on the list of Waxman admirers.<br/><br/>OBJECTIVE BURMA hasn't dated at all since it was made sixty five years ago. Unlike many movies of its kind and era it stands up very well today despite starting off on the wrong foot. It was banned in England in 1945 because it omitted to mention any British involvement in Burma. But in 1952 and with a new "apologetic" prologue it was given its long overdue release.<br/><br/>Interestingly, in 1951 the film's basic premise was reused in Warner's Gary Cooper western "Distant Drums". Ultimately this movie is enjoyable to watch as a part of cinematic history. It is unimaginable that a war movie such as this could now be released. Contemporary war movies are necessarily bound up with a meditation of some sort on war itself. Objective Burma! however, contains no such self-consciousness, no attempt at questioning the motives behind the war, nor making a realistic depiction of combat. In a way it is almost a relief. Objective Burma! as a war movie is positively triumphant. The mood never shifts from upbeat and optimistic, created both by the grand orchestral score and the seemingly endless parade of one-liners about Buramese dancing girls, and other appropriate war-time conversation. In support of this very self-assured view of war, the film forgoes any sort of realism with the Japanese making several unsuccessful charges against the American machine guns- something which is quite foreign in contemporary war films. Probably the most successful aspect of the movie is the documentary-style camera work. One of the most effective scenes in the movie is when the platoon is initially flown in. The moments leading up to the jump are genuinely tense. Too often, however, the nice camera work cannot cover up for the consistently predictable story line, poor characters and generally weak dialogue. Lastly, after maintaining a fairly deliberate pace throughout, it's end is very abrupt and lacks a conclusive feel. Although the movie is enjoyable enough, it doesn't really offer anything all that special
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