The Boys in Company C

A pusher (Stan Shaw), an athlete (Andrew Stevens), a writer (James Canning) and other Marine recruits go from boot camp to Vietnam.

Contents

• Plot
• Cast
• Awards
• Availability
• References

The Boys in Company C, directed by Sidney J. Furie, starring Stan Shaw, Andrew Stevens (in his Golden Globe-nominated performance), Craig Wasson, Santos Morales and Michael Lembeck, is a 1978 film about United States Marines in the Vietnam War.

It was among the first Vietnam War films to appear after the Vietnam Era, and was also the first role for R. Lee Ermey of Full Metal Jacket fame (per Andrew Stevens on the DVD commentary, Ermey was discovered by the director, Furie).

The film was a co-production of Golden Harvest and Columbia Pictures, the latter originally handling theatrical distribution. It was filmed in the Philippines.

The Boys in Company C is the first in Furies Vietnam War trilogy, followed by 2001s Under Heavy Fire and 2006s The Veteran.

Disheartened by futile combat, appalled by the corruption of their South Vietnamese ally, and constantly endangered by the incompetence of their own company commander, the young men find a possible way out of the war. They are told that if they purposely lose a soccer game against a South Vietnamese team, they can spend the rest of their tour playing exhibition games behind the lines.