During the 1922 Turkish Civil War, two Americans and a group of foreign mercenaries offer their services to a local Turkish governor who hires them as guards for a secret transport. Two former U.S. Army soldiers, Adam Dyer and Josh Corey, join a band of Turkish mercenaries in 1922 Turkey. They are hired by Osman Bey, a local governor, to escort his three daughters to Smyran and to protect a gold shipment that is to accompany them. Nobody is aware that Elci, a local colonel, plans to steal the gold for himself, while a rebel general pursues all parties involved. Tony Curtis and Charles Bronson team up as mercenaries in director Peter Collinson's "You Can't Win'Em All," a larger-than-life action epic set in historic Turkey during the waning days of the Otterman Empire. This tongue-in-cheek actioneer benefits from a glossy budget and actual on-location lensing in Turkey. This is one of those old-fashioned shoot'em ups where everybody around the two leading men drop like flies whenever they ride into an ambush or get strafed by biplanes. Curtis and Bronson radiate charisma and chemistry. Neither completely trusts each other entirely, but they wind up as close-knit friends at fadeout. Collinson captures the beauty and majesty of Turkey, and "Virgin Soldiers" lenser Ken Higgins' widescreen cinematography is as scenic and sweeping as the action. Our heroes, former U.S. Army soldiers Adam Dyer (Tony Curtis of "The Vikings")and Josh Corey (Charles Bronson of "Vera Cruz"), provide an escort for what appears to be a mule train of gold but there are surprises in store for both of them as well as the audience. Collinson stages several eventful action scenes, not the least of which involve a couple of biplanes dropping bombs on an army in the field. Tough-guy character actor Leo V. Gordon, who penned the World War II thriller "Tobruk," wrote the screenplay, and he provides Curtis and Bronson with amusing dialogue that will remind you of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." The ending is a hoot! YOU CAN'T WIN 'EM ALL is an unusual American adventure film with a European feel. The story is heavily indebted to the usual spaghetti westerns made during the era, with a couple of ne'er-do-well characters getting caught up in a good cause and gradually realising that more is at stake than making money. This time around, the characters have to guard a gold shipment from various renegade factions, leading to plenty of stock action scenes and gung-ho adventure staples.<br/><br/>The film wins plaudits for casting a couple of decent actors as the leads; there's Charles Bronson, acting all tough and stoic as usual, while Tony Curtis in contrast brings plenty of laid-back charm to his character role. The supporting cast is largely made up of ethnic Turks, although eagle-eyed viewers may spot CAPTAIN KRONOS himself, Horst Janson, in a minor role. YOU CAN'T WIN 'EM ALL is a relatively fast paced and action-packed adventure film, but I felt oddly unconnected to it throughout, like I didn't really give two hoots about what was going on; it's not one I enjoyed.
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295 weeks ago