"Never So Few" is a bad film. While it's supposed to be about the guerrilla warfare against the Japanese in Burma during the war, too little of the film is devoted to this and way too much to a stupid and overly talky romance. Think about it...in Burma is an Italian bombshell (Gina Lollabrigida)...in the middle of Burma...yes, THAT Burma! Not only would such a woman NOT be in Burma, the fact she's an Italian (and we WERE at war with Italy at the time) never seemed to matter to anyone. Too often instead of action, we see Miss Lollabrigida in fancy designer gowns or naked in a bathtub! Heck, you'd have a hard time even remembering it's a war picture...so much is devoted to this silly and limp romance. As for the hero, Frank Sinatra, he just seemed kind of bored by all this...as did I. The bottom line is that Sinatra made a ton of great films...and eventually he had to make a stinker...and this one is it.

I understand this was directed by John Sturges but it's Frank Sinatra's movie all the way. Steve McQueen, in a supporting role, was a rising star at the time and constituted competition for the Chairman of the Board. According to the Presenter on TCM, here's how Old Blue Eyes handled the potentially disturbing relationship: "Here's how it works. I show up and say my lines, and if there's any light left over, you get it." McQueen was savvy enough to keep out of Frank's way. McQueen's part was supposed to be given to Sammy Davis, Jr., but the two had had a falling out and Davis was temporarily in the dog house.

That's all okay. Sinatra was never noted for his reticence or his modesty. The problem is that he seemed at times to believe that his movie career could be carried along by the momentum provided simply by his presence. This is one of his lazier performances. (His better ones include "The Manchurian Candidate" and "From Here to Eternity.") The story has to do with Sinatra and his crew training Kachin tribesmen of the Burma highlands to wage war against the Japanese occupiers in World War II. The Kachin, for what it's worth, are well-known in anthropological circles. But this narrative, as simple as it seems, remains unfocused. There aren't any scenes of Sinatra's crew training the Kachin. You can't tell who is a Kachin and who is an ordinary Burmese.

We can be sure that Gina Lollobrigida is not a Burmese. She's a glamorously made-up Hollywood star who is the mistress of Paul Henreid. After a brief period of emotional turbulence, she decides to run off with Sinatra. She doesn't sweat. The climate is that of a tropical rainforest and she doesn't sweat. Nobody sweats. Everyone's uniforms are clean and dry. Sinatra is outfitted in a faux military corduroy uniform and one of those AnZac hats with the brim curled up on the side. The shoulders are extraordinarily broad and the rest of the uniform loose and baggy. Watching him walk is a painful experience.

There are some scenes of combat that are pedestrian but exciting anyway, even if they're just taken as a relief from the dreary love story between Sinatra and Lollobrigida.

Nice photography by William Daniels. The score by Hugo Friedhofer is lush and romantic and eminently forgettable. You want a good war movie about battle in the China-Burma-India theater? Watch "The Bridge on the River Kwai."

During WW2, the American O.S.S. mounts covert operations , led by Captain Tom Reynolds (Frank Sinatra) commanding a handful of skilled O.S.S. operatives against the Japanese army in the jungles of Burma . But jungle combat is more grueling than Reynolds had reckoned . As the military commander and his outnumbered troops overcome incredible odds against the Japanese . As sharp-witted soldiers accompany him , such as : Sergeant Jim Norby (Dean Jones) , Capt. Danny De Mortimer (Richard Johnson) , Sgt. John Danforth (Charles Bronson) , Bill Ringa (Steve McQueen) and Doctor Capt. Grey Travis (Peter Lawford). Some respite is found in the arms of gorgeous Carla (Gina Lollobrigida) , an Italian woman protected by a veteran war supplier (Paul Henreid) . But after Chinese rebels offering illegal cross-border support , as they pass the frontier to loot and kill American soldiers ,as Reynolds abandons all notions of "military protocol" and seeks vendetta ; weighting Tom's impulsive requital , attacking against the formalities of the international diplomacy .

There's a lot of everything in this Sturges' wartime drama about Burmese war , such as : noisy action , romance , serious political talk , spectacular battles , luxurious scenarios , and wonderful Gina . This movie is based on the real-life story of World War II's OSS Detachment 101 and adapted from the novel by Tom T. Chameles ; but including a lot of focus on a silly love story . This was an OSS Operations Group designed to specialize in activities in the China-Burma-India region in collaboration with the Kachin Rangers , guerrillas and other Allied special operations units and particularly against a Japanese army as familiar with the terrain as the Kachin . The flick has a stolid script by Millard Kaufman , but not uninteresting , and results to be slow-moving , overlong and a little bit dull . However , the war battles , explosions and shootouts make strong impression . Too much romance bogs down this warfare yarn , although the action and intrigue are nice . The film loses impetus when it lingers over the Sinatra's romance with Lollo . Elsewhere, it is indicative of Cold War tensions that attention turns in the hard confrontation between American and Chinese troops . The picture proved once and for all that Frank could be a fine actor . He plays as Captain Tom Reynolds who is in WWII Burma to train the Kachin natives in modern warfare . Regular acting by Gina as the mistress of oily profileer played by Paul Henreid . There are excellent acting from some Hollywood's best players , including prestigious secondaries . Very good support cast as Dean Jones , John Hoyt , Whit Bissell , Richard Johnson , Brian Donlevy . And a lot of oriental actors to have an acceptable future Hollywood career as James Hong , George Takei and Mako's brief role as a soldier in the hospital , it was the first film role for Mako . And Aki Aleong who still goes on playing and producing ; in fact , he has played/financed the last Jean Claude Van Damme : ¨Pound and Flesh¨. It helped advance the youngster Steve McQueen career who exudes star potential , even though he was the late replacement when Sinatra fell out with Sammy Davis Jr ; as a feud had broken out between them . The following year Steve was one of ¨the Magnificent seven¨ and also played ¨The great escape¨ by Sturges .

Colorful cinematography in Cinemascope and Technicolor by William H. Daniels , usual cameraman to Greta Garbo . Thrilling as well as atmospheric musical score by Hugo Friedhofer . The motion picture was regularly directed by John Sturges . This one , though , is pretty slack stuff by John Sturges' standards . Sturges was an expert on Western genre as proved in ¨ Escape from Fort Bravo , The law and Jake Wade , The last train of Gun Hill, The Magnificent seven , Backlash , Hour of gun , Bad Day at Black Rock , Joe Kidd , The Hallelujah trail , 3 Sergeants , Valdez or Chino¨ and many others . rating : passable , worthwhile watching .