H-2-4   Adjective, e.g., “Apocalypse Now” (1979) succeeded even though its sets were H-2-4.

Definition: Dysfunctional and/or chaotic.

History: An abbreviation for “Hell is for Heroes” (1962), a war film whose place in Hollywood history is the miracle it was ever made. The movie featured an odd constellation of rising stars—Steve McQueen, Bobby Darin, Fess Parker, Nick Adams, James Coburn and Bob Newhart—most of whom committed to the chintzy production days before they received far more lucrative offers. Legend has it Steve McQueen’s trademark pensive brooding originated in this film as the result of his sulking over his pay.

Props were cheesy, cheap blanks misfired, and the script was often ignored because few bothered to memorize it anyway. Bob Newhart would claim that he and other cast members lobbied director Don Siegel daily begging to be killed next. A beneficiary of the penny pinching was Klaus Odle, an extra who played four different Germans and was shot to death four different times. Odle’s bodies of work would earn him a place in Siegle’s next production, the TV series “Combat!," in which Odle would play Germans and be wasted almost weekly.

Related Terms:    nickpick     Stooges Test     wart

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