This well made British film brilliantly captures the claustrophobic nature of seven men sharing a small guardroom on the edge of a Royal Artillery gun park in 1950's BAOR (British Army of the Rhine). The guards' tour of duty from 18.00hrs to 06.00hrs is to protect a number of obsolete Bofors anti-aircraft guns hence the films title. The guard comprises a number of young National Servicemen from all over the UK who are at varying stages of their two-year stint. The exception is Gunner O'Rourke (Nicol Williamson) a regular soldier who has seen active service in Korea. O'Rourke is a belligerent Catholic with some sort of death wish not to see past his thirtieth birthday which coincidentally is tonight. The guard commander - Lance Bombardier Evans (David Warner) has a good reason for not wanting his last guard duty to go awry as he has recently passed his WOSB (War Office Selection Board) and is due to return to England the following day to begin officer training. John Thaw plays Gunner Featherstone a Cockney drinking buddy of O'Rourke, Ian Holm plays Gunner Flynn an intelligent and articulate Ulsterman, Donald Gee the Northern Gunner Crowley, Barry Jackson plays Gunner Shone from the Midlands and Richard O'Callaghan the slow witted Gunner Rowe from the West Country. The film exploits the fine line between being a NCO and being 'one of the lads'. Unfortunately for Evans, with the maniacal O'Rourke in self-destruct mode there is no right choice only wrong ones. He foolishly allows O'Rourke and Featherstone to go to the NAAFI to collect their weekly cigarette ration but they promptly take advantage of his weak leadership and proceed to get roaring drunk with O'Rourke in turn hacking down the regimental flagpole with an axe, threatening to kill the regiment mascot - a goat - and finally jumping from a first floor barrack window. His eventual return to the guardroom see his comrades try cover up his actions and aftermath as the Orderly Officer and Orderly Sergeant regularly visit the guard to inspect them. Pushed out into a far corner of the gun park, O'Rourke carries out his promise at midnight leaving Evans well and truly in the mire. His future as an officer and leader of men destroyed by his unwillingness or inability to demonstrate the qualities that would be expected of him. A great film that surely must be long overdue for release on DVD.
Review of The Bofors Gun
