All the Young Men (1960) User Reviews

Decent Korean War Film

[SgtSlaughter · 7/10 · 7 October 2002]

This is one of the few Korean War movies I have seen; I usually stick to my WW2 interests.

Sidney Poitier stars as a black Sergeant amongst a platoon of whites. When the unit is ambushed, Poitier is the only noncom that survives. He must lead the survivors to a strategic farmhouse and hold it against overwhelming enemy forces. To complicate matters, he faces off with a more experienced Private (Alan Ladd) and a bigot (Paul Richards) as he tries to keep the men from mutinying.

This movie does a fair job at commenting on racism. Although Sidney Poitier always answers challenges to his authority by threatening to kill whoever gets in his way, he plays the part quite passionately. This was an early film to take a serious look at racism; it's a bit clumsy but makes a good early effort.

The supporting cast is good as well; they are given plenty of slow scenes to make them seem like real people rather than just faceless soldiers. They include singer James Darren; political satirist Mort Sahl; Ingemar Johanssen as a Swedish immigrant; Glenn Corbett as the kindly medic; as well as a Navajo Indian (Mario Alcalde) and the typical scared, green kid.

The battle scenes are pretty well done but aren't too original. They usually involve hordes of Red Army troops rushing the farmhouse and the Americans dispatching them with grenades and small arms fire.

As for complaints: I didn't think the tune "The Saints Go Marching On" at all fit the bleak mood of the movie. The cinematography shows of some pretty awesome snowscapes, but looks nothing like Korea. The continuity tends to jump around during the middle portion of the movie as well -- characters will be out in a foxhole one moment and the next they'll be inside the farmhouse chattering away. The ending was somewhat unsatisfying as well.

All in all, a pretty decent Korean War flick, most notable for the young cast of stars-to-be and it's well-meaning efforts to deal with the huge problem racism in the early 1960s.

Merry Christmas Tiger.

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 15 May 2009]

During the Korean War, up in the snowy mountains, a marine platoon is attacked and their lieutenant is killed. But just before he dies he places the platoon sergeant, Eddie Towler, in charge. Towler is black and has to get his men to safety amidst racial tension and constant in fighting.

All The Young Men is a Saturday afternoon time filler of a movie. Not brilliant, but certainly not bad. Sidney Poitier takes the lead role as Towler and gives it his usual guts and emotional thunder. Alongside Poitier is Alan Ladd, who at 47 was coming to the end of his career. Now if one can cast aside that Ladd was a bit old to be bombing around the snow laden mountains, then his interplay with Poitier is actually very good. It certainly gives the character's edge, and thus keeps the picture being the character driven piece it's meant to be.

This is no stock war film with blitzkrieg battles and dirty dozen like shenanigans, this is men holed up in a mountain station forced to win the battles amongst themselves in order to win the war. Nicely shot in stark black and white on location at the Glacier National Park, Montana, All The Young Men is very much a mood piece. Odd then that the makers shoehorn in some light relief courtesy of Mort Sahl's Corporal Crane. It's not Sahl's fault of course, but it doesn't sit right in context with the story. It's as if someone said to director and writer Hall Bartlett, you can't make an overtly bleak mood piece, put some fun in there!

Still this was one I had a real good time with, partly because of its two lead actors and partly because of the locale. It's recommended on proviso that you expect character over action, oh yes sir. 7/10

The Stripes of Authority

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 14 September 2005]

All the Young Men is a film about a marine patrol in Korean War where the lieutenant in charge is killed in the first couple of minutes of the film. His last words are to tell the sergeant that he's now in charge, to complete a mission by taking a strategic farm house.

Seems natural enough, there's a sergeant who's the next ranking one on the scene. The joker in the deck is that this sergeant is black, played by Sidney Poitier. In 1951 the Armed Services were newly integrated and the civil rights revolution was but a few years off.

Poitier has the support of most of the men. Two he doesn't have, the first is southern redneck Paul Richards and the second is seasoned marine Alan Ladd. Ladd's the guy who should have been in charge, but Ladd hasn't the stripes of authority as he's been busted for doing things his way in the past.

The problem with the film is that Ladd just doesn't convey in it that he is a maverick spirit. We see him doing things in the Alan Ladd heroic mold and we're never given any reason to see why he wouldn't still be a sergeant and in charge. His problem with Poitier isn't racial, but there seems to be no reason for the conflict to be happening at all.

Alan Ladd and Sue Carol Ladd refused to see that he was growing older and had to transition into character parts. They kept him going in action films almost to the very end. In this case it was their own doing as Ladd's Jaguar Productions was a co-producer.

Even with an artificial conflict All the Young Men does have some good moments. In addition to Poitier, Ladd assembled a good cast of young players to guarantee some box office. Dick Davalos, Lee Kinsolving, Glenn Corbett and most of all current teen idol James Darren are some of the men on patrol.

Mort Sahl who was the Bill Maher of the 1960s plays the patrol radio operator and manages to work in some of his monologue from his comedy act into the film. Definitely some needed comedy relief.

And it has an appearance by the then heavyweight champion Ingemar Johanssen. During that year 1959-1960 he was champion, the Ladds befriended Johanssen and gave him a brief part in this film. It didn't lead to a movie career after Johanssen lost the championship back to Floyd Patterson while All the Young Men was still in theaters.

Surrounded by three enemies in war: Racism, the Koreans and Mother Nature.

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 12 September 2017]

While there are films made about the Korean war in the 1950's, their numbers are small compared to the second world war. This film deals not only with the small troop stranded in snowy mountains but the knowledge that the enemy is possibly just yards away. With sergeant Sidney Poitier in charge under the orders of lieutenant Alan Ladd, the troop deals with their feelings about being given orders by a black man. Poitier takes no guff, shows his own anger, yet his motive is pure and simple: keep his men alive, racist or not, and kill the enemy. James Darren and Glenn Corbett are among the other troop members, some of whom look up to Poitier as a great leader.

This is at its most tense when it deals with the silence, all the young men knowing that at any moment the enemy could appear out of nowhere. There are some very gruesome moments, one involving a hostage situation and another involving a Korean tank set on fire. The most racist of the troop tries to rape a Korean girl and is stopped by Poitier, leading to both of their hatreds to emerge. Basically, this is about survival and the ugliness of a war mostly forgotten outside advanced history classes, the movie and TV show "M.A.S.H.", and most notably, the political thriller "The Manchurian Candidate". Perhaps with tensions rising between North Korea and much of the world, films like this will start to be remembered and the history books will be picked up a bit more. A hokey propaganda style ending is silly, but the film makes its point.

Sturdy Korean war action picture

[lorenellroy · 6/10 · 11 May 2007]

This movie benefits from some striking monochrome photography which is particularly well in evidence during its opening scenes ;these show a US patrol proceeding through snow encrusted mountains when it comes under attack from a Communist force .In the resulting battle the platoon leader is killed and hands over authority to the unit's sole black soldier (effectively played by Sidney Poitier)rather than to its most experienced member ,Kincaid (Alan Ladd),to whom the men have always looked up . Thus racial tension and bitterness are added to the already fraught situation as the troop must find a place to make a stand against superior numbers while awaiting reinforcements .There is a difference of opinion over strategy between Ladd and Poitier and other tensions between patrol members who include a Native American ,a wisecracking New Yorker ( Mort Sahl) and a callow youth played by James Darren who also contributes a forgettable song

This is no better or worse than many another "patrol"movie with its assemblage of stock figures and seems to have been assembled with an eye to the widest demographic-Old Hollywood in Ladd , a rising newcomer in Poitier and a pop star(Darren ) for the youth market.Even the race angle was not new having featured in Home of The Brave over a decade previously

Good matinée fare but nothing special either way

It portrays 1960, not the Korean War

[jeffhill1 · 5 April 2002]

1960 was an in-between year. Between Eisenhower and Kennedy. Between the Beats and the Hippies. Between Elvis and Fabian. Between Korea and Vietnam. And in that in-between year, there was a grab bag of rehashed styles in fashion and music. The 1920's were "in" for a while and remakes of "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" and "When the Saints Go Marching In" became contemporary hits in 1960. "All the Young Men" is a grab-bag of a movie, apparently written by a committee composed of agents and accountants, which tossed in music, themes, topics, scenes, and personalities designed to appeal to the movie audience of 1960. To try to understand the film from any other historical or logical or artistic or symbolic perspective would be an exercise in futility. In 1960 we had has-beens Alan Ladd ("Shane") and Richard Davalos ("East of Eden") marching along the Korean countryside with breaking-the-color- barrier Sidney Portier, topical night club comic Mort Sahl, new face Glenn Corbett, and teen heart throb James Darren all to the tune of "The Saints" which, as mentioned, was an old song during the Korean War but a re-vamped hit in 1960. So, although the portrayed drama was of the Korean war of the early 1950's, "All the Young Men" is really a kind of filmed time capsule of 1960 America. As such, it is a combination piece of nostalgia, a reminder that 1960 really was a pretty "dumb" time in America, and a kind of scary reminder that in 1960 America was living in blissful ignorance of the horror and chaos that was to befall in a few years in the form of a presidential assassination, counter-culture struggles, and an eleven year quagmire in Vietnam.

Sidney Poitier dominates All the Young Men

[tavm · 6/10 · 18 February 2008]

In reviewing movies featuring African-Americans in chronological order for Black History Month, we're now at 1960 with All the Young Men. Sidney Poitier plays a marine sergeant during the Korean War who suddenly becomes the leader of his troop after the lieutenant dies and makes him so. Only two men seem to really object to him, an experienced private (Alan Ladd), and a Southern racist soldier (Paul Richards). Poitier's presence is felt throughout with his best scenes being with the racist after catching him trying to rape a Korean woman whose house they're temporarily staying at. Despite his production company-Jaguar-being in charge, Alan Ladd leaves most of the picture to Poitier though occasionally he has some good scenes like when he talks to a fellow soldier about his wife and kid. Most of the picture was pretty good but the way they ended it with the record of "When the Saints Go Marching In" playing as the score as they gun down the enemy struck me as blatantly jingoistic especially as they were making many of the mixed nationalities in the troop human with many of their back-stories revealed as they talk to each other in between battles. Among the other men: comic Mort Sahl using some his amusing monologue here and James Darren singing the okay title song. All in all, All the Young Men was an okay war picture that I'd recommend to Poitier fans.

I've got a big investment in you..Some of my best blood is running through your veins and I don't want nothing to happen to it!

[sol1218 · 7/10 · 9 March 2011]

***SPOILERS*** Picked off by a Communist Chinese sniper USMC Let. Earl Toland, Charles Quinlivan, as he's about to go under turns over command of his squad to the green and inexperienced in leading men into combat Sgt. Eddie Towler,Sidney Poitier. The thing that ticks off the men that Sgt. Towers is now in charge of is not that he's green and inexperienced but that he's black! And it's now up to Sgt. Towers, who didn't want the job anyway, to lead them out of the wilderness, or Communist North Korea, and across the 38th parallel before the Chinese Communist and their North Korean allies make mince meat out of all of them!

Under Sgt. Towers' command and leadership the men in his unit capture a key position, a farm house, that's the only place where a battalion of some 1,000 retreating US Marines can make it to safety and link up with UN forces to the south preventing them from being massacred by the Communist forces. It's that position that Sgt. Towers is determined to hold to the last man grenade and round of ammunition even if he ends up being killed by one of his fellow Marines in doing it!

As the Communist Chinese key in on Sgt. Towers position tensions beings to build up between him an the Marines under his command. Sgt. Kincaid, Alan Ladd, who felt that he being in the Corps for 11 years was passed over in favor of Sgt. Towers never lets him forget about it. Still Kincaid knows that by bickering with each other will only give the surrounding Communist Chinese the advantage in overrunning the farm house and reluctantly takes orders from him. It's the racist Pvt. Bracken, Paul Richards, who never lets up in letting Sgt. Towers know where to stay in his place ,the back of the bus or squad, that really gets under Sgt.Towers' black skin.

The both racist as well as horny Pvt. Bracken really goes over the top when after getting good and drunk on Korean home made wine attempts to rape Eurasian, half French and half Oriental, woman of the house Maya, Ann Maria Lynch. It's then that Sgt. Towers who tried to tolerate him, for the both good and safety of the Marine unit, lost his cool and not only worked Bracken over but almost has him shot for undisciplined and un-US Marine Corps conduct! The Communist Chinese using human wave assault tactics slowly ground down the Marines defending the farmhouse and it's now up to Sgt. Towers to make the faithful decision to either abundant the farm house and leave the 1,000 US Marines who need it to brake through commie lines to their fate or die defending it!

The Chinese Communists bringing in their big guns, tanks and amour units, for a final breakthrough has both Sgt. Towers and Kincaid try to disable the lead tank with Molotov cocktails, they by then ran out of grenades, with Kincaid ending up almost roasted alive in the fighting! Needing an immediate blood transfusion as well as leg amputation to save his life Kincaid is saved by both the skillful surgery, his in fact first amputation, of medic Pvt. Wade, Glenn Corbett, and Sgt. Towers who donated at least three pints of blood-O positive-to keep Kincaid from going under just like Let. Toland did earlier in the movie.

***SPOILERS*** With what now looked like the end for Sgt. Towers and his Marines with the Chinese Communist troops making a major assault on the farm house the US Calvary or USAF finally comes to their rescue. As the US Air Force saber jets start blasting the Chinese Reds to bits an elated Sgt. Towers going along with them, as ground support, picks them off one by one, sniper style, with his sub-machine-gun as they try to run for cover!

P.S The movie also has the then Heavyweight Champion of the World Ingemar Johansson as recently naturalized American citizen and Swedish immigrant GI Torgil. Despite his being the champ in real life Johansson instead of fighting was seen in the film mostly singing Swedish folk songs to keep the men in his Marine unit entertained!

Passable war movie from 1960

[MOscarbradley · 5/10 · 13 March 2014]

"All the Young Men" is a Korean war movie that finds an aging Alan Ladd and an up-and-coming Sidney Poitier leading a platoon of soldiers into a snow-bound Korean pass where they have to hold a farm-house against all the odds. It's not a bad film, just a rather formulaic one full of stock characters yet it's even quite exciting at times. The writer/producer/director was Hal Bartlett, a B-Movie stalwart of the period who liked to tackle 'difficult' issues, a kind of poor man's Sam Fuller, (Poitier's presence here ensures racism rears its ugly head). The first-rate black and white photography was by Daniel L Fapp who was to win the Oscar a year later for his work on "West Side Story".

It's a Slow War Movie; not a Mr. Tibbs prequel

[Bob_Zerunkel · 6/10 · 28 May 2012]

From the comments and reviews, it seems that people think that this was a clumsily handled movie about racism. It isn't.

Poitier plays a man with little practical experience, but the stripes that put him in charge. Ladd plays a man who has all the practical experience, but he lost his stripes due to unexplained incidents in his past.

Poitier has to deal with one racist guy. That's all. The rest of the outfit, including Ladd, don't care if Poitier is black.

Ladd comes close to rebelling against Poitier, but it has nothing to do with race. It has to do with Poitier's lack of experience. Even with their infighting, Ladd backs up Poitier every time there is action. Poitier was the first to run to save Alcalde. Ladd was the second.

Another point that the reviewers don't like is Ladd's age. Go ask grampa. Lots of old timers fought in WWII and Korea. It isn't a stretch at all.

And finally, there were many remarks about bad casting because they didn't use actual Koreans or Chinese. They filmed in the mountains of Montana. There wasn't a lot to choose from. The extras that they used not only were the wrong race, but were often holding the wrong weapons. That's life in a low budget flick. Nonetheless, the people that think this is a movie that champions racial equality are also the same people that accuse this movie of racism as far as the extras. Go figger. I suppose some people can have it both ways.

I've always loved Poitier. He has done many movies where race dominates. This isn't one of them. He's just a guy who is in over his head and he tries to do his best.

Not a bad story idea, but you wonder if the film makers even cared if they were making a good film or not.

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 12 September 2010]

It must have been pretty awful filming this movie at Glacier National Park. There was a lot of snow and ice as the film makers were trying to re-create the cold winter in the Korean mountains. The movie is about a group of soldiers who are cut off from the rest of their troops during the Korean War. When their commanding officer is hit, he assigns the black sergeant (Sidney Poitier) to be in charge. The other sergeant (Alan Ladd) is mad he wasn't chosen and gives Poitier a lot of crap--as does a racist man in the group who loudly voices his contempt for a black leader. This all could have been interesting, as the Korean War was the first fully integrated war for the US. Plus, there was a lot going on in 1960 regarding racial equality--so the film actually was dealing with 1960s social issues--not just the Korean War.

Unfortunately, the film loses its way very quickly--mostly due to dumb casting that shows that the film makers really didn't care about racial issues. Instead, it looked almost as if the film was created by tossing darts at a cork board filled with ideas! First, perhaps "All The Young Men" started a small trend in Hollywood casting stand-up comedians in war films! Here, we have Mort Sahl (a big name during his day but all but forgotten today) and two years later, Bob Newhart was cast in "Hell is for Heroes" and a few years later Don Rickles was cast in "Kelly's Heroes". An odd mini-trend, I know. And, like Newhart's performance, Sahl inexplicably does a stand-up routine during a tiny break in the action! I am sure that happened all the time during the Korean War and WWII!!!! In addition to this dumb casting decision, the film makers also decided to insert James Darren. Now this alone is not bad--he was lovely in "The Guns of Navarone". However, like Sahl, the insane movie producers thought it would be great to have this 1950s/60s teen heart-throb sing a number as well! Think about it...it's in the middle of the snow during the Korean War and Darren's character breaks into song!!!! What were they thinking?! Did they think audiences wanted this is a war flick?! Who was their audience?! As a result, the film just came off as fake--as fake as the eyes in the obviously white extras who were cast as Koreans! The bottom line is that if the film makers didn't care enough to get the film right, why should the audience care enough to bother with the film? Plus, there are just a lot more films that deal with racism without all the superfluous crap tossed in as well!

By the way, Alan Ladd appearing in such a film isn't a huge surprise, as his career was in a downward spiral--partly due to changing tastes and partly due to his alcoholism.

Good movie about fighting in Korea

[whitetail_deer · 8/10 · 18 October 2016]

I had a friend that fought in the Korean War as a combat soldier and he told me about one winter they had a 20yr snow (hip deep) and blistering cold in Korea and this movie reminded me of those kinds of conditions, many soldiers died in Korea but not only by the enemies bullets but also by freezing to death.

Not a fast paced war movie like most people prefer because of the snow and it also has a racism content as it becomes clear from the beginning that not many like the character Sgt. Towler played by Sidney Poitier and that included Sgt. Kincaid played by Allan Ladd but over time they captured each others respect.

I actually enjoyed the movie, true Poitier and Ladd carry the movie at times but IMO its not as bad as some might think based on the other review. Worth a watch IMO.

ambitious and old

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 11 September 2019]

American soldiers walk into an ambush in the Korean War. Their leader is killed. Before he dies, he passes command to the next highest rank, Sergeant Towler (Sidney Poitier). Towler is reluctant to lead the other nine and there is a good reason. Many are racists who resist being led by a black man.

The subject matter is intriguing and holds some power in its relevance. The execution is old-fashion which leaves the movie with a stale taste in the modern sense. It feels dated. The cinematography is dated. The melodramatic acting is dated. It even has whites playing Asians with the obligatory eye makeup. They're not even big roles either so I doubt that they couldn't find some extras to do the work. This is one movie where it's both woke and unwoke at the same time. The action is strictly cowboys and indians where the indians get slaughtered. There are lots of explosions but it's still very static. The acting is melodramatic but sometimes the story calls for melodramatic acting. This is a movie of great ambitions but the filmmaking struggles to reach those heights.

Not much of a film

[prw-8 · 3/10 · 22 March 2007]

A film I had never heard of. Halliwell's film guide says a marine patrol in Korea is commanded by a black man and the racial tension take precedence over fighting the enemy.

Simple-minded, parsimoniously budgeted war melodrama.

Sidney Poitier is the Sergeant who is given command by the Lieutenant as he is dying.

Alan Ladd is the most experienced but has no stripes. The first part of the film is setting the scene and they end up defending a house against faceless enemy who they machine gun and grenade by the score.

Alan Ladd gets his leg crushed by a tank and they save him The patrol hold out long enough for them to be saved by their own side.

Not much of a film and not one that you would bother seeing again. They spent too little on the story. It was a pity the great Shane ( Alan Ladd) was reduced to this. He rode off in the sunset after saving the town form the baddies just to end up being banal on a snow covered hill side in Korea.

Sidney Poitier was rehearsing for his tough put upon black man roles.

What do they call you boy ? They call me MISTER Tibbs !

Was this an action or anti-war film?

[yenlo · 29 February 2000]

It seems that most war films about the Korean War during the time this one was made struggled to get their message across. They wanted to show action like all war pictures but also wanted to convey an anti-war message without being openly blatant about it. This picture while often times sluggish has some good moments in it. Comedian Mort Sahl gets a scene where he's allowed to do what he does best, semi-sarcastic comedy. All in all it's not an overly bad war film but it's not one of the better ones either. Former heavyweight champion Ingemar Johansson who hailed from Sweden has a role in this movie.

When The Saints Go Marching In?

[The_Movie_Cat · 4/10 · 11 April 1999]

Terminally dull war movie that is only livened in fits and starts by Poitier's incensed portrayal. His obvious reluctance in the role adds a greater edge to the part of sergeant who doesn't want to be sergeant. The photo backdrops are unusually obvious, while the hour-and-a-half duration plays out with the singular plot thread of eleven marines on a suicide mission to protect a strategic farmhouse. This is punctuated by attempted rapes, bigotry and mutilation, those these elements seem to be inserted merely to keep the film going, rather than any natural dynamic growing out of the picture. Interestingly, whenever the Chinese are about to launch another attack, the marines are in the process of playing "When The Saints Go Marching In". Whether or not this is an indication the invading forces are saints, the main cast devils, is never really touched upon. The film's frequent lapses towards gung-ho miIitarism seem to suggest this is not the case. There are also scattered references to Buddhist mythology, though these seem to be undeveloped trivialities rather than any intentional commentary.

One of the worst war movies I have ever seen.

[stevoreeno · 2/10 · 30 December 2006]

The special effects were the only (barely) redeeming factor. The music was bad. The dialog was pathetic. The fact that they used Caucasian actors and actresses to portray Asians is a slap in the face to Asians. This is the problem when Hollywood gets its hands on history. Even Saving Private Ryan, which was advertised as fiction, was more historically accurate in terms of dialog, music, and costume. Same goes for U571. Platoon, one of my favorites, as well as Full Metal Jacket, are much better movies simply because those who made them chose to make them authentic in spite of their fictional plots. Pass this one by. It is almost as bad as The Green Berets.

Alan Ladd and Sidney Poitier in the Korean war- not without odds and ends

[clanciai · 9/10 · 11 October 2023]

There are any number of Second World War films about American soldiers at their best, and there are a lot of Vietnam war films about American soldiers at their worst, but there are not so many Korean war films, because that war was neither dirty nor heroic. All the films there are about that war practically only display the worst sides of war, horrible tribulations and arduous sufferings for nothing with normally a most unglamorous cruel death, there was nothing attractive at all about that war, and there could never be any sympathy or empathy with the communists on the North Korean side - they were just all a horrible menace with nothing human about them. Here at least there are a few North Koreans who earn some respect, sympathy and understanding, although just two women and a boy, but they bestow a tiny portion of humanity into this picture which otherwise would have been just unbearably hard. Alan Ladd is a scarred veteran who fares ill, and gradually Sidney Poitier more and more takes over the lead of the film and with honour, which eventually leads the film into a very satisfactory end, although the beautiful monastery is blown into cinders, but humanity survives it.

Route Step

[rmax304823 · 17 February 2003]

There isn't really much to be said about this movie. Poitier gives the only good performance but nobody can be said to have come out of this effort with much pride. The cast is filled with non-actors, including a stand-up comic and an ex-prize fighter. The singing is done by non-singers, including the ex-prize fighter. And the song after which the film is named is not only sung poorly, it's poorly written. The production values are low. There are some nice outdoor shots towards the beginning, a snowy mountainous slope. The majority of the time is spent in a single indoor set. And some of the outdoor shots are thoughtlessly done -- here are these marines dug into the snow on a hill top and there is neither wind nor smoking breath. The obligatory woman is shoehorned into the plot, but fortunately doesn't act as anyone's love interest; she's there mainly to provide a target for attempted rape. The action scenes aren't bad but they conform to every convention in the book. The marines occupy an isolated post and must prevent the Reds from coming through the pass. They are attacked by about two dozen faceless extras, all of whom are slaughtered. They die like flies, building up a big body count. Our guys die one at a time, and always live long enough to utter a few last lines -- "Find that farmhouse and take it," or "Navahos shouldn't have to die in the snow." The humor is limited and is provided entirely by Mort Sahl in monologues and occasional wisecracks. Come to think of it, the whole thing reminds me a bit of a Sam Fuller movie, maybe "Fix Bayonets". What in-group tension there is, is provided by the competitive clash between Alan Ladd (looking too old for this kind of business, but he was a producer) and Sidney Poitier as the sgt. who inherits command of the unit. There is also a racist Southern redneck who wises up before the film ends. There is no sociopolitical content to speak of. All in all, it's not a hateful movie -- there's nothing disgraceful about it -- but you can probably find better ways to spend your time.

Uneven film about race in the Korean War

[gerdeen-1 · 16 September 2011]

The U.S. armed forces were officially desegregated in 1948, and the Korean War (1950-1953) was the first modern conflict in which Americans of every heritage fought side by side. This less-than-spectacular GI movie -- albeit with a couple of big names -- is one of the few instances in which Hollywood has dealt with racial tensions in "America's Forgotten War."

The story, set in the dead of a Korean winter, focuses on a squad of Marines holed up in a farmhouse behind Chinese lines. The two main characters are the unit's only black member (played by Sidney Poitier) and its oldest and most seasoned member (played by Alan Ladd). When the young black man finds himself thrust into command of his comrades, the white old-timer is resentful.

Poitier and Ladd are the best part of the movie. These two pros have great "anti-chemistry." They play off each other superbly, portraying a mutual dislike that has a grudging undertone of respect. When "All the Young Men" was made, Ladd's star was sinking and Poitier's was rising, and that gives an added poignancy to their confrontation.

Unfortunately, the movie doesn't give Ladd's character any identifiable racial motivation, however misguided. Instead, the sin of bigotry is embodied in a lone Marine, a stereotypical white Southerner (played by veteran TV villain Paul Richards). He's not just a racist, he's loathsome in every way. This is a cop-out. Institutionalized racism would never have lasted so long without the acquiescence or subtle support of many "decent" people.

And speaking of cop-outs, why does a movie about racial issues give us a Korea almost devoid of Asians? The "Chinese" soldiers keep their faces covered. The main Korean character is played by an Argentine actress wearing Charlie Chan-style eye makeup. In 1960, this sort of thing should have been over. (Though the character sounds Latin American, the movie's explanation of her looks and accent is that she is half-French. The French presence in Korea was never very great, but apparently Hollywood was already starting to confuse Korea with Indochina.)

I have to mention the motley crew of supporting characters. The casting is truly offbeat, with such non-actors as comedian Mort Sahl and boxing great Ingemar Johansson. James Darren is on hand to carry a rifle and sing a song, and even Johansson warbles a tune. The least believable scene in the film (and many are none too convincing) is when combat-weary Marines laugh themselves silly over Sahl's meandering monologue about bureaucracy and society. It's the kind of jabber that would put real Marines to sleep.

Returning briefly to the issues of race and realism, the character of "Chief," who's supposed to be a Navajo Indian, is played by an actor who looks nothing like a Navajo. But at least he's not wearing eye makeup.

When Hal Bartlett was still a good director

[searchanddestroy-1 · 13 February 2024]

Yes, folks, before he lost his soul in Disney garbage junk, as James Neilson, James B Clark, or Robert Stevenson, Hal Bartlett was a damn good director, a promising film maker, and this gritty, tough war movie - speaking of the Korean conflict - is the best proof, with a Sidney Poitier in a terrific performance, during a period when civic rights for Black people were at stake. I guess this is an underrated war film, which scheme is in the same line of THE LOST PATROL, but I admit that many war films were too. War movies and not war dramas where you can have some romance behind the front line with a female character. Here, you have only one supporting female, that's all. Unfortunately the ending is a bit lousy, ankward to me. I am sure Bob Aldrich, who could have been in charge for such a film, would have given us something totally different. Despite its quality, this movie can be seen as a didactic message. Such a shame.