Men in War (1957)

it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Blistering performances.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

A muscular, no nonsense combat movie set during the Korean War.Robert Ryan and Aldo Ray play two officers who engage in a pissing contest during an attempt to lead a platoon of soldiers through enemy terrain to safety. Both actors are terrific, as are the ones who make up the supporting cast, and the film has an authentic and unapologetic look and feel to it that help it to stand out from the other histrionic war movies of the period that focus on highlighting heroism and bravery. This one is about guys who are just trying to survive, and who are going to be scarred one way or another by their experience, whether those scars are physical or emotional."Men in War" is a really good film, and it has the added distinction of being about the Korean War, a conflict that American cinema hasn't examined nearly as much as others.Grade: A

Big Anthony Mann fan, but this stinks. None of the soldiers from officers to noncoms to foot soldiers act in a believable way, especially the arguing between ranks. After the flowers in the helmet sequence, I just had to roll my eyes and give up. Frankly, it started pretty good, but got tedious and unbelievable. Even Elmer Bernstein seems lost.

Stranded behind enemy lines, an American lieutenant tries to steer his troops to safety amid scattered sniper attacks in this Korean War movie starring Robert Ryan. The film feels heavily influenced by Sam Fuller (think 'Fixed Bayonets!'; 'The Steel Helmet') with a heavy emphasis on dialogue and the non-combat aspects of war. The movie also bears some similarity to John Ford's 'The Lost Patrol', though it is a decidedly more an episodic affair, with seeming every imaginable wartime horror (at times awkwardly) squeezed in. Episodic as the film may be, it remains a potent experience the whole way through. It is hard say what the film's most powerful scene is: a "sleeping" soldier discovered to be dead, a soldier driven mad after seeing a land mine, a close-up on a soldier's eyeball moving back and forth as he hears a sniper approach him from behind -- it is all very potent stuff. A subplot involving Aldo Ray as a soldier from another outfit obsessed with driving his shell-shocked colonel to the nearest hospital is initially jarring but ultimately blends in well too as we gradually see the genuine affection he has for his mentor, reluctantly forced by Ryan to postpone his quest to drive the sick man to safety. The film additionally benefits from a rousing if seldom used Elmer Berstein score and Ernest Haller's sumptuous black and white photography is very immersive.

As I say in the summary, this film compares very well with Sam Fuller's "Steel Helmet", though this Fuller film was actually made during the Korean War and it was made with an even smaller budget. They both are exceptional films--stories of foot soldiers stranded behind enemy lines during this war. Because both have rather modest stories, the films manage to work because of taut direction, excellent writing and terrific acting. It just goes to show you that you don't need a ton of cash or the biggest name actors to make a very good war film.The film starts with Robert Ryan playing a lieutenant in charge of a dozen and a half men who have been cut off during an American retreat early in the Korean War. Their goal is to go 17 miles to a hill PROBABLY still held by their forces. But it is very slow-going--particularly when their truck is knocked out and they have to carry their supplies. Things seem to be looking up when a jeep arrives. But the driver is a gung-ho sergeant (Aldo Ray) and his colonel (Robert Keith). This is a problem because Keith obviously has cracked up and is catatonic and Ray has no interest in doing anything but get his commanding officer back to a hospital--and he could care less about the other men. But, when Ryan forces Ray at gunpoint to relinquish the jeep, you know this is NOT your typical war film! There's a lot more to the film than this--as this all occurs in the first ten minutes or so, but I'll leave it to you to see where all this leads. The bottom line is that this is an amazingly tense and well-constructed film--one you can't help but admire because of its efficient use of actors, props and sets.