The Wild Geese (1978) – Film Review

Director: Andrew V. McLaglen
Cast: Richard Burton, Roger Moore, Richard Harris
Certificate: 15

By Sarah Morgan

Prepare to get your feathers ruffled by the oldest mercenaries in town as a classic Boys’ Own adventure-style movie gets the 4K treatment.

They really don’t make ‘em like The Wild Geese anymore, and while some may say that’s a good thing, there’s no doubt that it’s rousing entertainment that brings back memories of watching movies on a Sunday afternoon with the family, usually rented from the local video shop. Just don’t expect much of a grounding in reality.

Producer Euan Lloyd had a long-held ambition to make an action movie in the vein of Where Eagles Dare or The Guns of Navarone, so when the proofs for Daniel Carney’s novel The Thin White Line fell into his lap, he snapped up the film rights, realising it contained the type of story that could enable him to make his dream come true.

“Ambitious project”

Unusually, the book remained unpublished until the big screen version was made; eventually it hit shops across the world as The Wild Geese and the rest, as they say, is history.

Lloyd knew he wanted big stars to fill the major roles; he needed them to help gain the finance required to mount such an ambitious project. Luckily, Richard Burton, Richard Harris and Roger Moore signed up, with Hardy Kruger, Stewart Granger and Frank Finlay also agreeing to appear. Actually, while watching the movie, you’ll notice that most of the speaking parts are taken by very familiar faces, from Jack Watson, who plays Sergeant Major Sandy Young, to Barry Foster, as Balfour, the man who recruits Allen Faulkner (Burton) on behalf of his boss (Granger) and Kenneth Griffith, who delivers a wildly over-the-top performance as a gay medical orderly.

Burton was actually in no shape to play Faulkner. Although both he and fellow notorious drinker Harris were on the wagon at the time, Burton was physically way under par – in an early scene, he can’t even lift up a glass without holding it with two hands, and yet we’re supposed to believe he’s capable of carrying a wounded man through tough terrain on his back. Nevertheless, he gives the role, that of a rough but fair British officer-turned-mercenary, a certain gravitas.

Faulkner assembles a team – led by Janders (Harris), Fynn (Moore) and Coetzee (Kruger) – he believes is capable of rescuing Julius Limbani, former leader of an African nation, from the jail in which he’s been kept since being disposed by the ruthless forces of villainous General Ndofa.

“Fight for their lives”

Although all involved are excited about their involvement (it seems that civilian life hasn’t gone down well with many of them since leaving the army), the mission does not go well. A betrayal means they’re left to fight for their lives in hostile terrain while attempting to find a way back to safety – many will not make it.

I don’t want to give away the ending for those who haven’t seen it, but you are left wondering at the end what the point of it all was. Is that something producer Lloyd wanted to address? Did he mean to shine a light on the futility of war? Probably not, but it’s an unexpected (and perhaps unwanted) element of the story.

There’s also a rather clunky attempt to address racism involving conversations between South African Coetzee and Limbani, which feels like a tagged-on afterthought.

Still, if you enjoy watching past-it movie stars tearing around the African undergrowth, this is certainly the film for you – just take it all with a huge pinch of salt. Clearly Lloyd and director Andrew V McGlaglen enjoyed the experience though, because two years later they reteamed for the similarly adventurous The Sea Wolves – here’s hoping a lavish Blu-ray of that will be heading our way soon too.

Sarah Morgan( Writer )

Sarah Morgan studied film journalism at post-graduate level with the BFI and has been writing about TV and film for PA Media’s newspaper, magazine and new media customers since 1996. She’s also written for a wide range of other publications, both online and in print, including the book Offbeat and Intermission magazine, and is a regular contributor to the Talking Pictures TV podcast. When she isn’t watching movies, she’s collecting and reading vintage crime and horror paperback books or, for her sins, watching her beloved Sheffield Wednesday.

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