| Tribes | |
|---|---|
Jan-Michael Vincent and Darren McGavin in Tribes |
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| Directed by | Joseph Sargent |
| Written by | Marvin Schwartz Tracy Keenan Wynn |
| Starring | Darren McGavin Jan-Michael Vincent |
| Cinematography | Russell Metty |
| Studio | 20th Century Fox Television |
| Distributed by | American Broadcasting Company |
| Release date(s) | 1970 |
| Running time | 90 min. (including commercials) |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
Tribes, also known as The Soldier Who Declared Peace (UK), is a 1970 television film, broadcast as an ABC Movie of the Week directed by Joseph Sargent. A big ratings success when it first aired November 10, 1970, Tribes was later released theatrically in Britain and Europe under the title The Soldier Who Declared Peace. Tribes has been released on VHS, but, as of 2010, has not been released on DVD.
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Tribes tells the story of Private Adrian (portrayed by Jan-Michael Vincent), a young United States Marine Corps Vietnam war era draftee who, despite being an anti-war hippie, reluctantly reports to boot camp to fulfill his duty as an American. Adrian naturally excels as a leader, though his pacifist ideology presents continuing conflicts between himself and his drill instructor. Adrian's drill instructor, Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Drake (portrayed by Darren McGavin), quickly recognizes Adrian's leadership qualities, but is conflicted as he grows to respect Adrian while also realizing that he represents everything Adrian opposes. At one point, Adrian points out that his love of meditation is similar to Drake's drawing to relax, indicating a sketch of a flying bird. Both are ways of finding freedom. Drake responds angrily, denying that he had drawn the picture.
Throughout the training, the Chief Drill Instructor (and Drake's superior), Master Sgt. Frank DePayster (portrayed by Earl Holliman), takes an instant dislike to Adrian. He repeatedly argues with Drake about him, claiming that the fact that the man is performing all of his assigned tasks is not enough. He considers Adrian's attitude grounds enough for him to be set back and placed in the Motivational Platoon, a disciplinary unit for problem recruits. Drake disagrees and allows Adrian to graduate. However, DePayster had gone behind his back by filing a complaint against them both with the Company Commanding Officer. Without Drake's approval, the CO flunked Adrian and placed him in Motivational Platoon under DePayster. Drake accuses DePayster of carrying out a personal vendetta, to which DePayster replies "I'll forget I heard that." Drake takes the drawing of the bird from his desk drawer and hangs it up, thus signifying his own method of rebellion and freedom. The platoon graduates without Adrian.
As Drake awaits a new batch of recruits, DePayster informs Drake that Adrian deserted during the night.
Tribes received three Primetime Emmy Awards for Sound Editing (Don Hall, Jack Jackson, Bob Weatherford and Dick Jensen, sound editors), Film Sound Mixing (Theodore Soderberg, mixer) and Original Teleplay (Marvin Schwartz and Tracy Keenan Wynn, writers). It was also nominated for Directorial Achievement in Drama (Joseph Sargent).