CARTER'S ARMY (1970) **1/2 Aaron Spelling's tale of racial cross-currents in the U.S. Army during World War II. Within the obvious limitations of those parameters, it's pretty good. Stephen Boyd is such a redneck that he's uncomfortable going into battle with a group including Rosey Grier, Richard Pryor, Billie Dee Williams and Robert Hooks. Shit man, I'd be proud to join that bunch into any battle against any gang that ever was, not to mention any party. Spelling divides the lines about equally, so there's not much opportunity for Richard and Billie Dee to stretch their incomparable talents, but they do an excellent job defining very real characters in the short space allotted, as do the others. It's not a masterpiece as a warm film, but it's a surprisingly credible script. Maybe it telegraphs its points, but there's no denying things were at least this bad. It has moments of genuine pathos and drama.
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