The Boys in Company C is a spotty but okay popcorn trade drama about five young Marines and how their lives were changed by duty in the Vietnam war. Laden with barracks dialog and played at the enlisted man’s level, the Raymond Chow production, directed well by Sidney J. Furie, features strong performances by some very fine actors.
Not that The Boys in Company C is anywhere near a definitive film about the Vietnam debacle. No geopolitics or other cosmic matters intrude; instead, it’s a deliberate action programmer (shot in the Philippines).
Stan Shaw heads the cast as a dope pusher who sees Vietnam as a major new connection, until he matures into a natural leader. Andrew Stevens, son of Stella Stevens, is a Southern athlete who turns junkie in action. James Canning is an aspiring writer who records the bewildering and unnatural warfare.
