Product Description

Mike Chip and Larry are three lusty brawling U. S. Cavalry sergeants stationed in Indian Territory in 1870. Mike and Chip are determined to prevent Larry from carrying out his decision to leave the Army at the end of his current hitch and marry beautiful Amelia Parent. One night the three cronies befriend a trumpet-playing former slave Jonah Williams who dreams of someday becoming a trooper. A tribe of fanatical Indians begins terrorizing the area and the headstrong Chip decides to attempt the capture of their leader. Accompanied by Jonah he sneaks into the Indians' secret meeting place while they are conducting one of their mysterious rites but he is discovered and taken prisoner. Jonah however escapes and races back to tell Mike and Larry. When Larry insists upon going to Chip's rescue Mike makes him sign a reenlistment paper "just to make his help official" and promises to destroy the paper after the mission. Mike Larry and Jonah make their way to the Indian stronghold but they too end up as prisoners. As the Cavalry rides into a trap where a thousand warriors are waiting to ambush them Jonah blows the regiment's favorite tune on his trumpet as a warning. The ensuing battle ends in victory for the Cavalry; the three sergeants are decorated and Jonah is made a trooper. Thinking himself discharged Larry drives off in a buggy with Amelia but the crafty Mike shows the post's commanding officer the reenlistment paper he had promised to destroy. Larry it appears will be forced to serve another hitch with Mike and Chip.System Requirements:Running Time: 112 minutes Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: WESTERN/CLASSICS Rating: UNRATED UPC: 883904108047 Manufacturer No: M110804

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12753 in DVD
• Brand: MGM HOME VIDEO (UNDER FOX)
• Released on: 2008-05-13
• Rating: G (General Audience)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 112 minutes

Features

• Mike, Chip, and Larry are three lusty, brawling U. S. Cavalry sergeants stationed in Indian Territory in 1870. Mike and Chip are determined to prevent Larry from carrying out his decision to leave the Army at the end of his current hitch and marry beautiful Amelia Parent. One night the three cronies befriend a trumpet-playing former slave, Jonah Williams, who dreams of someday becoming a trooper.

Amazon.com
Lurking inside this 1962 Rat Pack movie is a true film classic: 1939's buoyant Kipling adventure, Gunga Din. The plotline's about the same, but the action in Sergeants 3 is transferred from colonial India to the Old West. Our three roistering Army buddies are played by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Peter Lawford, who are assigned a tense scouting mission just about the time Lawford is ready to quit the service in favor of--horrors--marriage. Sammy Davis, Jr., assumes the Gunga Din role, as a freed slave who tags along after the sergeants in hopes of joining the Army. (Yes, he blows a bugle.) Less successfully transferred than this outline is the way the cult from Gunga Din becomes a bloodthirsty tribe of Ghost Dancers in Sergeants Three, a bit of fudged movie history that will have to be taken with a grain of salt. But it's about as believable as everything else in this movie, right down to the fake beards on the cowpokes in the opening saloon brawl. Director John Sturges, who made this movie between his commercial high points of The Magnificent Seven and The Great Escape, apparently had little interest in making the interiors look like anything but studio sets. The exteriors fare much better, as many were shot in Utah's Bryce Canyon. The actors look as disengaged from this material as Sturges, with oomph sneaking in only when the boys are teasing each other (notably a sequence in which stuffy officer Joey Bishop--yes, he's in here too--is tricked into swallowing a laxative). It's all pretty flat, lending credence to the idea that the movie's long delay in securing a DVD release had less to do with racial insensitivity than with sheer lameness. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews

Sergeants 3 - Finally!!
FINALLY the long awaited release of the 'lost' rat pack movie!! Yeah! As a life long Dean Martin fans who has about 20 bad dubs of this, i'm psyched to see it finally commercially released!!
Not only is Dean totally CUTE in both dress and casual uniform, he has a great part in this one. I suppose it took so long because of the racial overtones, but racism WAS a part of our history, whether we like it or not and Dean is kinda the good guy here.
And it's pretty well known that the Rat Pack was instrumental (pun - get it!) in helping blacks start gaining equality in Las Vegas...
It's not a serious piece, or a western drama. It's silly, full of in jokes, a total guy movie. The history of the Ghost Dancer Indians is completely wrong and not even close to real history, but the Indians were often the bad guys back then (another racial problem with the movie - but hey - it's the 1960's and it's the Rat Pack...deal with it)...

In short, the guys are great and seem to be having a blast, despite the fact that Lawford is still amongst them (tho not for long)...

And, like i said, Dean is TOTALLY cute in it. So relax, have a beer, and enjoy it for what it is...

kimmmmy
and dover, the wonder dog

Sergeants 3, Audience 0
If you thought "Ocean's 11" was a glorified home movie, wait until you see the Rat Pack's lazy Western remake of "Gunga Din." Some impressive Southern Utah scenery and Dean Martin's occasional asides cannot salvage this Frank Sinatra vanity production. Transporting Rudyard Kipling to the Old West proved a big mistake - made even worse by sloppy stunt work, cheesy exterior sets, and one of the lamest endings in cinema history. With Ol' Blue Eyes calling the shots, director John Sturges had little control over the amateurish hijinks. There's a reason why "Sergeants 3" never warranted a home-video release until 2008: It's a terrible film.

You need to see it
Yes, you need to see this "Rat Pack" film that disappeared for so many long years. It was the one film of Dino's that I had never seen, so like many other fans, I looked forward to it! The film has some really fine action scenes and some top notch scenery (Bryce Canyon National Park), and the transfer here is crisp and colorful. Dean and Frank are clearly the stars here, and they do just fine. The shortcoming of the film, from my perspective, is that it can't quite seem to figure out whether it is a serious drama or a comedy. Nevertheless, I do recommend it. It's not "Rio Bravo", but it is fun.