Death Of A Soldier

Mora’s film can be seen as a kind of companion piece to Rebel, released the previous year, both films dealing with the presence of the American Army in Australia (in Melbourne and Sydney respectively) and the rather prickly relations between the powers-that-be.

Based on the true story of Private Edward Leonski, a mentally unstable GI who murdered three girls in 1942, the film has two main strands, the account of the crimes and eventual arrest of Leonski, and the face-off between the American and Australian authorities over responsibility and jurisdiction.

The material has potential but Mora, who was brought in to replace American director Dick Richards, shows little flair for it. The film sticks close to the “period film” style that characterized so much of 70s Australian cinema, submerging Leonski (played by American actor Reb Brown) in the warp and woof of historical recreation, overplaying the Bill Hunter-Maurie Fields no-bullshit style of homegrown police work and making little of the Jekyll and Hyde theme alluded to as Leonski makes his inevitable way to capture. The film then segues into the territory of courtroom drama although there is little drama to be seen. James Coburn’s even-tempered, charming performance pretty much characterizes the film which also suffers from an over-supply of Australian actors (in particular, Max Fairchild in probably his highest billing role as Major William Fricks) faking American accents.

 

Want something different?