Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

The Thin Red Line

Play trailer Poster for The Thin Red Line 1964 1h 39m War Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
77% Tomatometer 13 Reviews 64% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Just after getting married, Pvt. Doll (Keir Dullea) is shipped out to battle during World War II. Once there, he decides to do whatever it takes to survive the war, even disregarding orders. This attitude rankles his commanding officer, tough veteran Sgt. Welsh (Jack Warden). After Doll makes his first kill of a Japanese soldier, he starts becoming a violent fighter, responsible for many enemy deaths. Despite their differences, Welsh and Doll start working together to survive their mission.

Critics Reviews

View More
Variety Staff Variety 03/26/2009
Aficionados of the action-packed war film will savor the crackling, combat-centered approach of The Thin Red Line, an explosive melodramatization of the Yank assault on Guadalcanal in World War II. Go to Full Review Eugene Archer New York Times 05/09/2005
Under the sincere but inadequate handling of Mr. Marton, best known for his chariot race in "Ben Hur," Ray Daley and Jack Warden are unable to explore the possibilities of these roles. Go to Full Review Joan Didion Vogue 03/16/2020
The Thin Red Line is a curiosity: a quite mediocre war movie, based upon the James Jones novel about Guadalcanal, with some of the best battle scenes -- fast, lucid, beautiful -- that I've ever seen. Go to Full Review John Gammon Radio Times 10/25/2015
3/5
The combat sequences, particularly the final one, are first class, without war being glorified. Go to Full Review TV Guide 10/25/2015
2/4
In adapting Jones's novel for the screen, Gordon neatly compacted whole scenes from the book, occasionally causing confusion. Motivations are often touched on superficially rather than probed into to show the psychology of men at war. Go to Full Review Rob Nelson City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul 08/21/2009
Compared to Malick's sumptuous art film, Marton's old Line looks awfully naive, and yet it goes a great deal further in grappling with the author's touchy subtext of soldierly love. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
09/24/2019 A very good movie. The book was exc See more 05/05/2013 Good, but not great. Certainly not in the same league as Terrence Malick's superb 1998 remake (about the only ever remake that is better than the original). Good, gritty action. Sometimes a bit too gung-ho or unrealistic though. I couldn't imagine a real-life First Sergeant taking all that crap from a private. Good performance from Jack Warden. Keir Dullea's performance was a bit grating, as was Ray Daley's. See more 12/16/2008 just ok see the remake its much better See more 06/29/2008 i lllllloove war movies!! See more 04/09/2008 One of my favorite movies See more 01/31/2008 The process of how war damages the emotional state of man is the theme here, based on the book by James Jones, this version is much closer to it than the useless later version which was in name only. Jack Warden epitomizes the brutally hard Sarge, and Dullea works as the enigmatic, Fruedian-named "Doll". Shockingly, for 1964, some subcurrent regarding homosexuality is touched upon. Despite some innacuracies regading firearms, the battle scenes are claustrophobic and straightforward. Read the short story "The Pistol" by James Jones, where he uses the same characters as TRL. This is "thinking mans" war exploitation genre'... See more Read all reviews
The Thin Red Line

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

View All

Andrew Marton

Director

Keir Dullea

Pvt. Doll

Jack Warden

First Sgt. Welsh

James Philbrook

Col. Tall

Kieron Moore

Lt. Band

More Like This

View All
King and Country 90% 80% King and Country Watchlist Hell to Eternity 83% 44% Hell to Eternity Watchlist The Blue Max 100% 76% The Blue Max Watchlist 633 Squadron 29% 56% 633 Squadron Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More
View All

The Thin Red Line

The Thin Red Line (1964) The Thin Red Line (1964) The Thin Red Line (1964) The Thin Red Line (1964) The Thin Red Line (1964) The Thin Red Line (1964) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Just after getting married, Pvt. Doll (Keir Dullea) is shipped out to battle during World War II. Once there, he decides to do whatever it takes to survive the war, even disregarding orders. This attitude rankles his commanding officer, tough veteran Sgt. Welsh (Jack Warden). After Doll makes his first kill of a Japanese soldier, he starts becoming a violent fighter, responsible for many enemy deaths. Despite their differences, Welsh and Doll start working together to survive their mission.
Director
Andrew Marton
Genre
War
Original Language
English
Runtime
1h 39m