Death of a Soldier

The idea of making the film came from William Nagle, who wrote a screenplay to produce himself; David Hannay came on board as co-producer. Dick Richards was originally meant to direct but then Philippe Mora became involved. Mora and the producers wanted to import Americans to play three roles: Leonski, his best friend Gallo and lawyer Danneberg; Actors Equity only agreed to two.[1]

At one stage it was announced that the movie would be called Leonski and be shot in August 1981 with Don Lane as a US Army major.[2]

The budget was originally meant to be $3 million but this was found to be inadequate during shooting and additional funds had to be raised. To save money the shooting schedule was reduced; some of the crew complained to the Australian Theatrical and Amusement Employees' Association, which put a black ban on the film. This meant it was a year before the film was released in Australia.[1]

• James Coburn as Major Patrick Dannenberg
• Bill Hunter as Detectove Sergeant Adams
• Reb Brown as Private Edward J. Leonski
• Maurie Fields as Detective Sergeant Martin
• Max Fairchild as Major William Fricks
• Belinda Davey as Margot Saunders
• Randall Berger as Private Anthony Gallo
• Michael Pate as Major General Sutherland
• Jon Sidney as General Douglas MacArthur
• Terence Donovan as John Curtin
• Antoinette Byron as Police Office Clerk 2
• Peter Hosking

Kevin Thomas of The Los Angeles Times praised it. He liked the acting and directing. His consensus is that "it's a suspense story that culminates into a good courtroom drama, a wry commentary on chronic American arrogance and a large-scale, meticulously detailed period piece."[3]

Richard Brier of The Guardian liked it and said "it's a tense and gripping drama that allows both Coburn and Brown to display their considerable acting talents in a well-made, literate and hard-hitting film."[4]

William Wolf in his review published in The Reporter Dispatch gave it three out four stars. He felt the weak link was the script failing to explain the lawyers devotion to protect an accused killer. He wrote that "director Philippe Mora provides a colorful, convincing atmosphere of Melbourne during the war. The film gains from committed acting, whether in the supporting roles or star performances."[5]

Ed Blank of The Pittsburgh Press gave it three stars and a half out of five. He said "it's a fast sit, with an engrossing story a fascinating central character." He felt the script was its weakest aspect but praised the acting of its cast especially of its lead Reb Brown.[6]

Marylynn Urrichio, in her Pittsburgh Post-Gazette review, felt the movie lacked of tension and while ambitious the screenplay didn't live up up to its full potential. However she said that the film is worth seeing for its acting, unusual story, photography and the issues being covered.[7]

Steve Hopgood of North Dorset Western Gazette said also felt the script was predictable. He added that it started slow but picks up the pace. He praised the direction, and the acting especially of James Coburn.[8]

Terry Lawson of Dayton Daily News said he felt on the negative side the movie was too woeful, a bit inadequate in military justice, and ran out of steam toward the end. On the positive side he praised the lead actors, the director's capability of capturing the atmosphere of war and bring out the best out of his actors. His conclusion was it "is well-meaning and unexploitive portrait of an intriguing time."[9]

James Coburn later said, "It wasn't very good. There were a lot of problems with the picture. For one thing we had an auteur producer. He was also the screenwriter. He wrote it too much like a comic strip. We also had a lot of auteurs working on the fucking thing. The director didn't have enough time to prepare it. I was very disappointed by the way it turned out. It was a hellava good story. It's too bad."[10]

• Cinema of Australia

• Mathews, Jack, "When the Whole Truth is Not Enough", The Age, (Tuesday, 15 October 1985), p.14.

• Death of a Soldier at IMDb
• Death of a Soldier at the National Film and Sound Archive
• Death of a Soldier at New York Times
• Death of a Soldier at Oz Movies