The Thin Red Line

Set during the Allied invasion of the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theater during WWII, this film is based on the novel by James Jones. Keir Dullea is Private Doll, who dreads the invasion and steals a pistol to help him protect himself. Sergeant Welsh (Jack Warden), a caustic, ...more

A much simplified adaptation of James Jones's novel of combat on Guadalcanal, this first screen version does manage to retain some of the essential flavor of Jones's narrative and his ideas about the relationships among men during war. The Bernard Gordon screenplay focuses on two of Jones's characters: the self-preserving Private Doll (Keir Dullea) and the cynical Sergeant Welch (Jack Warden), and if their relationship travels a road familiar to war films (with predictable consequences), ...more